Joseph Nowell Trio - Sketches (2022)

From Joseph words:
'I met Manolo at a jam in Antwerp in 2018 while I was studying there for my master in jazz piano. We then began having sessions in Brussels together with Gaspard, playing standards, originals and improvising. I moved back to Italy before the pandemic, but we stayed in touch and in 2021 we decided to make a recording of my compositions, in Manolo's home studio in Brussels. The compositions are quite diverse, some are quite old and others more recent, and they have various influences ranging from 20th century classical music and dodecaphony, to free jazz, to more traditional jazz harmonies, etc...the 2021 recordings which make up the album were the first time we had played together after 2 years of pandemic. We spent four days recording, with a great, vibrant yet relaxed atmosphere. On the last day we felt like we had good takes of all the tunes, so Manolo and I decided to try some duo versions, treating the material very freely. This is where the "sketch" takes come from. The album is called "Sketches" because our intent in the compositions was for them to be merely starting points for us to improvise as freely as possible, whilst maintaining ourselves to the material, in the same way that a sketch is a rough, preparatory drawing and not something completely defined or organised.'

Joseph Nowell was born in England in 1994, half Italian. He started playing piano when he was 4 and studied at Pimlico Academy, London, with trips and concerts in Paris and Prague. At the age of 14 he moved to Siena (Italy), winning the third prize in the “G. Burrini” classical music competition a year later. I followed studying jazz at various places and with various teachers, participating in a lot of workshops.
He has collaborated with Emanuele Parrini, Tony Cattano, Amedeo Verniani, Tobia and Michele Bondesan, Giuseppe Sardina, Erik Bogaerts, Camilla Battaglia, Borrkia, Danny Bronzini, Finaz, Jesse Dockx etc. I have played at Pistoia Blues, Jaffa Jazz Festival (Tel Aviv), Footprints Jazz Festival (Gent), Vivi Fortezza (Siena), Teatro Sociale di Rovigo, Teatro Persio Flacco (Volterra) and dozens of other venues and clubs in Italy and Belgium.

Manolo Cabras is an established Sardinian double bass player based in Brussels with a long career, having collaborated with Ben Sluijs Quartet, Enrico Rava, Toots Thielemans Quartet, Chris Joris Quartet, Frederik Desmyter Quartet (feat. John Ruocco), Charles Gayle, Marshall Allen, Roswell Rud, Maria Pia De Vito, Marc Murphy, Jasper Blom, Jesse van Ruller and many others.

Together with drummer Gaspard Sicx they form the rhythm section for many Belgian bands.