Left to Rigtht: Jeff Spencer, Martin Pyne, Trevor Davies Photo Credit: Sheryl Tait

Martin Pyne writes about an upcoming gig with his band Busnoys on the 21st April at the Forge Camden with collaborations from visual artist Maria Hayes, composer Paul Robinson and violinist Adam Robinson.

On April 21st I’m presenting a concert at The Forge in Camden featuring my trio Busnoys in collaboration with visual artist Maria Hayes, alongside new compositions for live performers and video by composer and long time colleague Paul Robinson.

Busnoys consists of myself playing vibraphone and electronics, alongside two of Bristol’s finest musicians bass guitarist Jeff Spencer and drummer Trevor Davies. Despite living just outside London, the work that has mattered most to me has for a number of years involved collaborations with players from the Bristol scene, so this gig feels like an important visit to the capital for us. We’ll be playing music from our two albums, released on my own TallGuyRecords label, as well as some brand new material. You can expect some evocative sounds, more often than not telling some kind of story, and plenty of free wheeling improvisation. Maria Hayes will be creating digital images in real time in response to the music as it unfolds.

Composer Paul Robinson is one of the most talented and open minded musicians I know. His music has been performed by The Hilliard Ensemble, Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Ballet, and Juice among others. I’ve been fortunate enough to play in his group Harmonie Band for many years playing his scores to silent films. For this concert he’s presenting two new works for solo performer and video. “Ornithologies” features ex Loose Tubes man Dai Pritchard on bass clarinet, and viola player Adam Robinson, director of the acclaimed Threads Orchestra will perform “Magnetic North”.

So is it jazz? Well Busnoys are certainly a jazz trio, though the music draws heavily on electronic, Americana, and the avant-garde. Paul is a classical composer, but again draws all sorts of influences into his work. We don’t mind what you call it really – we just hope it’ll be an audio visual delight for all who come!