Tom Bancroft Quartet line up for Playtime Jazz Sessions

The sessions, which began in the Spring of 2014 and have become a fortnightly fixture in their host venue, The Outhouse Bar’s loft space, were instigated by four of Scotland’s leading players to fill a need for more regular gigs and to give an opportunity to experiment and premiere new work.

Since Playtime’s inception the resident quartet – Scottish National Jazz Orchestra saxophonist Martin Kershaw, guitarist Graeme Stephen, bassist Mario Caribe, and BBC Jazz Award and Herald Angel-winning drummer Tom Bancroft – have featured guests including Julian Argüelles and Dutch string quartet Zapp4 and paid well-received tributes to major figures such as Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Bill Frisell.

The upcoming gigs follow on similar lines, with the quartet playing the music of Joe Henderson on 28 January and celebrating the songwriting genius of Cole Porter on 25 February. In between these dates, there’s a relatively rare sighting of Bancroft’s twin, saxophonist Phil Bancroft, who emerged as part of the same generation of Scottish musicians as Tommy Smith, Brian Kellock and Colin Steele and went on to establish himself with his own quartets, which have included guitarist Mike Walker, and with the maverick Trio AAB, with brother Tom and guitarist Kevin Mackenzie.

Bancroft has been concentrating on education work and multi-media compositions in recent times, including his large scale project Home: Small as the World, and makes a much-anticipated appearance with the Playtime quartet on 11 February.

– Rob Adams

For more info visit www.outhouse-edinburgh.co.uk