Polar Bear: Free Gig, Southbank Centre

Mercury-nominated, avant jazz quintet Polar Bear play a free gig in the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer. 

Who are they?

Like the arctic predator from which they take their name, Polar Bear blend into the landscape well, but when they want to, burst from it with awesome force. A mind-bending but addictive blend of jazz, skronk, and drum and bass seasoned with an exotic palette of electronica, 10 years ago this mould-busting quintet became one of the most enduring presences on the alternative music scene by combining their fresh and original sounds with some old-fashioned grooves, sometimes even swing. 

Studio albums...

Polar Bear’s first album, 2004’s Dimly Lit, made their name within the world of new jazz, yet Held on the Tips of Fingers, from the following year, smashed through to the mainstream and earned the band a Mercury Prize nomination. The line-up has two saxophonists, Mark Lockheart and Pete Wareham, plus bassist Tom Herbert – all experienced top-line jazzers. They are led by Seb Rochford, immediately recognisable for his lion's mane of curls, who is one of Britain’s most sought-after drummers across a spectrum of music, from free jazz to hip-hop, via Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono and Brian Eno. Electronics, meanwhile, come from Leafcutter John, renowned creator of both real-world samples (usually gentle, endearing sounds) and intriguing, computer-generated weirdness. 

2014 Album

After two albums in two years in 2004 and 2005, there was a sense that the bear was tempted to hibernate, though the albums still came (2008 and 2010), albeit less frequently. But April's  'In Each and Every One' marked a triumphant return to form. The album is elemental: there's airy ambience, fierce and fiery drones: a sonic miscellany threaded through with Seb Rochford windy clatter of percussion. The album is sparer than their previous four, but minimal doesn't mean petite - there's plenty of life in the beast yet. Come and watch their set this Friday and you'll see.