A Berklee scholar on guitar, Joel wandered from his Jazz path after spending the past ten years playing with everyone from Even Parker and Lionel Loueke through to Maori Shamen, poets, classical and near and far eastern musicians during a long term residency at London’s Club Inegales. 

A classically trained composer from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, it was composing for the Atlas Ensemble (a 30-piece orchestra showcasing the foremost artists from world traditions) that led him to an intense period of study where he was inspired to redesign his playing from the ground up. Resurrecting Mississippi Fred Mcdowell’s  ‘half-slide’ technique, he found he could approach levels of expression previously unobtainable on the guitar. 

Knitting together these experiences into a new ensemble that encompasses world, jazz, folk, blues and post-classical sound worlds, GOKUMI features some of the most original voices in modern music.

Engaging crossover works of both Eastern and Western influence in contemporary compositional style, but relying on older forms and musical archetypes to create something original.                                                   -Calgary Herald, Banff, Canada, April 1, 2015, Stephan Bonfield
 

The glow-worm glows by guitarist Joel Bell, drawing bright and pulsing riffs over an ostinato that threatened to but never quite overwhelmed the line. They finished with pure improvisation, though the material was consciously ‘dirty’ in origin.                                                                         -Amati Magazine

 

...highly intelligent and individual approach to the integration of improvisational techniques within notated composition...’

-Richard Barrett

 

The musical soundscapes-panoramas give us a sort of state-of-the-art window on ultra-post-modern-modern worlds. It makes for a beautiful listen.

This set breaks ground and stimulates the musical ears in rather profound ways. I do not hesitate to recommend it highly. An essential offering for what, indeed, is new out there right now."
(Guitar and composition on Kate Halsall's 'Miniaturised Concertos)


- Grego Edwards (Gapplegate Classical Modern Music)

Previous events

Feb1

Chinese New Year Concert

Queen Mary University, London

Guests include well-known Chinese musicians and innovative Western musicians from the UK. You will hear pure music from each side and fabulous collaborations from them. Furthermore, the Magnetic Resonator Piano will present the cutting-edge augmented instrument music. You will see and hear how musicians collaborate among different cultures and styles in music.

http://www.qmul-cssa.org.uk/concert2016/

Jul23

Notes Inegales with ranjana ghatak

Club Inegales, North Gower Street

London born Ranjana has always felt a strong passion and curiosity about her South Asian roots. She has expressed her love of this culture through several years of training in North Indian singing, whilst immersing herself in the life and sounds of contemporary Britain. After seeing her favourite singer perform in London, Ranjana entered a new chapter of her life by starting a new phase of training with acclaimed vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty in Kolkata, India(2000).

She has worked as both an artist and educator for organisations across the UK, including the Southbank Centre, City of London Festival, the British Museum, Serious International Music Producers and Dulwich Picture Gallery. Ranjana previously also spent five years as an education project manager for the London Symphony Orchestra. http://www.clubinegales.com/archives/event/ranjana-ghatak

Jul16

Notes Inegales with Suru Sussu/Max Ballie

Club Inegales, North Gower Street

Max Baillie and Sura Susso met in Senegal in 2005 where they became fast friends and have been playing together ever since. They perform a mix of Baroque dance music and West African bardic spirituals, weaving together two centuries-old string traditions and setting sparks flying with their unique musical bond and electric improvisation skills. http://www.clubinegales.com/archives/event/max-baillie-sura-susso

Jul9

Notes Inegales with Howard Skempton

Club Inegales, North Gower Street

Best known for his exquisite small scale melodic works, Howard Skempton, a founding member of the legendary Scratch Orchestra in the 1960s, is one the finest and most distinctive English composers of the last 50 years. He is also a fine accordionist and will be performing some of his own works and with house ensemble Notes Inégales

“our most delightful miniaturist” Ivan Hewett, The Guardian

Food from 7pm, performances from 8pm.

http://www.clubinegales.com/archives/event/howard-skempton-2

Jun18

Club Inegales

Club Inegales

Club Inégales 180 North Gower Street NW1 2NB

Free street parking after 6.30pm Bar open from 7pm, music from 8pm

Look for the sign!

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