Janette Mason Trio (9th)

Janette Mason (piano) Dudley Phillips (electric and acoustic Bass) and Simon Lea (Drums).

For their second night at the club, The Printmakers are supported by the Janette Mason Trio.  Well known for her work with New York singer Lea DeLaria, her Alien Left Hand album gathered some very favourable press upon its release in 2009, with The Guardian praising its “infectious grooving, clever composing and audacious improvisation”.  With Dudley Phillips on bass and Simon Lea on drums, expect a vivacious and upbeat set of great contemporary jazz mixed with elements of blues, funk and more.

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“A band leader of pugnacious flair and genuine unpredictability”

James Griffiths - The Guardian

If you think you may not know Janette Mason, you have seen and heard her on many albums from Ian Shaw to Robert Wyatt, live in concert with Oasis, Pulp, k.d. Lang, Suzanne Vega, Seal and Jimmy Somerville as well as writing theme tunes for television and sound tracks for the movies including the award-winning ‘Ruby Blue’ starring Bob Hoskins and ‘Sex and the City’.  She was recently commissioned to write the score for MEDB’s Feature Film, ‘The Calling’, starring Susannah York and Brenda Blethyn.

A sought after side man for the likes of Claire Martin and Lea DeLaria, Janette Mason is a talented Performer, Arranger, Composer and Musical Director.  She contributed four arrangements to Ian Shaw’s Album ‘Drawn to all Things’ and produced and arranged Lea DeLaria’s current Warner Brothers release ‘The Live Smoke Sessions’, which made the Grammy Ballot this year.

As a Jazz musician, she has been a seminal figure on the British Jazz scene for the last 15 years, sharing the stage with Mornington Lockett, Julian Siegel and many more.  Her previous album ‘Din and Tonic’ won critical acclaim amongst the country’s’ most prestigious writers.  John Fordham, the Guardian’s resident jazz critic, short-listed it as ‘CONTENDER FOR JAZZ ALBUM OF THE YEAR’.

The Janette Mason Trio consists of Dudley Phillips (Acoustic Bass) and Simon Lea (Drums).  A highly talented and experienced trio performing originals and re-invented standards.  Dudley is a self-taught musician and composer who won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music in 1979.  On leaving he toured the world with artists as diverse as Annie Whitehead, Bill Withers and Womack and Womack.  

Simon studied at the Guildhall School of Music and has performed with Jazz artists such as Carla Bley, Geri Allen, Andy Sheppard, Jim Mullen, Guy Barker, Julian Joseph, Clare Martin and Acoustic Ladyland.  He has been a regular band member with Gwyneth Herbert, BBC Folk Awards winner - Cara Dillon, BBC Jazz Awards winner – Christine Tobin and acclaimed Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins.  In 2006, he became house Drummer at the Infamous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, until starting extensive touring with JustJack, as both Drummer and Musical Director.

Janette’s new album, ‘Alien Left Hand’ features six original compositions, from the high-energy title track set around a bass ostinato to the hauntingly beautiful ballad ‘Mae’s Song’.  Highlighted by exquisite arrangements, the two covers of the Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’ and the Bernstein classic, ‘Some Other Time’, show Janette’s wild imagination and polished piano skills at their best.  Guesting on the album are long-term collaborators, vocalist Lea DeLaria, saxophonist Julian Siegel, Dudley Phillips on bass, Josh Giunta on drums and up and coming trumpeter Tom Arthurs.

“Infectious grooving, clever composing and audacious improvisation”, “One of the best”

John Fordham - The Guardian

“An album fizzing with fresh ideas and delights, an exhilarating musical journey...

with brilliantly original writing and inspired playing ..”  

Helen Mayhew - Jazz FMThe Janette Mason Trio consists of Dudley Phillips (electric and acoustic Bass) and Simon Lea (Drums).