About this Event
On 9th & 10th November 2023, award-winning performance company Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra take over Shoreditch Town Hall for a unique staging of Charles Mingus' 1963 album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.
Mingus is one of the ultimate bass players of the 20th century, laying down iconic grooves that underpin his incredible compositions. As such, Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra are hosting a listening party to pay homage to the bass line in all its glory, from jazz to reggae to Latin music and beyond.
Tomorrow’s Warriors' Co-Founder Dr. Gary Crosby OBE will join Clod Ensemble's Paul Clark to lead us on a sonic journey in which the bass is the star. As Artistic Director of Nu Civilisation Orchestra, founder of the legendary jazz/reggae group Jazz Jamaica, and bassist for our collaborative production of The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Crosby is uniquely placed to share his perspective on low-end theory.
This relaxed event will give audience members the chance to enjoy a drink, join the discussion and even send in a track that they would like to share.
If there is a bass line that you want to share then message Clod Ensemble in advance of the event (Instagram: @clod.ensemble)
Previous Clod Ensemble listening parties have featured celebrated figures of contemporary UK music including Yazz Ahmed, Isobel Waller-Bridge and Manchester Collective's Rakhi Singh.
A bar will be available inside the venue - please note that no outside food or drinks will be allowed inside the space.
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Gary Crosby OBE is a jazz double bassist, music arranger and educator. He is a Founder and Artistic Director of celebrated jazz education and artist development organisation Tomorrow’s Warriors, the parent organisation of Nu Civilisation Orchestra.
Tomorrow’s Warriors has helped develop some of the UK’s most influential jazz talent, including Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, Cassie Kinoshi and the Mercury Prize-winning Ezra Collective.
“No single organisation has exerted a more profound or beneficial influence on jazz in Britain than Tomorrow's Warriors.”
Richard Williams (former editor: Melody Maker, Time Out, Independent on Sunday’s ‘Sunday Review’)
As well as being a founding member of Jazz Warriors, Crosby leads Gary Crosby’s Nu Troop, the Gary Crosby Trio, Guava, Gary Crosby’s Groundation, Jazz Jamaica and Jazz Jamaica All Stars. A selection of the top international artists Crosby has worked with includes Courtney Pine, Orphy Robinson and Steve Williamson.
Crosby has been the recipient of many honours. These include an OBE for Services to Music and the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Special Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jazz in the UK. In 2018 Crosby became the first jazz musician to be awarded the Queen's Medal for Music.
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Paul Clark has been a leading composer on the British performance scene since the 1990s.
Clark is the co-Artistic Director of Clod Ensemble, the award-winning performance company which he co-founded in 1995 alongside director Suzy Willson. As well as scoring dozens of productions both in the UK and internationally, he has written music for and with a hugely diverse range of musicians - from opera superstar Renee Fleming to Grammy-winning producer Danger Mouse, Manchester Collective to The Fall’s Mark E. Smith.
Clark is equally at home setting up sound systems in small, intimate spaces as he is working with sound designers at the National Theatre, Berlin’s Schaubühne and New York City’s Lincoln Center. He is a powerful advocate for young peoples’ access to live music and puts this belief into practice by leading Ear Opener, Clod Ensemble’s YouTube channel aimed specifically at music creators.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Clod Ensemble Studios, Design District, Greenwich Peninsula, C2, 3 Cripps Yard, London, United Kingdom
GBP 8.00