Lumen Improvised Music Festival
(October 24th – 26th 2013. Lumen Church and Café, 88 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RS. Preview by Simon Picard)

A few months ago I met up with Bassist Olie Brice and Catherine Packard, who is manager at Lumen Church, with the idea to present a programme of improvised music over three days – a mini festival. The Lumen is a modern church space and offers a unique acoustic ideally suited to presenting small ensembles, solos and duo recitals. The aim was to bring together an eclectic range of creative improvisers from different musical backgrounds, classically trained to jazz influence … some have been on the scene for many years, and others are relatively new arrivals, all have a unique talent and bring a rich and exciting musical vitality to this collaborative project.

The Programme runs as follows:-

Thursday 24th – doors 7.30pm / music 8.00pm
Tonight we welcome a distinctly engaging trio, saxophonist Rachel Musson, pianist Liam Noble and drummer Mark Sanders, a solo performance from outstanding clarinet player Alex Ward, as well as dynamic duo vibes player Corey Mwamba, and bassist Olie Brice.

Friday 25th – doors 7.30pm / music 8.00pm
Tonight’s superb line up features three exceptional duos, trombonist Gail Brand with drummer Mark Sanders, saxophonist Simon Picard with pianist Liam Noble and guitarist John Russell with violinist Satoko Fukuda.

Saturday 26th – doors 3.30pm / music 4.00pm till late
An eclectic and exciting programme featuring solo improvisations from two extraordinary pianists, Pat Thomas and Alex Maguire, a young and innovative trio comprising vocalist Lauren Kinsella, cellist Hannah Marshall and trumpet player Nick Malcolm, plus a series of,  not to be missed, collaborative performances from reed players James Allsopp and Simon Picard, trumpet player Chris Batchelor, flautist Neil Metcalfe, bassist Olie Briceand drummer Simon Roth.

Ticket Prices:
Thursday or Friday – £9 on the door / £7 advance & conc.
Saturday – £10.50 on the door / £8.50 advance & conc.
3 day pass – £20 advance only
Tickets HERE