Led Bib

Led Bib Safari

Bio:

One of the original torch bearers for the revitalized young British jazz scene, Led Bib release their 5th album on Cuneiform Records in February 2011.

The band’s previous release, Sensible Shoes' was nominated for the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize and described as a modern classic by the press: “a hands-down triumph” said The Independent, “…a gale of fresh air” wrote The Guardian and the group were described as “the group bring jazz back to contemporary music's cutting edge" by The Sun.

Relentlessly dodging definition, Led Bib are both a maverick jazz band and an unlikely rock quintet. Taking their name from a protective garment used on patients during dental treatment, this Walthamstow based five-piece of twenty-somethings pride themselves on side- stepping convention, with incendiary results. The friends, who can usually be found in one another’s homes drinking tea and discussing the merits of biscuit types, have together torn apart the jazz world with their avant-jazz-euphoric-rock explosions of improvisation. And whilst fun may not be something which often comes to mind in relation to jazz, it’s the addition of this playfulness that has over years seen Led Bib throw out any jazz preconceptions and entice a whole new army of supporters to the genre. Combining the energy and passion of a rock outfit with the technical ability of trained jazz musicians their effect is exhilarating.

The group, formed in 2003 by drummer/composer Mark Holub established its current line up around seven years ago. Since then they have rocketed into the public consciousness within a swirl of critical acclaim, high profile shows, many TV and radio appearances, awards and a growing audience base, won over by their electric live sets - the sonic equivalent of a volcanic eruption backed by a fire storm.

The group released their first album in May 2005 to widespread critical praise and went on to win the 2005 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award, whose previous winners include Soweto Kinch, Tom Arthurs and Empirical. Second album ‘Sizewell Tea’, released through Babel in 2007, moved the group into a new level of awareness with a string of high profile dates: 12 Points festival in Dublin where they represented Britain, the reopening event for the Royal Festival Hall, a 1 hour live session on BBC Radio 3 and a flurry of shows at leading venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express Soho, North Sea Jazz Festival and more. 2008 saw them release a limited edition CD to more acclaim despite its unavailability in the shops.

The band experienced further widespread acclaim following the release of their 4th album Sensible Shoes when it was announced as an Album of the Year in the Barclaycard Mercury Prize. The ensuing media storm saw them reach in excess of 20 million people as they performed on TV & Radio sessions including Channel 4 TV News with Jon Snow and Radio 4’s Front Row. They watched on as sales of their album Sensible Shoes rocketed after their appearance on the BBC2 Mercury show and signed a synchronization deal with Faber Music & Media for film, TV and synch licensing and toured throughout Europe and the US.

Led Bib continue to appeal to all fans of good music – it’s the reason that drum and bass heads, jazz aficionados and folk and pop fans are dotted across their audiences. They have drawn references from across the musical spectrum from Captain Beefheart and John Zorn to Pink Floyd.

With Bring Your Own they have created a record to rival their last. Not just an album of 2011, it has the markers of a jazz album of all time.

Bring Your Own Press:

“With its echoes of Jenkins-era Soft Machine and Pinski Zoo amongst much else, should help the band break big this time” BBC Music Magazine *****

“A mix of darting Zappa-jazz hooks, sinister electronics, Ornette Colemanesque sax and hefty rock drumming...if Bring Your Own was intended to summarise where this energetic group has been and might still go, it succeeds admirably.” The Guardian ****

"a lean, mean, improv-rocking jazz machine....'Bring Your Own' is an

unqualified success." Time Out ****

“Led Bib's most charged, high octane effort yet” Downbeat

"Every number is cleverly honed to leave you wanting just that bit more." The Telegraph ****

“Let’s face it, something this much fun is never going to win the Mercury, is it?” Jazzwise****

“...the most convincing distillation of their onslaught as they scuttle from mournful folk-like melodies to precision headbanging. Like the late Captain Beefheart, Led Bib know a thing or two about ugly beauty.” The Times

“Led Bib are among very few artists who seem less interested in following anyone else's traditions than starting their own! Highly recommended!” Yahoo Music

“for audiences from bebop diehards to thrash-metal headbangers via punk, world music or John Zornian abstractions, this still-growing group's fearless exuberance goes on being a blast of fresh air.” Word Magazine

“one of the most edgy and exciting units to emerge on the UK music scene in recent years.” The Scotsman ****

“Part free improv, part art-rock, the band’s uncompromising formula puts them in the vanguard of the new school of British jazz” The Sunday Times

“Bring Your Own re-affirms Led Bib's place as one of the most inventive and enjoyable of British jazz bands.” All About Jazz

“Flash, brash and brimming with an irrepressible anarchic vigour, more than anything, Bring Your Own is a thing of unfettered joy.” BBC Music Online

“The patchwork of styles and ever-shifting rhythmic feels makes Bring Your Own an intense and thrilling album.” Music OMH

"This is music that's so simply enjoyable even a child could dig it. Get

into the groove!" Artrocker

“cacophonous jazz meets rock (but in a good way)” The Independent

“a highly approachable, concise musical adventure” The Herald

“Bring Your Own consolidates Led Bib’s position as one of the most exciting young groups around in any genre” The Jazz Mann

“The 2009 Mercury Prize nominees have never sounded better than on the latest album, Bring Your Own”. Metro

"What remains undeniably exciting about Led Bib is that they refuse to acknowledge musical boundaries - that, coupled to their brimming confidence, dark humour and devil-may-care creativity;they've succeeded in bringing jazz back into punkish rock with a head-spinning zeal” Bass Guitar Magazine

Sensible Shoes Press:

“And if the Mercury Prize judging panel gives them the token jazz-act nomination- which is the least reward their third album Sensible Shoes deserves – bigger stages will certainly beckon.” The Sunday Telegraph *****

“You’ll be hard pressed to keep the lid on this explosive tour de force of ensemble intelligence” The Independent ****

“’Sensible Shoes’ is a chink of light in ever darkening skies” Artrocker

"Rarely have two saxes, keyboard, bass and drums sounded so dangerous yet so compelling" Observer Music Monthly ****

“This is the sound of a band having fun… like a hot chainsaw through butter. The Wire

“It’s exuberant, intense, varied and exciting.” BBC Music Magazine ****

"...one cool mutha of a death-jazz-cum-math-punk-freakout, as if Mike Patton had his wicked way with John Zorn" Time Out

"Quite possibly they're the missing link between jazz, prog and experimental rock, which puts them in a field of one" The Scotsman (live review) ****

“…a masterpiece of musical foreboding” The Metro

“One of the UK’s most adventurous groups” Jazzwise ****

"...like a gale of fresh air" The Guardian

"Sensible Shoes sounds very much like a jazz classic" Metro

"There is a passion and a sense of vulnerability that proves Led Bib is not all bluster. These guys have soul." The Herald (live review) ****

"Veering from wild, Downtown-style free improvisation to rock-worthy riffola, with the odd subtle, sensitive moment thrown in too, it’s a hands-down triumph" The Independent, ‘Ones to Watch’ feature

"Almost certainly this year's token jazz Mercury Prize nominee" City Life ****

" highly energised studio album that reflects their reputation for adventurous experiment" The Scotsman ****

"Like a wake up call from an air-raid siren" Irish Tribune

"…altogether excellent album" All About Jazz

"It all adds up to an invigorating listen and quite a prospect as a live experience" The Herald (album of the week)

"This is a blast, in all senses of the word" Chris Parker

Old Press:

"Sun Ra didn't die in vain" The Times

“an electrified 21st century Fire Music.” Jazzwise

"Splattering you against the wall with their broadsides of punk-jazz" John Fordham The Guardian

“…If you don't go near jazz because it just isn't damned noisy enough, and seems to have petered out after the pre-punk free jazz ideological furies of the Sixties and Seventies, then come back to life to try the deliciously uncivil new Led Bib album, Sizewell Tea. Led Bib sound like they could have coped supporting '61 Sun Ra, '66 Beefheart, and even '69 Led Zep. Led Bib are jazz, though, through and through, crammed with horn and blast, and as much swing as sweat” Paul Morley feature Observer Music Monthly

"Like crossing the road in a reverie and being run over by a passing bus - but in a pleasing way" Evening Standard

"They represent a new generation of jazz musicians, blessed with the technical know-how of a music college degree and the sexiness of rock n' roll." Blues and Soul

“Proof that groovy dirty jazz isn’t just the preserve of downtown New Yorkers” BBC Radio 3

“A sonic adventure to savour.” The Metro

"…deliciously mutilated " Uncut

"We need bands like Led Bib to make the world safe for dangerous music." Observer Music Monthly

“A whole range of new colours and harmonies have been woven into the originals, and their headlong rush is inflected with unexpected turnings and digressions - though interestingly this multiplies the energy, rather than lessening it." The Telegraph

“…a dynamite live show." Time Out

One of ‘25 Live Acts you MUST see this Summer’ (above Bjork, The White Stripes and The Arctic Monkeys) - Observer Music Monthly

”Gritty, raunchy jazz from a group who deserve to be checked out.” The Wire

“Currently the most credible thing going in UK jazz.” Time Out, August 2007

"...with a raucous mix of punk and jazz, played with an in-your-face irreverence and wit; this was high-energy scorched earth, with fierce blowing from saxophonists Chris Williams and Pete Grogan in an ensemble characterised by leader Mark Holub's combustible drumming." Irish Times

"Anyone intrigued by the sonic possibilities explored by Ladyland and Polar Bear or the leading lights of the New York Downtown scene should check it out.” The Scotsman

Led Bib equipment:

Mark Holub uses:

Mapex Drums