Loz Speyer's TIME ZONE

Event information

TIME ZONE comes to Jazzlive at the Crypt with their unique “deep fusion” of Cuban music and Jazz - music from the album “Clave Sin Embargo” and some new material venturing into uncharted territories.

“An ensemble led by a trumpeter/composer who has absorbed the essence of Cuban music and distilled it quite cunningly into an improvisatory context with no compromise to either culture. Gritty, graceful sounds with a dark-light intensity." - Kevin Legendre, Echoes Music Magazine.

Loz Speyer’s concept for TIME ZONE'S music grew out of a decade of living between London and Santiago de Cuba - studying the roots of Cuban music, collaborating and performing there with local musicians, and starting an Anglo-Cuban family. Elements of Cuban music and culture reappear transformed and mutated in his own compositions, charged with the emotional urgency and delicious irony of bridging two far removed worlds “with no compromise to either culture”.

The compositions are played with passion and commitment by this fine band - six musicians with the right spirit, breadth of experience and sense of humour needed to play these unusual forms and really do them justice. TIME ZONE takes the audience on a journey of the heart!

“A fresh perspective on that heritage by way of his London-based ensemble’s taste for raw punky downtown improv via New York, all the way through to free-jazz elements. But the music’s convivial dance sensibility sourced from son, batá and salsa is always apparent... Cohesive and engaging.” - Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise

“He is more than simply a trumpeter blowing a wonderfully powerful horn, but a socially conscious artist making a somewhat angular statement… You would be hard-pressed to find music so vibrant and viscerally energetic than the eight pieces on Clave Sin Embargo.” - Raul de Gama, Latin Jazz Network (Canada)

TIME ZONE features - Loz Speyer - trumpet, flugelhorn, Martin Hathaway - alto sax, bass clarinet, Phil Dawson – guitar, Mark McQuillan - double bass, Gaspar Sena – drums and Maurizio Ravalico – congas.

Photo - Steven Cropper