CHICAGO X LONDON
Photos by Ash Knotek.
Ben LaMar Gay on bells, leading his quartet featuring (L>R) Tommaso Moretti, Matthew Davis, and Edinho Gerber.
Barbican Centre
10th November 2022
Still hard to believe this actually happened: Serious / EFG London Jazz Festival invited us to present a label night at the legendary Barbican in London, on what happened to be (more or less) the 5 year anniversary of our original, unforgettable CHICAGOxLONDON showcase at Total Refreshment Centre.
It was quite a momentous affair... not to mention SOLD OUT, almost 2000 strong in the house for performances by Jeff Parker, Ben LaMar Gay, Angel Bat Dawid (leading a special one-time ensemble with drummer Asher Gamedze, saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi, and tubaist Theon Cross), and Alabaster DePlume leading a very large group, before he lead an all-hands encore sing-a-long to jaimie branchβs βlove song.β Here are some select moments...
Alabaster the orator, repping the FLY or DIE tee.
MC Tina Edwards finds the spotlight, introduces Jeff Parker.
Ben and Angel hug at the end of the show. Saturday Night Live style.
Angel Bat Dawid kept the CHICAGOxLONDON interchange vibe alive, inviting British jazz giants Cassie Kinoshi and Theon Cross to join her performance, along with the South African drummer Asher Gamedze (who was fortuitously around and available for this gig).
Gang performance of jaimie branchβs βlove songβ for the encore, with (L>R) Donna Thompson, Angel Bat Dawid, Momoko Gill, Matthew Davis, Rosetta Carr, Asher Gamedze, Theon Cross, Dan Nicholls, Ben LaMar Gay, John Ellis, Jeff Parker, Mikey Kenny, Cassie Kinoshi, Conrad Singh, and Alabaster DePlume.
JP played first, but being the OG/legend that he is, weβd say he simultaneously opened/ headlined the show. His gorgeous solo guitar atmospheres brought the whole large theater Ben and Angel hug at the end of the show, into a trance state.
Tracing The Lines is a creative exploration of International Anthem Recording Co. and the community that surrounds it.
Issue #2
The 72-page 170x250mm newsprint zine, printed in the UK on 70gsm stock, was edited by David Brown and designed by Jeremiah Chiu with contributions from:
Alabaster DePlume, Alejandro Ayala, AndrΓ© 3000, Ariana Lebedev, Ash Knotek, Ayana Contreras, and more!