Penumbra

Event information

Sam Norris- alto sax/flute
Ashkan Layegh- piano

Exploring the notions of “collective memory formation” in “live-action music making”— Ashkan Layegh and Sam Norris ask whether improvisation and composition can be “doppelgängers”.

Ashkan Layegh is an Iranian composer/improviser/multi-instrumentalist and visual artist concerned with systematic methods of cataloguing chaos and taxonomical classification of
encyclopaedic data. His music has been performed by his own ensembles, including the Phemo Quartet, at such venues as Kings Place and Southbank Centre as well as by the Amsterdam Sinfonietta and Septura Brass, Chroma Ensemble and Temporal Harmonies Inc.
Ashkan has trained as a traditional Persian setar player and improviser since an early age— heavily influencing his syntactical-compositional mindset— and has appeared as Electric Guitarist and Alto Saxophonist on stage with his own ensembles. He also studied architecture for two years, which promoted his interest in a wide range of arts, including cinema, painting and sculpture. He is currently studying for a Doctorate degree in composition at the Royal Academy of Music, where he gained his Master’s degree as composer (DipRAM) and Bachelor’s degree as a pianist (1st Class Honours)— the first Iranian to do so since the 1979 Revolution.

Hailing from Cambridge, UK, Sam's love of jazz was ignited when he heard Coltrane's
A Love Supreme aged 12.

Since then, he has been fascinated with luminaries of improvised music such as Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Lee Konitz. Sam's passion for jazz is combined with an equal interest in contemporary classical and folk music. This melting pot of influences has led him to develop a distinctive improvisational and compositional language.

Sam leads his own quartet and released his debut album in summer 2024, featuring his original compositions. He also works across the UK and EU with notable improvising musicians including Ronan Guilfoyle, Darren Beckett, Alex Ridout and PHEMO Quartet. He was a finalist in the Musicians' Company Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition in 2022 and won the Craig Ball prize during his studies at the Royal Academy of Music.