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Speyer's SPACE TRIO
Loz Speyer - trumpet, flugelhorn
Josh Vadiveloo - double bass
Andrew Lisle - drums
SPACE TRIO lives in the open territory between Jazz and Free, with improvisation framed by some strong tunes written for this kind of playing. As well as his own writing, Speyer’s Trio play a mix of compositions by free jazz masters such as Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry and Johnny Dyani, and by his friend and former colleague Tony Bianco … all pieces carefully chosen if not designed for this elemental lineup of trumpet, bass and drums.
SPACE TRIO is taking forward many years’ exploration of the format, beginning with Threeway, Speyer's trio with NYC drummer Tony Bianco and bassist Julie Walkington (who went on to play bass in his group Inner Space); and continuing in FreeTrio with the renowned free jazz drummer Tony Marsh and bassist Olly Blanchflower. Both groups are now represented on albums, recently released by Spherical Records on Bandcamp: “Live in the Southwest” by Threeway recorded in 2000; and “Open Territory” by FreeTrio, comprising home recordings from 2009-11.
Meanwhile, SPACE TRIO emerged from Loz Speyer and Andrew Lisle working together in various improvisational projects over the last few years. All three musicians now live in Hackney, with Josh Vadiveloo now a near neighbour, having played in Xhosa Cole’s Birmingham-based quartet for some years. The multiple interactions at work in this new and lively triangulation of musical forces are something to experience!
FREETRIO:
“A hitherto unheard and remarkable sound… Loz injects a Bobby Bradford-like personality to the sound and I suppose Marsh isn't a million miles away in style to Ed Blackwell, another Ornettian and free-jazz pioneer… There is great chemistry between all three players, the switching of emphasis and momentum criss-crossing between trumpet and drums steered admirably by Blanchflower's elastic beat.”
- Stephen Graham, Marlbank
INNER SPACE:
"The composing is reliably successful at offering engaging vehicles for extemporisation. But this dance between freedom and form needs more than that to succeed. Much of the time it relies on mainly motivic improvisation, with its particular demands. Speyer leads the way in meeting them. Rather like the great Bobby Bradford to my ear, just when you feel a solo excursion is beginning to fade he is able to apply the Ornette Coleman method of inflating another bubble of new melody, apparently at will.
"That’s something only the best players in this school can bring off consistently ... As the CD testifies, it makes their live performance a richly rewarding affair. Hearing them do it again in person shows a band going from strength to strength.”
- Jon Turney, UK Jazz News
