8.30 - 11.00pm
£8 on the door
Chris Batchelor, trumpeter and composer, gained his first professional experience with Dudu Pukwana's Zila aged 17, at the suggestion of Harry Beckett. He subsequently became a founder member, composer and soloist with Loose Tubes, contributing many pieces to the repertoire of the band from 1984-1990. He was also very active at this time as a member of legendary world music trailblazers 3 Mustaphas 3, as well as enjoying a varied diet of gigs with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Congolese soukous band Taxi Pata Pata and Ashley Slater's Microgroove. As a sideman, Chris has appeared alongside many international stars, including Michael Brecker, Sam Rivers, Hermeto Pascoal, John Taylor and the Jazz Passengers with Deborah Harry. Steve Buckley was a key member of Loose Tubes (the highly acclaimed 21 piece jazz orchestra that became the focal point of the British jazz renaissance of the 80s). During this time, he was closely associated with the London African and Latin American scenes, playing with bands such as Taxi Pata Pata (a top Zairean Soukous outfit), Bosco D’Olivera’s Grupo Folia and Roberto Pla’s Latin Jazz Ensemble. His own projects included Orchestra Rafiki, co-led by long-time associate Chris Batchelor and featuring Kenyan Nyatiti player Ayub Ogada and Ghanaian drummer Nana Appiah, and also the Pigs Head Sons, another Buckley/Batchelor collaboration. He toured and recorded with Ashley Slater’s Microgroove, Norman Cook’s Beats International and the contemporary classical ensemble Jeremy Peyton-Jones’ Regular Music.
8.30 - 11.00pm
