Trevor Watts + Stephen Grew

»The two men refer to themselves as a duo, and be of no doubt, this is indeed duet-music. Trevor Watts and Stephen Grew aren’t against each other, this is collaborative creativity.« (Steve Day)

In fact, it’s been said on more than one occasion after this duo’s concerts that it sounds as if there’s a real affinity in their playing. They utilize the full spectrum of dynamics and techniques that have been individually developed over the course of their differing careers. Trevor Watts’ roots go back to the very beginnings of improvised music as a founding member of the seminal Spontaneous Music Ensemble (SME) in the 1960s, and Stephen Grew has been part of the improvised music scene since 1994, performing consistently on the national and international circuit, both as a soloist and in numerous collaborations. The combination of their playing styles results in a very powerful and visceral experience, but also has interludes of great tenderness. The music feels both relaxed and »on the edge« at the same time, like all truly improvised music. Relaxed because that’s the way it’s played, and on the edge because nobody, let alone the musicians, knows where it’s going. But the aforementioned affinity is the glue that makes it all work so well together.

Since the 1960s, Trevor Watts has been at the forefront of many innovations in jazz/world and improvised music as a saxophonist, percussionist, and composer. He’s the only living founding member of the legendary Spontaneous Music Ensemble. He also founded Amalgam (which included Keith Rowe of AMM) and his 1980s Moire Music Group, which included Veryan Weston and Peter Knight as well as Phil Minton, Lol Coxhill and many others. His Drum Orchestra (1980–1997) featured musicians mainly from Ghana. Other prominent musicians he’s played with include Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, Antony Braxton, Irène Schweizer, Kent Carter, Marilyn Crispell, Rashied Ali and Steve Swallow.

»Stephen Grew is one of Europe’s most dedicated and imaginative pianists. His playing free from the constraints of traditional harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures, is a virtuoso tour de force of dynamic extremes, percussive effects and spontaneous atonal flourishes, by turn surprising, witty and breathtaking!« (Steve Mead, Manchester Jazz Festival) His music is completely improvised and he has been touring nationally and internationally as a soloist and in groups for the past 30 years, performing and recording with Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Howard Riley, Trevor Watts, Pat Thomas, to name a few, and as a soloist. “Grew manages what few innovators save for the likes of Cecil Taylor, Ahmad Jamal, or Keith Jarrett can do, auguring entire worlds of sound forged from the melding of manual dexterity and imaginative bravado.” (Darren Bergstein, DMG)