Chris Biscoe - Ben Davis Group featuring Chris Biscoe

Ben Davis Group
Photo: Lennie Charles ©

Ben Davis Group features the cello centrally and prominently. Many of the rhythmic patterns and musical structures are derived from the instrument, using double-stops, heavily bowed rhythm figures and the full tonal range of the instrument. Complementing this, the cello can be used with great delicacy and sensitivity in ballads, and played pizzicato with the bass provides linear accompaniments of unusual transparency.

Chris Biscoe uses both alto and soprano saxes in the group, and also the rarely heard alto clarinet, which together with the cello and bass create a beautifully mellow range of sounds. Chris plays with the George Russell Big Band and Mike Westbrook groups. He has been a regular with l'Orchestre National de Jazz, Andy Sheppard Big Band and Hermeto Pascoal`s UK Big Band, and has formed his own projects: Mingus Moves and the improvised ensemble Full Monte.

The Ben Davis Group have performed at festivals and jazz venues throughout the UK, including: The London Jazz Festival, Appleby Jazz Festival, The Vortex, The Spitz and Brighton Jazz Club and for BBC Radio 3. The band's CD on FMR records (FMR CD 48 E0498) called `Double Dares are Sometimes Different` demonstrates the mixture of distinctive original material and unusual arrangements of standards which is the band's hallmark.

Ben Davis (cello) played solo for Radio 3 at the Wapping Project; toured with Julian Joseph, Django Bates and the Mike Westbrook Orchestra, Mervyn Africa, Claire Martin and Steve Buckley and played classically with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the Dufay Collective and recorded with D-Influence, Christine Tobin and Huw Warren.

Tim Wells (bass) kicked off his career in the USA with the Sam Rivers and David Friedman quartets; moving to Cologne, he played with the WDR Big Band and Stefan Bauer. He was then drawn to London by the free jazz scene, where he joined the Jon Lloyd Quartet and John Law Trio.

Sebastian Rochford (drums/percussion) is a leader and writer, making an impact with his band Polar Bears. One of the leading young players on any instrument, his individual and adaptable playing can be heard with musicians as diverse as Stan Tracey, Perico Sambeat, Bruce Barth and Mike Westbrook.

Album: Double Dares Are Sometimes Different
Ben Davis Group featuring Chris Biscoe
FMR Records: FMR CD 48-E0498