This year I've hugely enjoyed playing John law's compositions with Renaissance. His pieces are based on the source material from the 15th and 16th centuries, and the harmonic textures created by Jasper Law gave us such a beautiful base over which to play... really creative and transportive. Each concert was immensely enjoyable and always different and fresh. Patrick Dunn's visuals were immaculate and to be honest I can't wait to play this project again.
I'm working on pieces for a new quartet featuring John again. It's been a while since we toured a quartet together and I've got a great feeling for this new music. Hopefully keeping the harmonic complexity John unravels wherever he goes, but basing this on fairly simple, direct melodic material. I'm moving further away from dissonance, looking towards European contemporary jazz for more and more of the settings of my pieces. Older and less aggressive perhaps? Well why not... the duo recording with Stan Adler set me firmly on the road back to melody. I miss Stan massively, and the new album when it comes will be dedicated to this unique musician.