Chris Biscoe - saxes, alto clarinet and alto flute Tony Kofi - saxophones Larry Bartley - bass Stu Butterfield - drums
BBC double award winner Tony Kofi joins Chris Biscoe in a tribute to reeds virtuoso Eric Dolphy. The band features music written by Eric Dolphy and tunes from Oliver Nelson, Fats Waller, Monk and Mingus which he recorded.
Chris Biscoe has appeared as a soloist on more than 40 albums, including records with George Russell, Mike Westbrook, Andy Sheppard and The Brotherhood of Breath. Major tours include Hermeto Pascoal Big Band and The New York Composers Orchestra.
Tony Kofi's album of Thelonious Monk tunes, All is Know, was a double award winner in 2005 (BBC and Parliamentary Jazz Awards), and his group was also voted Best Ensemble at the BBC Awards. He has been featured with The World Saxophone Quartet, Andrew Hill, David Murray and Sam Rivers, is a member of Byron Wallen's group Indigo (nominated for best group and best album in 2007 BBC jazz awards), and has worked extensively with Chris Biscoe in Grand Union.
Larry Bartley is a leading light of the contemporary jazz scene, featured with the bands of Byron Wallen, Ingrid Laubrock and Jason Yarde.
Stu Butterfield works with the Henry Lowther/Jim Mullen Quartet, Mingus Moves and The Strayhorn Project.
Eric Dolphy: "When you hear music, after it's over it's gone in the air, you can never capture it again."
REVIEWS
Many, if not most people find jazz difficult to take. Many if not most of those who don’t, find the music of Eric Dolphy difficult to take. But a gratifyingly full house turned out for Way Out West’s Dolphy tribute at Kingston’s Ram Jam.
All musics benefit from performances where the conviction burns. That was apparent from the four outwardly modest men - Chris Biscoe and Tony Kofi on reeds, Larry Bartley on bass and Stu Butterfield on drums: they turned in one blistering solo after another within ensemble passages of impeccable cohesion, the hallmark of the highest quality chamber-jazz. The CD to come promises to be a gem. Biscoe and Kofi’s commitment to minority tastes (like Andrew Hill, with whom Kofi had played) also had an airing, with some extra local augmentation. It was a personal passion we could all celebrate. (IW) Jazz UK, Scene and Heard.
New Album: Gone In The Air - more details
Tony Kofi's album of Thelonious Monk tunes, All is Know, was a double award winner in 2005 (BBC and Parliamentary Jazz Awards), and his group was also voted Best Ensemble at the BBC Awards. He has been featured with The World Saxophone Quartet, Andrew Hill, David Murray and Sam Rivers, is a member of Byron Wallen's group Indigo (nominated for best group and best album in 2007 BBC jazz awards), and has worked extensively with Chris Biscoe in Grand Union. 
