Following the announcement of their highly anticipated 3rd album ‘To The Earth, Mercury-nominated British Jazz super-group Dinosaur return with their new single ‘Mosking’. The new track is the first to be released from the new album, which is out on Edition Records this May.
The new record celebrates a decade of music-making as a band and is accompanied by a further announcement of new EU and UK tour dates, including their most ambitious UK show to-date at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London – full dates below.
Dinosaur’s latest offering finds them in a more acoustic setting, presenting brand new material that reflects on 10 years of miraculous interplay, whilst maintaining the sonic elasticity of their previous, more “plugged-in” album ‘Wonder Trail’. Playing the compositions of bandleader and multi-award-winning composer, Laura Jurd, Dinosaur explore Laura’s distinctive yet ever-evolving music with playful abandon and technical prowess, earning them a reputation as some of the most remarkable UK jazz musicians of their generation. Having played at some of the world’s most iconic jazz festivals including North Sea, Molde and Montréal, the band goes from strength to strength as they enter their 10th year of trumpet-led, improvisatory magic.
NEW ALBUM ‘TO THE EARTH’ OUT 15TH MAY VIA EDITION RECORDS
‘To The Earth’ is vertiginous in it’s scope carrying the listener through a vast array of moods and themes, whilst also taking the band into new territories across moments of revelatory spontaneous composition. Tracks such as ‘Slow Loris’ see clarinet-like synth blend seamlessly with Conor Chaplin’s bassline whilst the band effortlessly flit between tumultuous and mellifluous motifs. Whereas further into the album tracks such as ‘Held By Water’ sees the band lean the acoustic sound of the new record into new London jazz crossover domain with drummer Corrie Dick’s drum machine-esque rhythms and pianist Elliot Galvins’ almost ambient electronic swells before developing into a more Middle Eastern based Trumpet groove. These intricacies and multifarious journeys are described by jazz pianist Liam Noble in the album’s liner notes as being “peculiarly British” with “a lightness of touch and occasional flirtation with silliness, but never too much.”
Laura cites British musicians such as Liam Noble, Chris Batchelor and Huw Warren as well as Norwegian piano trio ‘Moskus’ and more historic artists such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis all as key influences on this music. However, it’s clear that the significance of these influences is found in Laura and the band’s ability to build on these ideas throughout their flexible career of achievements rather than mimic them.
Speaking about the new album, Laura says:
My discography to date, as Dinosaur and albums under my name, is the result of an unavoidable necessity to express and share a wealth of musical interests – from folk influenced counterpoint, to song-writing, Stravinsky-inspired harmony to the use of analog synthesis and looped grooves. Whilst this may well dizzy the narrative surrounding my output, jazz (in its most typical form) has always played a huge role in my life and the life of this band.
NEW UK TOUR DATES FOR MAY/JUNE 2020
04/04/20 – Transition Festival, Utrecht, NETHERLANDS
15/05/20 – Le Baie Des Singes, Cournon D’Auverge, FRANCE
16/05/20 – Theatre Municipal, Rouen, FRANCE
17/05/2020 – Brotfabrik, JazzFest Bonn, GERMANY
28/05/20 – Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, UK
06/06/20 – ElbJazz, Hamburg GERMANY
16/06/20 – David Russell Theatre, Portsmouth Festivities, UK
17/06/20 – Jazzlines, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK
18/06/20 – Band On The Wall, Manchester, UK
19/06/20 – The Verdict, Brighton, UK
20/06/20 – The Pumphouse, Aldeburgh, UK
17/09/20 – KAAP, Brugge, BELGIUM
18/09/20 – Paradox, Tilburg, NETHERLANDS