Bill Laurance: Presented By Music Network

Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin St.

Sat 24th Oct, 2:30 pm

Experience

the electrifying sound world of Grammy-winning pianist and composer Bill

Laurance.  This

October, Music Network presents one of the most inventive voices in

contemporary jazz. A founding member of five-time Grammy Award-winning group

Snarky Puppy, Bill has wowed audiences around the globe with his genre-defying

performances and compositions.  Laurance’s

music blends jazz, classical, electronica and groove to create something

entirely his own. His latest album Lumen, hailed by Jazzwise for

its “distinct and engaging melodies” and “rich, layered arrangements”, marks

his most personal and expressive work to date.  A master

collaborator, Laurance has performed with a stellar roster of artists including

David Crosby, Salif Keita, Morcheeba, Terence

Blanchard, Laura Mvula and Jacob Collier, and has composed for major dance

companies such as Alvin Ailey and English National Ballet.  Join us for

an unforgettable performance of dazzling virtuosity, soulful improvisation and

boundless creativity from one of the most compelling pianists of his

generation.  

Bill Laurance?piano  About the Musician As

an original member of 5-time Grammy Award-winning group Snarky Puppy, Bill Laurance

has played to tens of thousands of fans worldwide. His solo work is much

admired for its imaginative and improvisational nature, often evoking a

striking sense of time and place. Laurance’s latest release Lumen,

considered to be his most personal album to date, is wowing fans and music

critics alike with Jazzwise praising its “distinct and

engaging” melodies and “rich and layered arrangements”. Attending the University of Leeds, Laurance majored in classical composition,

exploring jazz, funk and drum’n’bass in addition to classical music. Since

then, he has honed the melodic immediacy of this approach, along with his

intense improvisational prowess, forging a distinctive personal style that

embraces English classical, electronica and jazz-rock sensibilities, alongside

gritty contemporary grooves. In the early-noughties, a twenty-something Laurance was trying to make a living

on the Leeds music scene when an unremarkable but timely pick-up concert

presented itself with a young?Michael League?in singer?Michael Solomon

Williams’?band. Following a series of successful performances in the north of

England, Laurance forged a friendship with League who happened to be looking for

a new piano player. League invited Laurance to the US to record the first

Snarky Puppy album?The Only Constant and the rest, as they say, is

history. Laurance has performed with such renowned artists as?David

Crosby,?Morcheeba,?Salif Keita,?Terence Blanchard,?Susana Baca,?Lalah

Hathaway,?Laura Mvula,?Jacob Collier,?Musiq Soul Child,?Khalid Sansi,?Chris

Potter,?Lionel Loueke,?Carlos Malta,?The Metropole Orchestra?and the?WDR Big

Band. He has also worked extensively in the dance world with Alvin Ailey,?Ballet

Rambert,?Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures,?Phoenix

Dance,?Northern Ballet Theatre?and English National Ballet. Alongside touring as a solo artist and with Snarky Puppy, Laurance is the Artist

in Residence at Morley College London. He is a passionate educator and

continues to guide the next generation of artists at music institutions all

over the world.