Don Weller broke the boudaries of jazz fusion back in the 70's with his now legendary band Major Surgery. This new augmented band brings the music up to date with a line up of great soloists put together to play Don's amazingly original compositions.
"Jazz fusion as you've never heard it"
DON WELLER - Sax
Don Weller is widely accepted as one of Britains leading saxophone players three times winner of the Best Tenor Saxophone award in recent years he is one of those rare creative artists who have a stamp of originality in everything they do. He plays with great authority and a boundless supply of feeling and energy. No college jazz course could teach what Don does. He has his own expressive language that cuts straight through to the essence of what great jazz has always been, a direct communication to the emotions.
Jack Massarik of The London Evening Standard wrote
" He imitates nobody yet swings as hard and plays as soulfully, inventively and, if necessary, as devastatingly
fast as any American icon could."
Dons writing career has developed alongside his tenor saxophone playing for over forty years. It began 45 years ago when at the age of 18 he wrote and arranged a piece for the Croydon Jazz Orchestra. His band "Major Surgery" played exclusively Don Weller compositions for ten years during the nineteen seventies. He has since then composed for all the regular quartets with which he has worked and has built up a large catalogue of works some of which have been recorded by other artists. He has worked on film scores such as "Absoloute Beginners" and "Stormy Monday" in which he was involved both as a player and composer.
In 1995 he put together the Don Weller Big Band which was originally formed to play the Pennine Suite - a series of six linked pieces, specially commissioned by and premiered at the Appleby Festival. Since then the band has toured toured regularly and recorded and its line up can be read as a who's who of British jazz greats including artists such as Peter King, Art Themen, Alan Barnes and Dave Newton.
(More About Don Weller)CHRIS BISCOE - Saxes
Versatile reeds player in every genre from modern fusion & free jazz, Has been with Mike Westbrook since 1979. Has also toured & recorded with George Russell, Andy Sheppard, Grand Union, Chris McGregor, Didier Levallet, Harry Beckett, Full Monte & toured with Hermeto Pascoal & the New York Composers' Orchestra.
JOHN DONALDSON - Keyboards
Lived in California from 1982-1993. Played there with John Handy, Eddie Henderson, Richie Cole, Red Holloway to name a few. Since returning to London has worked with: Iain Ballamy, Norma Winstone, Don Weller, Dick Pearce, Clark Tracey. Also backed Americans including Freddie Hubbard, Art Farmer, Jon Gordon, Ken Peplowski, Buddy De Franco, Ingrid Jensen. Leads own trio & quartet. "Donaldson's creativity seems drawn from some bottomless mantic vault. He could play in any Jazz organisation on the Planet"
(John Detro - Jazz Tirnes)
STEVE WATERMAN - Trumpet
Steve has worked on many projects with musicians such as John Surman, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Mal Waldron, Graham Collier, Mike Garrick, Tony Coe, Colin Towns, Don Weller, John Warren, Robin Jones and many others. He has recorded two CDs under his own name: 'Destination Unknown' and 'Out of Touch', both featuring his original compositions. He has guested with big bands featuring many of his compositions and has recently been commissioned to write for the Berkshire Youth Jazz Orchestra, George Haslam's 'Meltdown' and Robin Jones 'King Salsa'. Teaches jazz trumpet at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music. Co-author with John O'Neil of "The Jazz Method for Trumpet" published by Schott and CO. Teaches on numerous workshops and courses run by Wavendon, Dorothy Cooper and Mike Garrick.
ADRIAN FRY - Trombone
Born in 1969, He has been working as a professional jazz trombonist for the past fourteen years. Now living in London, He performs mostly in small jazz ensembles and big bands but also work in recording studios. He is a composer and arranger, having written for a variety of ensembles, large and small. In addition to leading The Adrian Fry Quartet, He works regularly with On The Corner (with Ed Jones & Dick Heckstall Smith)) , Willie Garnett Big Band, Keith Martin Big Band, Sound of Seventeen Big Band, The Jazz Terrorists (jazz-funk) and The Andy Dickens Band .
STUART McCALLUM - Electric Guitar
Stuart McCallum is a 25-year-old guitarist based in Manchester, England. His intense focus, phenomenal improvising and restless creativity have not gone unnoticed in the UK where he is rapidly becoming recognised as one of the finest and most original guitarists to emerge in recent times. He has played and recorded with British jazz stars such as John Surman and Don Weller, as well as musicians from bands such as Texas, Jamiroquai, Simply Red, Brand New Heavies, Morcheeba, Dust Junkies, Lighthouse Family, Bryan Ferry, Lamb and LTJ Bukem. Recently, he has supported American singer Carmen Lundy at Ronnie Scott's, London, as a member of the Geoff Gascoyne Quartet.
PATRICK ZAMBONIN - Electric Bass
Patrick has performed and recorded with: Dele Sosimi, Robin Jones, Andy Gangadeen (Incognito). Appeared on Italian and Turkish TV. He graduated from the American Institute of Music in Vienna in 1995. Subsequently he has played and recorded with various funk and fusion projects (including his own trio) in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Italy and toured Turkey with Selen Gülün (Jazz Originals). In 1997, Patrick studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, under Oscar Stagnaro - one of the world's leading Latin bass players.
ADAM RILEY - Drums.
Integral part of Robin Jones King Salsa and Latin Jazz sextet, writing contributions. Worked with Tanita Tikeram, Pucho and the Latin Soul Brothers, Cubana Bop, Azul, Motimba