ZOE RAHMAN TRIO with special guest IDRIS RAHMAN

Tickets £8, Doors 7pm, Performance 8pm

Zoë Rahman Trio

Zoë Rahman - piano

Oli Hayhurst - bass

Gene Calderazzo - drums

plus special guest

Idris Rahman - clarinet

“…a musician of powerful technique, group sympathy and compositional skill…Her group’s collective expressiveness was consistently absorbing” The Guardian

Zoë Rahman, one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene, has just released her new “Live” album, featuring her trio, Gene Calderazzo on drums and Oli Hayhurst on bass with a guest appearance by her brother, Idris Rahman.

Described in The Observer as “a remarkable pianist by any standard”, Zoë Rahman has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars on the contemporary jazz scene. A vibrant and highly individual pianist/composer, her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her very broad musical taste. Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, she has become a highly sought-after musician.

Born in Chichester, UK, to a Bengali father and English mother, Zoë studied classical piano at the Royal Academy of Music, took a music degree at Oxford University and then won a scholarship to study jazz performance at Berklee College of Music, Boston, where she studied with the inspirational pianist JoAnne Brackeen.

After winning the ‘Perrier Young Jazz Musician of the Year’ Award in 1999, she set up her own record label, Manushi Records, in 2000 and released her debut album, The Cynic, which led to her ‘Rising Star’ nomination at the 2001 BBC Jazz Awards.

Her second album, Melting Pot, was nominated in 2006 for one of the UK’s most prestigious music awards, the Nationwide Mercury Prize, alongside the likes of Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Arctic Monkeys and Muse, and it also won ‘Jazz Album of the Year’ at the UK’s first Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

Since then, she has recorded two more critically acclaimed albums. Live showcases her superb trio, American drummer Gene Calderazzo and British bass player Oli Hayhurst, as well as featuring the hauntingly beautiful playing of her brother, clarinetist Idris Rahman. Described in The Guardian as a “terrific session” the album captures, in the words of jazz reviewer Chris Parker, “all the punch, pith and sheer verve of the Rahman live act.”

Her fourth album, Where Rivers Meet, is a stunning collaboration with her brother Idris, exploring music from their Bengali heritage. Originally they toured this project in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as a duo but for the album they teamed up with Zoë’s trio as well as Dhaka-based vocal stars Arnob and Gaurob, violinist Samy Bishai and percussionist Kuljit Bhamra to produce….

“a wholly original brand of Anglo-Asian music” Sunday Times