Quick post to point you in the direction of this Guardian article, in which I’m named in a list of ‘five of the best young female jazz musicians’! This was in the run-up to our Ripsaw Catfish set at Cafe Oto last weekend, as part of the excellent Match&Fuse Festival.
Author Archives: cath
Lancaster Jazz Festival Artist in Residence: photo blog
I had a fantastic time as Artist in Residence at Lancaster Jazz Festival this September. What a great festival – and what a brilliant opportunity to offer artists. The headline performance with my ten-piece band was recorded, and should be available to hear soon, but in the mean time here are a few photos from the project.
Anton’s panorama of the whole group in rehearsal (minus himself!). Click to enlarge.
Festival banners with my face on….quite a weird experience!
Soundchecking at the Dukes…
The audience awaits!
On stage: you can just about see the whole band in this shot…
Cutting loose after the gig with festival director Matt Robinson at the Lancaster edition of ‘The Hat Speaks’ late night improv session.
The residency was a perfect way to start a new project. Massive thanks to Matt, Dave and the team for making it happen! I’m now keen to do more with the group in 2017, so watch this space….
Sloth Racket Autumn tour dates
After a fantastic time playing at Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival (see above video by Agata Urbaniak of us playing ‘Endgame’), Sloth Racket is heading out on the second half of our UK tour at the end of September. We’re starting with a London gig at IKLECTIK, before heading to Derby, Newcastle, Glasgow and Salford, supported by Arts Council England. We’re then sticking around in Manchester to record the band’s second album, for release next year. Here are the details:
28th September: London (IKLECTIK)
A London date to kick off the tour, with Colin Webster & Graham Dunning and Ti/om (Tim Fairhall and Tom Ward).
IKLECTIK Artlab, Old Paradise Yard, 20 Carlisle Lane, SE1 7LG
29th September: Derby (Out Front)
Part of Corey Mwamba’s new gig series launched earlier this year.
The Blessington Carriage, 11-17 Chapel Street, Derby, DE1 3GU
2nd October: Newcastle (Jazz North East)
Jazz North East are actually responsible for this band’s formation! After our first ever performance as part of their programme at Gateshead International Jazz Festival 2015, we’re looking forward to playing for JNE in their HQ, the Bridge Hotel.
The Bridge Hotel, Castle Garth, Newcastle NE1 1RQ
3rd October: Glasgow (Old Hairdessers)
Sloth Racket’s first gig in Scotland! Jer Reid has organised this date for us, and he’ll be playing a set with Raymond MacDonald (sax), Catriona McKay (harp), Una MacGlone (bass) and Dougal Marwick (synths, electronics).
Old Hairdressers, 27 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, G2 6PH
5th October: Salford (Islington Mill)
Last date of the tour before we go into the studio to record in Manchester. With another band on the bill tbc.
Islington Mill, James Street, Salford, M3 5HW
See you out there!
Sloth Racket at Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival
I had a great weekend hanging out at the inaugural edition of Daniel Spicer’s Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival last year – so I’m really looking forward to playing there with Sloth Racket this weekend! We’re opening the Saturday session at 5pm. See the flyer below for the awesome line-up…
Wire review for LUME Festival
LUME Festival has a review in this month’s Wire magazine, courtesy of Daniel Spicer. He really sums up the weird post-Brexit mood on the day (two days after the EU referendum result) and has some pretty glowing things to say about the music, including Word Of Moth and Article XI. Although it was only in June, the festival feels like a long time ago now. Roll on the next one!
(Click on the image to enlarge).
Far Rainbow video
A video has appeared of Colin Webster and me guesting with Far Rainbow earlier this year at Zero Wave Club. Check it out….
Lancaster Jazz Festival Artist in Residence blog
Strange to write a blog post about about a blog, but just a quick one to direct you to the Lancaster Jazz Festival blog, where I have been writing some updates on my commission for them. The latest one is about writers’ block, which bodes well for the project…
Raw Tonk showcase at V22
Seth Bennett and I will be playing a duo set next week, at this great-looking gig put together by the mighty Raw Tonk Records!
This weekend…
Quick post about an upcoming gig this Saturday. I’ve been invited to be part of a new group called Ethereal World Ensemble, led by Rowland Sutherland and Jackie Walduck, and our first gig is on Saturday 23rd July at IKLECTIK. See the flyer below for more info…
Lancaster Jazz Festival Artist In Residence/Headline Artist
Some very exciting news for the Autumn: I’m going to be Artist In Residence at Lancaster Jazz Festival 2016! Their tireless artistic director and ace clarinettist Matt Robinson emailed me a few months ago to offer this fantastic (and terrifying) opportunity and obviously I had to say yes. The main focus of my Artist In Residence role will be to produce some new music, the performance of which will be the festival’s headline set on Saturday 17th September. So, not a very high pressure gig then…
I decided to assemble a large ensemble for the occasion, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s ended up as a ten-piece, and the line-up will be:
Julie Kjær flute & bass clarinet
Tom Ward flute & bass clarinet
Graham South trumpet
Tullis Rennie trombone
Dee Byrne alto sax
Sam Andreae tenor sax
Cath Roberts baritone sax
Anton Hunter guitar
Seth Bennett double bass
Johnny Hunter drums
The band is basically an expanded Sloth Racket, and I can’t wait to get started on putting the music together. More on this to follow….
The festival is happening over the weekend of the 16th-18th September, and the full programme will be announced soon (keep an eye on the festival website).