Pizza Express Steinway Two Piano Festival 2011 Held April 14-17

Following the immense success of the previous two festivals of jazz piano duos, which began in 2009 to celebrate the arrival of a new Steinway to Dean St and the launch of an ongoing relationship with Steinway, a stellar lineup of UK and international giants of jazz piano come to Dean St over four days to perform on 2 Steinways. Among the roster UK stars Gwilym Simcock, Tom Cawley and Kit Downes return and International Artists Yaron Herman Makoto Kuriya and Christoph Steifel will make their inaugural festival appearances. Expect diverse and electric collaborations from multi generations artists representing a wide range of styles.

The Pizza Express Steinway Two Piano Festival 2011
Thursday 14th - Sunday 17th April 2011

PIZZA EXPRESS DEAN ST JAZZ CLUB
10 DEAN ST
LONDON W1D 3RW
BOOKINGS: 08456 027 017 | www.pizzaexpresslive.com

Thursday 14th April 2011
£17.50
Doors 7pm | Show 8:30pm
Paola Vera & Andrea Vicari / Tim Lapthorn & Ross Stanley / Nikki Iles & Kate Williams / Makoto Kuriya & Peter Sarik

Friday 15th April 2011
£25
Doors 7:30pm | Show 9pm
Dave Newton & Robin Aspland / Ian Shaw & Janette Mason

Saturday 16th April 2011.
£25 (double show).
1st show: Doors 6pm | show @ 7:30pm.
2nd show: Doors 10pm | show at 10:30pm.
Gwilym Simcock & Christoph Stiefel / Yaron Herman & Tom Cawley

Sunday 17th April 2011.
£17.50
Doors 6:30pm | Show 8pm
John Turville & John Crawford / Kit Downes & Matt Bourne / Richard Fairhurst & Sam Leak

ARTIST INFORMATION

Thursday 14th April 2011. £17.50 Doors @ 7pm. Show @ 8:30pm
Paola Bottomley & Andrea Vicari / Tim Lapthorn & Ross Stanley / Nikki Iles & Kate Williams / Makoto Kuriya & Peter Sarik

Singer/songwriter/pianist Paola Vera, of Venezuelan/British descent has been described as, "a jazz chick with hits." Disarming in her intimacy, her soul-stirring performances won her the 2006 Yamaha Outstanding Young Jazz Musician's Award (in association with
Jazzwise).

Andrea Vicari was born in Miami Florida and educated at The Guildhall School of Music in London where she formed her first important group with Julian Arguelles & Stuart Hall on Bass. Andrea is also regarded as one ofEurope's most sought after educators. She currently holds the position of Professor of Jazz piano and Senior Lecturer at Trinity College of Music

Tim Lapthorn was born in Newmarket 1976 and raised in Cambridge. Since graduating Tim has lived and worked in London as a performer, composer and teacher. He leads his own trio with Arnie Somogyi and Stephen Keogh and also plays piano in groups led by, amongst others, singer Ian Shaw, bassist Arnie Somogyi (Ambulance featuring Eddie Henderson), saxophonist Frank Griffith and, BBC Jazz Award Nominee, singer Polly Gibbons. Tim's many influences include Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Stevie Wonder.

Ross Stanley has worked with jazz names such as Liane Carroll, Dennis Rollins, Guy Barker, Ian Shaw, Stan Sulzman, Bobby Wellins and Steve Arguelles, as well as being a regular member of the Jim Mullen Organ Trio and performing in many small and large ensembles.

Over the last few years Bedfordshire born Nikki Iles has progressed into the front rank of British jazz musicians. She joined former husband Richard Iles' group Emanon. Iles won the 1996 John Dankworth Special Award at the BT Jazz Festival.

Jazz pianist/composer Kate Williams was born in London into a musical family (her father is the guitarist John Williams, her mother a classical pianist). A recipient of the John Dankworth Award For Talent Deserving Wider Recognition, she has gained a distinctive reputation as both a writer and performer.

Japanese born Makoto Kuriya toured with Grammy winning Chuck Mangione in the late 80's.Since 2001, Kuriya has been writing and producing songs for best selling pop artist, Ken Hirai. In 2004, Kuriya performed with his own group and with Herbie Hancock at "Tokyo Jazz", the largest jazz festival in Japan, and in Paris for the "International Music Day" organised by UNESCO, with such greats as Billy Cobham, John Faddis ,and Jonny Griffin.

Peter Sarik has proven himself as an acknowledged composer as well, having participated in highly prestigious American and British songwriting competitions with huge success. In 2008, his composition "I'll Catch You" has got the 3rd place in the jazz category and also the 3rd place in the "Peoples voice" category.

Friday 15th April 2011. £25 Doors @ 7:30pm. Show @ 9pm
Dave Newton & Robin Aspland / Ian Shaw & Janette Mason

Dave Newton has been voted best Jazz Pianist in the British Jazz awards for the eighth time in 2008 and was made a Fellow of Leeds College of Music in 2003. Currently, with the release of a new CD called "Portrait of a Woman", on the 'Brightnewday' label, David Newton is relishing the musical freedom of his Trio and the special sound it makes whilst working on two other new recording projects, as an arranger and a composer.

Robin Aspland has broadcast on Jazz Line-Up as pianist with the BBC Big Band and as pianist with Martin Drew's New Couriers. Robin's credentials include George Coleman, Steve Grossman, Bobby Watson, Eddie Henderson, Arturo Sandoval, as well as Van Morrison.

BBC award winning jazz vocalist, Ian Shaw met the vaunted pianist/composer, Janette Mason, while they were playing piano in Spain in their early twenties. Janette went on to be the MD on The Jonathan Ross Show, playing in Oasis on the way, whilst establishing herself as one of the most original pianists of her generation with her recent album, "Alien Left Hand" rated in The Guardian top ten jazz albums of 2009. They have worked together in many situations over the years and Mason co-arranged and played on Shaw's 2006 recording, "Drawn To All Things, The Songs Of Joni Mitchell".

Saturday 16th April 2011. £25 (double show). 1st show Doors @ 6pm and show @ 7:30pm. 2nd show Doors @ 10pm and show at 10:30pm.
Gwilym Simcock & Christoph Stiefel / Yaron Herman & Tom Cawley

Multi-award winning pianist Gwilym Simcock joins forces with Swiss pianist Christoph Stiefel in an exciting, untried partnership.

A prolific European recording artist since the 80's, Christoph Stiefel has worked with artists such as Peter Erskine, Ernie Watts, Charlie Mariano and Jeff Hirshfield. From early influences of funk and fusion, his recent work infuses electronics into his highly individual
music.

"Christoph Stiefel has made a tremendous impression and marked himself out as one of the most interesting voices on the contemporary jazz scene". Allaboutjazz.com

Pianist Gwilym Simcock is one of the most gifted performers and imaginative composers working on the British scene. Able to move effortlessly through jazz and classical he can at times inhabit both worlds. His music is engaging, exciting, often unexpected, melodically enthralling, complex and wonderfully optimistic. Gwilym is a BBC Radio 3 Jazz Award winner and first ever BBC Radio 3 New Generations Jazz Artist.

Multi award winning Tel Aviv born Yaron Herman performs an impressive schedule of concerts across the world playing more than 100 concerts a year in more than 30 countries.

Tom Cawley has been performing and recording with the country's most successful and groundbreaking jazz artists for the last ten years. Since winning the Young Jazz Musician of the Year award in 1998 he has played all over the world and led bands in residencies at the Blue Note club (New York) and Ronnie Scott's (London).

Sunday 17th April 2011. £17.50 Doors @ 6:30pm. Show @ 8pm
John Turville & John Crawford / Kit Downes & Matt Bourne / Richard Fairhurst & Sam Leak

John Crawford is one of the busiest and most established Latin and jazz pianists in the UK. He has performed at the Montreal, North Sea and Getxo Jazz Festivals, as well as countless UK jazz venues with many legends of the Latin and jazz world, including Airto Moreira, Luis Felipe Gonzalez, and UK based artists Snowboy, Guida da Palma and Roberto Pla, Tony Kofi and Jason Yarde. He has also worked with a wide range of artists from the pop world such as Bjork and Lewis Taylor.

John Turville is one of most versatile and prolific pianists and composers on the London scene. Finalist in the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition 2010, and winner of the London jazz instrumentalist award 2010 and Promoters Choice Award 2009, he has toured throughout the UK and Europe with Tim Garland's Acoustic Triangle and The Lighthouse Trio, Gilad Atzmon's Orient House Ensemble and numerous tango groups, and leads his own trio, which have recently recorded their second CD.

UK jazz stars Kit Downes and Matthew Bourne combine for the first time to do something new and interesting with the two fantastic instruments. Both share a love of the lyricism of Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett, but also the composition of John Zorn and the energy of Keith Tippet, and these different possibilities and references will be explored in their joint set.

Richard Fairhurst and Sam Leak approach the piano duo as a vehicle for both composition and improvisation, and aim in doing so to explore fully yet naturally the range of timbres and textures available from two pianos. Sometimes dense, sometimes eerily spacious, the two pianists are able to exploit the full and exciting range of expression available within the format without ever losing sight of the cohesive and integrated compositional whole. Influences range from the Americana of Samuel Barber's piano music to the idiosyncratic composing of maverick pianist and composer Django Bates. Leak and Fairhurst are a powerful two piano unit who are surely and rapidly gaining the attention of the UK jazz scene.

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