Composer and saxophone player Eddie Neumann teams up with Spike Wells on drums, Terry Seabrook on piano, Dave Whitford on bass and Quentin Collins on trumpet for a modern jazz concert rooted in Romanian folk music.
Eddie Neumann was born in communist Romania at a time when jazz was almost banned. He first came into contact with jazz when Dave Brubeck came to Moscow in 1987. 11 years later he recorded the first live jazz CD ever to be published in Romania (Changes, 1998) along with the Jazz Unit band. The resulting sexted received the Jazz Album of the Year award from the Romanian Union of Composers in 2000 for their album From Now On. Eddie now lives in West London and plays jazz, klezmer and world music with several bands and produces his own electronic music called Electric Vulcans.
Veteran drummer Spike Wells, the one-time house drummer for Ronnie Scott's club, is a powerful rhythmic engine. One of Britain's finest drummers, he is famed for his wonderfully musical playing with the likes of Stan Getz, Tubby Hayes, Roland Kirk and Bobby Wellins.
Terry Seabrook studied piano at Sussex University. His performing career started in 1985 touring Europe and the Middle East with US jazz singer Joe Lee Wilson. Since then Terry has performed throughout the UK with his own Latin group Cubana Bop as well as performing in a variety of jazz groups with UK and US artists.
Dave Whitford graduated from Middlesex University in '96 with a first class degree in music. Since then he has been establishing himself as one of the most in-demand young double bass players on the London scene and has gone on to work with a wide range of musicians such as Chris Biscoe, Marc Copland, Steve Lacy and Hans Koller.
Quentin Collins is one of London's most active young jazz musicians with a wealth of experience, working with Stan Tracey, Norma Winstone and Ray Gelato. He is currently a member of Mike Garrick Big Band and Jean Toussaint quintet, and has held a five year residency at the Spitz in London's fashionable Shoreditch.
The project is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute.
When: Thursday 12 July, 7-9 pm
Where: Romanian Cultural Institute, 1 Belgrave Square, London SW1X8PH
Admission is free. For reservations, please call 0207 752 0134 or email office@icr-london.co.uk.