Ntshuks Bonga – alto / soprano saxophone
Marcio Mattos – cello
Alex Bonney – trumpet
Kay Grant – voice
Doors 7.30 | music 8pm | £10 cash on the door
Ntshuks Bonga
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ntshuks works mainly in the areas of South African jazz, contemporary and improvised music, on saxophones and clarinet. Early experiences included work with various Maggie Nicols projects, his trio Tshisa! With Marcio Mattos and Ken Hyder and Tokolosho ensemble. He has recorded and toured with a wide variety of artists including Louis Moholo, Lucky Ranku, Robin Hitchcock, Lydia Lunch, Claude Deppa and has toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Marcio Mattos
The Brazilian-born Marcio Mattos studied acoustic guitar in early teens, eventually switching to double bass and cello after becoming interested in jazz. Later, Mattos entered the Villa-Lobos Institute where he became involved in improvisation and electronic music. Since coming to Europe in 1970, Mattos has performed, recorded, and broadcast in Britain and abroad with such musicians as Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Derek Bailey, and Marilyn Crispell.
Current projects include the Bardo State Orchestra, the Chris Burn Ensemble, Wooden Taps with Maggie Nicols, Lines, Tony Oxley’s Celebration Orchestra, AXON (with Phil Minton and Martin Blume), among others.
Alex Bonney
He was born in Reading in 1978 and grew up in the flight path of Concorde, instilling a deep attachment to subsonic frequencies. He leads the Alex Bonney Quartet, is a member of Splice, Leverton Fox, BABs, Golden Age of Steam, Brass Mask, plays in a duo with bassist Dave Kane and a variety of other improvising ensembles. When not performing Alex works with a variety of artists producing and engineering music for leading UK jazz and improvised music labels including Two Rivers, Whirlwind, Babel, Loop, Chaos Collective, Jellymould, Not Applicable and Edition. He also works as a music educator and photographer.
Kay Grant
Kay Grant is a musician and composer whose work is informed by broad experience in jazz, classical, rock and pop. Using the voice as an intrumental component is a trademark that underscores her commitment to the joy of ensemble playing. Marked by a bubbling stream of exploration and an open-armed approach to genre, Grant’s music has travelled a fluid path through interpretation, improvisation and composition.
Grant has toured and recorded throughout Europe and in the US, from intimate performances in local venues to celebrated spaces including the Barbican in London, Carnegie Hall in New York and Le Zénith in Paris. Her many collaborators include Alex Ward, Pat Thomas, Ntshuks Bonga, Penny Rimbaud, Manuela Keller, John Edwards, John Russell, John Zorn, Shelley Hirsch, Elliott Sharp, Martin Speake, Liam Noble and Sarah Gail Brand.
