Music : Daniel Thompson & Phil Durrant / John Butcher & Benedict Taylor. Friday 10th November 19:30

Phil Durrant : mandolin & Daniel Thompson : guitar

John Butcher : saxophones & Benedict Taylor : viola

Doors 7.30 | music 8pm | £10 cash

Phil Durrant : Born near London in 1957, Phil Durrant is a multi-instrumentalist improviser/composer/sound artist who currently performs solo and group concerts.

As an acoustic or electric mandolinist, he has been performing duos with guitarists Martin Vishnick, and Daniel Thompson. He also performs in trios with Maggie Nicols and Emil Karlsen, Olie Brice and Andrew Lisle as well as Marjolaine Charbin and Jackie Walduck.

Durrant still performs regularly with the acoustic/electronic group Trio Sowari (with Bertrand Denzler and Burkhard Beins) and Mark Wastell’s The SEEN as well as the international electronic ensemble MIMEO with Keith Rowe, Kaff Matthews, Thomas Lehn a.o. With Mark Wastell, Steve Beresford and David Toop, he is involved in a new audio/visual project celebrating the work of the celebrated Scottish artist, Alan Davie.

Daniel Thompson is a guitarist and improvising musician currently living in Hackney, London. He was born in Norfolk, England in 1981 and other than a couple of years playing violin as a child, his musical studies didn’t seriously begin until his late teens. Largely self-taught, after moving to London in 2006 Daniel embarked upon a life changing period studying with the guitarist John Russell for two years, who “provided me with one of the richest and most rewarding musical experiences of my life”.

John Butcher is well known as a saxophonist who attempts to engage with the uniqueness of time and place. His music ranges through improvisation, his own compositions, multitracked pieces and explorations with feedback and unusual acoustics. Since the early 80s he has collaborated with hundreds of artists – including Derek Bailey, Eddie Prévost, Rhodri Davies, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Okkyung Lee, John Russell, Christian Marclay and Matthew Shipp. Additionally, he values occasional encounters – from the WDR Sinfonieorchester and EX Orkest to duos with Keiji Haino, Sophie Agnel, Fred Frith, Angharad Davies and Joe McPhee. Recent compositions include “Penny Wands” for Futurist Intonarumori, three HCMF commissions, “Good Liquor…” for the London Sinfonietta and “Tarab Cuts” (shortlisted for a British Composer’s Award).

Benedict Taylor is a solo violist & composer. He is an active figure within the area of contemporary string performance, at the forefront of the British & European new and improvised music scene. As an improviser, he has worked with Evan Parker, Terry Day, Keith Tippett, Wadada Leo Smith, Alex Ward, Renee Baker, Steve Beresford, Angharad Davies, Hannah Marshall, Tom Jackson, Phil Minton, Pat Thomas, Miya, Tetsu Saito, Gianni Mimmo, Daniel Thompson, Veryan Weston, Sylvia Hallett, Dirk Serries, Stephen Crowe amongst others.