José Dias (guitar)

Fiona Brehony (spoken word)

John Pope (double bass)

Johnny Hunter (drums)

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Steve Saunders (guitar and pedals)

José Dias Quartet

José Dias is a musician and researcher. His albums have been widely acclaimed and his solo album, “After Silence, Vol.1” (Clean Feed 2019), was described as ‘an introspective masterpiece’ (All About Jazz) and listed as one of best albums of 2019 (Giornale della Musica) and the essential Portuguese jazz albums of the new century (Improvisando). As a composer, he has scored music for animation, film and television, as well as theatre and contemporary dance. His music is strongly inspired by the visual arts and literature.

This quartet explores the possibilities of using spoken word in improvised music and features the poetry of Manchester-based Fiona Brehony. Making up the quartet are two fantastic musicians, both well known on the improvised music circuit, John Pope and Johnny Hunter.

Steve Saunders

Steve Saunders is a composer, improviser and guitarist working in the fields of contemporary music, improvised music, and the space in-between. This has led to the creation and organisation of large-scale projects, regular collaboration, mentorship, performances throughout the UK and a wealth of experience as an educator.

Steve is also a frequent collaborator of Paul Dunmall’s, and has performed with him in various configurations playing improvised music. These include a sextet featuring Percy Pursglove, which recorded the album ‘Cosmic Dream Projection’ on FMR Records, a quintet, which recorded the album ‘Yes Tomorrow’ for Discus Music, and a new quartet featuring Dave Kane on double bass and Miles Levin on drums, which recorded an album to be released on 577 Records (Brooklyn, NY) in 2023. They have performed at various venues including the Bristol Music Club and Eastside Jazz Club.