May Inoue & Friends - Concert presented by Yokohama Calling

Join us for this very special debut UK concert for an evening of exceptional music making and cross-cultural collaboration.

Featuring
from Japan:
May Inoue (guitars)
from UK:
Jason Rebello (keyboards)
Jay Phelps (trumpet)
Alex Davis (bass)
Kaz Rodriguez (drums)

May Inoue & Friends – Exciting Japanese guitar star, May Inoue, will be performing music from his three successful albums in this specially created group which includes several high profile UK bandleaders. This is sure to be a highly creative collaboration.

May is very much the jazz musician of the moment in Japan and is very popular among young and older listeners. May’s compositions are a contemporary take on jazz from Japan and beyond imbued with his unique sound that deliver vibrant, catchy and fresh music. May’s skill will dazzle and will bring to mind great players such as Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheney and Kurt Rosenwinkel.

Joining May will be a giant of the UK jazz scene, pianist Jason Rebello who will also contribute compositions. In-demand trumpeter, Jay Phelps and bassist Alex Davis bring great quality to the programme and influential drum sensation, Kaz Rodriquez completes this stellar group.

About the musicians:
At just 27 years old, Japanese guitar sensation, May Inoue already has three solo albums to his name and has recorded alongside Kazumi Watanabe, and played live with Kurt Rosenwinkel. He is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee Music College in the US and has earned various accolades in Japan, not least “Album of the Year” in 2011 for his debut EMI record, “First Train”.

Jason Rebello was classically trained at the Guildhall School of Music in London. He emerged as a jazz pianist influenced by McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. His first solo album, ‘A Clearer View’ was produced by Wayne Shorter. Jason teaches music at his alma mater, Guildhall School of Music and Bath Spa University. Aside from his solo projects, Jason has been a long term member of Sting’s group and more recently, the Jeff Beck group.

Jay Phelps originally from Vancouver, Canada, is an extremely busy trumpeter on the London jazz scene as an enabler as much as a player and bandleader. Jay was a founding member of the prizewinning British post-bop group, Empirical. Two solo albums feature among many other group recordings. Jay has shared stages with global Jazz names such as Courtney Pine, George Benson, Wynton Marsalis, Hugh Masekela and many more.

Kaz Rodriguez is an internationally renowned drummer, composer and clinician, regularly giving drumming masterclasses. Kaz has toured with Jessie Ware, Disciples and more recently, Josh Groban. Kaz’s compositions are some of the most covered on youtube and instagram, often by drumming superstars such as Tony Royster Jr and Aaron Spears.

Alex Davis is one of the hardest working bass players on the UK jazz scene. Alex divides his time in and around London, where he plays regularly with Jason Marsalis, Rebecca Ferguson, Mica Paris, Kansas Smitty’s, Jason Rebello and Zhenya Strigalev. Alex is also a musical director and arranger and also leads workshops and classes for leading jazz education company, Tomorrow’s Warriors.

Yokohama Calling is a producer presenting high-quality Japanese artists in unique cross-cultural events. Our mission is to promote cross-cultural understanding through the universal power of music and arts. Yokohama Calling is a not-for-profit organisation.



Tickets: £15 (Concessions £12)
http://thecockpit.org.uk/show/may_inoue_and_friends_yokohama_calling