Friday 12 April 2024
The XPQ: Vasilis Xenopoulos/Nigel Price Quartet
For more than a decade Nigel Price and Vasilis Xenopoulos have established a strong musical partnership through their shared stylistic and artistic connections. Their new album “Sidekicks” is a compilation of Jazz Standards where each one of them pays homage to some of the greatest guitar/saxophone collaboration in the history of Jazz such as Jim Hall/Sony Rollins, Wes Montgomery/Johnny Griffin, Kenny Burrell/Stanley Turrentine, Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd and from the UK jazz scene Dave Cliff/Geoff Simkins and the legendary Morrissey/Mullen.
“When the players are Xenopoulos and Nigel Price...the outcome is downright irresistible...” - Guardian
Line up:
Vasilis Xenopoulos – tenor saxophone
Nigel Price – guitar
Jeremy Brown – bass
Josh Morrison – drums
Saxophonist, composer, and educator Vasilis Xenopoulos is one of the most accomplished Greek jazz musicians of his generation and a genuine representative of straight-ahead jazz. London became his permanent home after graduating with honours from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and gradually established himself as one of London’s up and coming jazz saxophonists. He has worked with some of the best musicians of the International Jazz Scene as a band leader, a section leader and as a guest soloist at various projects.
In 2009 he formed “The Xtet" and their debut album “Loud City" containing 8 original compositions was released on 33Jazz Records in 2011. Two years later he released his second album “The Wind Machine" under the same label, which gained some fine reviews in the top British media such as The Times and BBC radio 3.
In 2017 Nigel Price and Xenopoulos created the XPQ (Xenopoulos/Price Quartet) and recorded their first album under that brand, “Sidekicks" which celebrates some of the most successful guitar/sax pairings in the history of jazz. The album “Dexterity” was released in September 2019 and received great reviews from the media including a 4-star review from Jazzwise magazine. His very latest venture is with one of UK’s leading contemporary bop ensembles Five-Way Split, where he is a co-leader and composer. Their latest album “All the Way” was released on March 2023 under the prestigious “UBUNTU MUSIC”.
Vasilis’ charismatic performances reveal his truly fabulous style thus his energy and passion interact with his audience. With his great talent, love, and respect. he cherishes the instrument’s challenges and pushes it beyond. His credits also include seminars on Jazz Saxophone and Improvisation.
“One of the most fiery young saxophonists around blazes a path through the hard bop repertoire" – The Times
“A tremendous asset to the UK Jazz Scene" - London Jazz News
"Old-school warmth and modern-day dynamism" - Jazzwise
Over a career spanning more than 25 years, award winning jazz guitarist Nigel Price has become widely acknowledged as one of the hardest working musicians in the business.
Musically, his blend of flowing bebop lines, deep blues sensibility and his mastery of chording continue to delight audiences and fellow musicians alike. His career highlights include a support show for Gladys Knight at The Royal Albert Hall and an appearance on Van Morrison’s recent album Keep Me Singing.
Starting his professional career in his early 20s, Nigel toured Europe with various reggae and funk bands before settling on a solo guitar career and turning his attention to jazz. Citing early influences as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Nigel honed his craft by attending gigs and sitting in with the players of the time.
Nigel has played on more than 50 albums including 5 as a leader, spent ten years with acid jazz outfit The Filthy Six, was a member of James Taylor’s band for 3 years (with whom he recorded 5 albums) and performed with the legendary David Axelrod. He has also taught at The International Guitar Foundation at King’s Place, London.
He has worked tirelessly to organise his own tours (including a 56-date tour in late 2016) and has picked up a Parliamentary Jazz Award (Best Jazz Ensemble, 2010), a nomination for a British Jazz Award (Best Guitarist, 2014) and a British Jazz Award (Best Guitarist, 2016) along the way.
Nigel is a regular performer at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club where he has made more than 500 appearances. He released his fifth Organ Trio Album.
"Nigel Price is probably the most dynamic and gifted guitarist on the British jazz scene today and this is the proof" - All About Jazz
www.ram.ac.uk/people/jeremy-brown
Video 2 (“If Ever I Would Leave You”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWRrUyFT8DI
Przez ponad dekadę Nigel Price i Vasilis Xenopoulos stworzyli silną muzyczną kolaborację dzięki wspólnym powiązaniom stylistycznym i artystycznym. Ich nowy album „Sidekicks” to kompilacja standardów jazzowych, w ramach której każdy z nich składa hołd wybranym największym kolaboracjom gitarowo-saksofonowym w historii jazzu, takim jak Jim Hall/Sony Rollins, Wes Montgomery/Johnny Griffin, Kenny Burrell/ Stanley Turrentine, Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd oraz z brytyjskiej sceny jazzowej Dave Cliff/Geoff Simkins i legendarny Morrissey/Mullen!
„Kiedy graczami są Xenopoulos i Nigel Price… wynik jest po prostu porywąjacy…” – The Guardian
Muzycy:
Vasilis Xenopoulos – saksofon tenorowy
Nigel Price – gitara
Jeremy Brown – bas
Josh Morrison – perkusja
Saksofonista, kompozytor i pedagog Vasilis Xenopoulos to jeden z najwybitniejszych greckich muzyków jazzowych swojego pokolenia i wykonawców straight-ahead jazzu. Londyn stał się jego stałym domem (po ukończeniu z wyróżnieniem Berklee College of Music w Bostonie) i stopniowo ugruntował tutaj swoją pozycję jednego z wiodących londyńskich saksofonistów jazzowych.
W ciągu ponad 25-letniej kariery wielokrotnie nagradzany gitarzysta jazzowy Nigel Price stał się powszechnie uważanym za jednego z najciężej pracujących muzyków w branży.
„Nigel Price jest dziś prawdopodobnie najbardziej dynamicznym i utalentowanym gitarzystą na brytyjskiej scenie jazzowej (...)” – All About Jazz
