Atlanticus Quartet ft US saxophonist Peter Fraize
Details
TIME: 8.00 – 11.00PM
TICKETS: £10
Personnel
Terry Seabrook – organ
Peter Fraize – sax
Jack Kendon – trumpet
Milo Fell – drums
Jazz Across the “Pond”
ATLANTICUS is a unique British-American musical partnership bringing together two powerfully distinct musical personalities, US saxophonist Peter Fraize and UK organist Terry Seabrook, to explore their common interest in the rich transatlantic heritage of jazz.
Steeped in Tradition, Looking Forward
ATLANTICUS draws from the storied tradition of the great Hammond organ groups, with a postmodern sound echoing the ground-breaking organ quartet of Larry Young’s Unity album. The music is mostly original, spanning a stylistic spectrum from the hard bop blowout of the album’s title track ‘Blue Haven’, the modal explorations of ‘That’s What’, the odd-metered boogaloo of ‘Swank’, and the Afro-Cuban reimagining of the Bobby Timmons classic ‘Moanin’’.
Instant Connection, Dynamic Performances
Peter and Terry were introduced through a mutual friend and first teamed up for a short UK tour in 2016, recruiting Brighton heavyweights trumpeter Jack Kendon and drummer Milo Fell to round out the lineup. From the very first gig, their immediate and natural musical rapport sealed the transatlantic bonds for what has now become ATLANTICUS. The band delivered exciting highenergy performances to delighted crowds, culminating in a head-turning performance at the Love Supreme festival. Building on that success, the quartet convened once again in the summer of 2018 for a 25-date, month-long tour of the southern UK, playing clubs and festivals from London to Wales.
Debut Album, Touring Ahead
By the end of their 2018 tour, the band knew it was imperative to go in the studio and document theirremarkable chemistry. The result is Blue Haven,featuring nine original compositions by Peter and Terry along with invigorating arrangements of two classic standards. The entire album was recorded in a single day, capturing all the vibe, excitement and groove of the group’s live performances that UK fans have known about since 2016. The band is looking forward to touring in support of the release of this dynamic new recording in the summer of 2022.
Hear some samples here
Terry started with the violin before switching to piano so that he could explore the music of Elton John and later Keith Emerson (ELP) alongside that of Bach and Mozart, but then got sidetracked into jazz after watching a mesmerizing TV show with Oscar Peterson. After studying music at Sussex Uni with a year at Eastman School of Music (USA) he bought a Fender Rhodes piano for a weekly jazz gig in Brighton, but with no car he used an old pram frame to wheel it down to the pub and back every week.
Terryy formed a jazz funk band called Hipnosis but soon discovered Latin Jazz and created a group called Cubana Bop which toured and recorded 3 albums over 20 years. He also had a big break in the 80’s touring Europe with US Jazz singer Joe Lee Wilson. More recent projects included Milestones playing the music of Miles Davis (but sadly not with him) and a fusion organ trio, Triversion. The organ was also the instrument of choice for ATLANTICUS, the new musical partnership with American Peter Fraize.
Peter was instantly drawn to the saxophone because it was simply the coolest looking instrument in the school band brochure. Then and still a fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, his future career path was set upon hearing a Michael Brecker solo on a Blue Öyster Cult album. He formed his first band at age 16, playing gigs in the Washington, DC area where he grew up. After attending the New England Conservatory for two years, he went on to study at the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands, where he found the stylistic freedom he craved.
Since returning to the US, Peter has been a fixture on the Washington, DC scene for over 30 years, where he is known for his impassioned, high-energy playing, intricate and melodic composing, and his “no-boundaries”
sensibility. His music draws from deep within the jazz tradition, exploratory free improvisation, modern rock and
pop, and music from around the world. He is also familiar to international audiences through concert appearances in Peru, Japan, and Europe, most recently touring the UK with ATLANTICUS.
Jack followed his father, top jazz bassist Adrian Kendon, into the family business and has himself become a prominent force on the UK jazz scene. In addition to sold-out shows at Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express, and The Verdict, Jack has performed at the prestigious venues Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall, and regularly plays at international jazz festivals such as Love Supreme, Soundcrash, and the Bahrain Jazz Festival.
Jack’s first album release was There Will be Time with noted UK jazz vocalist Imogen Ryan. In 2021 he recorded an album with his father which highlights the elder Kendon’s life work and involves past pupils who studied under him, showcasing some of the brightest voices on the UK jazz scene today. Jack has seen all four corners of the world playing jazz on Disney cruises and recently joined the Brighton-based jazz/funk/gospel fusion power band HOWES3.
Jack is a founder of New Generation Jazz and also works as a promoter, helping to create the new Brighton Jazz Festival with Terry Seabrook in 2021.
Inspired by Ringo Starr, Animal from the Muppets, and his cousin Daniel, Milo was keen to play the drums from an early age. Unfortunately, his parents weren’t, and forced him to have piano lessons for several years, until he broke his arm falling down the stairs trying to get away from a particularly sadistic piano teacher. After eventually getting his first kit from his grandmother, Milo became interested in Jazz at age 13, after seeing Omar Hakim play with Weather Report at the Glastonbury Festival 1984.
Milo did his first gigs while he was at Manchester University studying Molecular Biology, becoming a fixture of the Mancunian jazz scene for the next decade, before returning to his native London after being invited to play a week at Ronnie Scott’s by saxophonist Tim Whitehead. Many gigs followed with lots of different people in lots of places, many of them in and around Brighton since 2013, when Milo moved there with his family and dog, Candy.