Mark Edwards 'The Cloggz'
“You’ll be charmed, humoured, enticed and tickled! Music executed with accuracy, delicacy, emotional depth and energy”
BBC Radio 3
This is a remarkable, genre-defying, 8 piece band put together by the great pianist Mark Edwards (Katie Melua, Aztec Camera) which achieves that impressive feat of being both playfully humorous and masterfully musical at exactly the same time. As Mark says "I knew the sound I was after, a bunch of jazz musicians who’ve formed a tango group and then run away with the circus!" So, to that end, he put together a frontline of voice, accordion, violin and saxophone, combined with an array of other eclectic instruments to add further character to the sound, including banjo, xylophone, ukulele and glockenspiel. The material is a rich textured tapestry of modern jazz, Balkan folk, big band, classical, Latin and the carnival music of the circus to create a mighty swirl of virtuosic arrangements and improvisation. The music itself is frequently described as ‘cinematic’, reflecting the brilliance of films from the likes of Keaton, Fellini, and Wes Anderson. Featuring singer Imogen Ryall and saxophonist Julian Nicholas this is, without doubt, one of the highlights of the month.
"You’ll be charmed, humoured, enticed and tickled! Music executed with accuracy, delicacy, emotional depth and energy" BBC Radio 3; "Engaging, wonderfully quirky, a coherent bridge between jazz and film music in a swaggering Kurt Weillish ambiance" Jazzwise Magazine; "When The Cloggz play it’s not so much a gig as a musical voyage. The result is mesmerizing" Brighton Argus; "extraordinary...as genre defying as Loose Tubes...the music sets out to...delight, in a juxtaposition of musical styles that are carefully and skilfully arranged...deserves to be heard and savoured...unreservedly recommended" Jazz Views