Whirlwind Recordings Showcase featuring Andre Canniere, Zhenya Strigalev, Tori Freestone

Dubbed the "new label of the moment" (BBC Radio 2) Whirlwind Recordings was established in 2010 by US expat bass player/composer and producer Michael Janisch, who initially created the label to record and promote his debut solo album Purpose Built. Since then the label has grown considerably, releasing an eclectic catalogue of adventurous music that spans genres but with an emphasis on improvisation, with artists on the label ranging from established masters to undiscovered stars in the making. Tonight will be the third in a series of monthly "showcases" of artists featured on the label, including the appearance of "Special Guests" from the UK and beyond. Curated by Michael (a very old friend of the Club) this promises to be an exciting and unique opportunity to hear some of the finest musicians working in the UK in a mix of established and more informal musical settings. And to add a little "spice" to the proceedings there will also be an "invite only" jam session (we love jam sessions!) as part of the second set. Tonight Michael has put together an international band that features not only himself on bass (he is widely considered to be one of the best bass players around), but also the wonderful Russian-born saxophonist Zhenya Strigalev, the distinctive US-born trumpeter Andre Canniere and the excellent UK-born saxophonist Tori Freestone. A native of St Petersburg, Zhenya won a full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating in 2007. Since then, in his relatively short career, he has already produced four solo albums, the most recent of which, ‘Smiling Organizm: Robin Goodie’, released on Whirlwind, brings together musicians from both sides of the Atlantic. Zhenya's searing, fluent and incisive playing has been featured with numerous high profile bands in the UK. US-born Andre Canniere has been resident in London since 2008. An acclaimed trumpet player, composer and educator, Andre has toured widely throughout the United States and Europe with performances at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Birdland, the London Jazz Festival, The Hague Jazz Festival and the Rochester International Jazz Festival. One of the most respected trumpet players on the UK improv scene his second album on Whirlwind, "Coalescence", has been received with universal acclaim. Tori Freestone is a gifted musician, who can be counted as a major player on the UK jazz scene. She has collaborated with the likes of NYJO, the Creative Jazz Orchestra and Andy Sheppard, has performed at the National Theatre, the Vortex, Ronnie Scott’s, Glastonbury and the ‘Big Chill’ as well as premier jazz festivals such as London, Cork, Jersey, Cheltenham, Brecon, Manchester and Haskovo Jazz. And if all that wasn’t enough, she also lectures at Middlesex University and Leeds College of Music. Her album "In the Chop House", released on Whirlwind, received 4/5 stars in the Guardian, which describing it as an "imposingly original sound". It is with great pleasure that we welcome these musicians as part of this Whirlwind evening and to complete the lineup will be one of the UK's finest drummers, James Maddren. The music promises to be of the highest calibre and watch out for some Special Guests joining the musicians for the late set jam.

“Whirlwind has established itself, in a remarkably short time, as a natural home for music of power and quality.” LondonJazzNews;

"Strigalev...fast and furious, tender and emotional and a whole lot of fun too" Jazzwise;

"[Canniere]...one of the most compelling artists on the current London jazz scene" The Scotsman;

"Freestone...fluent with subtle phrases, and delicate asides....captivatingly understated and original" LondonJazzNews