"A big band for modern times"  Jamie Cullum

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‘Energetic, hard-rocking big band ride again’

★★★★ The Guardian

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Beats & Pieces are a band that happens to be big, rather than your average ‘big band’, refreshing the very idea of a big band - one of the most original and vibrant ensembles of its type.

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Led by composer and conductor Ben Cottrell, they’re an extremely tightknit bunch, growing up and developing musically individually and collectively within the Manchester’s exciting scene and they to occupy a very special place in today’s UK jazz scene, enthusing audiences throughout Europe amidst a succession of awards and critical acclaim. 

 

First playing together as Beats & Pieces in 2008, today these 14 musicians know each other inside out socially and musically, and this familiarity is part of what sets them aside from a lot of other big bands today. Feeling at home on stages in small clubs as well as at big festivals, they are gearing up for their tenth anniversary and a new album in 2018 with a European tour this November.

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Their music is an expression of the band’s members and their varied musical backgrounds and activities, all brought together in Ben Cottrell’s inspired writing. His compositions reflect the diversity of music that people of their generation have grown up surrounded by, and as such are influenced as much by Michael Jackson, Björk or Radiohead as they are by Duke Ellington, Gil Evans or Loose Tubes.

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