Kevin Figes Octet

About

t has always been an ambition of mine to lead a medium sized group such as an Octet. Thinking of the line-up I was inspired firstly by Kenny Wheeler to use wordless vocals, and treat the vocals as horns to play with and in counterpoint to the two saxes. The use of two drummers has also been an ambition, something exciting and a challenge to them both to work with each other. The music was written very much with the line up and individuals in mind, and drew not only upon jazz influences (Kenny Wheeler, David Binney) but also very much from the progressive jazz/rock scene of the seventies (Soft Machine, Ian Carr) and just plain progressive rock (Gentle Giant). This lead to some pieces having more distinct sections, use of electric bass and more keyboard sounds, and each piece representing a little musical journey. I also hope that all these factors add up to something quite unique.

“Time Being” is released on Pig 10/4/2016

Kevin Figes Alto Sax, Nick Dover Tenor Sax, Emily Wright Vocals, Cathy Jones Vocals, Jim Blomfield Piano, Jeff Spencer Bass, Mark Whitlam Drums, Lloyd Haines Drums.

Albums