Release date (CD & digital): Friday 3 November 2023
Wednesday 8 November 2023 Launch concert at The Pheasantry, London
Neoteric Ensemble is an innovative, new sextet founded by trumpeter Toby Street and tuba player Adrian Miotti, featuring some of the UK’s leading musicians – Rob Buckland on saxophone, Sarah Field on saxophone and trumpet, James Fountain on trumpet and Richard Watkin on trombone.
The group’s debut album, Neoteric Ensemble Volume 1, presents a collection of recently commissioned pieces by renowned contemporary composers including Charlotte Harding, Dan Jenkins, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Mark Nightingale and Andy Panayi. The music fuses jazz and classical music, via Latin American grooves and African rhythms. “Our rules are simple,” explains Miotti. “We seek out and perform the most contemporary compositions that inspire both us and our audiences.”
The album begins with Buckland’s piece ‘Soundscapes’ which was originally part of a set of ten duets for two saxophones. The three movements ‘Mojito’, ‘Fjord’ and ‘Bosh’ have been re-orchestrated for the ensemble. ‘Pandemic’, by Panayi, describes the pandemic through four separate movements – ‘Huanan Market’, ‘The Traveller is Named’, ‘The Traveller Goes Forth’ and ‘Lockdown Release’. Also inspired by the “never ending feeling of being stuck at home during lockdown”, Mullov-Abbado’s ‘The Effra Parade’ draws on African harmonies as well as jazz. Harding wrote ‘Neo’ for Neoteric Ensemble, moved by their fresh approach to classical and jazz fusion. Street’s ‘Karatina Market’ echoes the bustling street markets in Kenya and Afro-jazz. Nightingale composed ‘Arriba’ for the ensemble. Influenced by Latin American music, the track conjures up the sound of the carnival. ‘Bach in Barbados’ was written specifically for Neoteric Ensemble. “I was flattered when Adrian Miotti asked me to write for his new group, Neoteric,” says Jenkins. “The possibilities with this ensemble were novel, hugely varied and very appealing.”
