Polar Bear (jazz)
Encyclopedia
Polar Bear is a British experimental jazz
band led by drummer
Seb Rochford
with Pete Wareham on tenor
and baritone saxophone
, Mark Lockheart
on tenor saxophone
, Tom Herbert on double bass
and Leafcutter John
on mandolin
and electronics
.
Polar Bear were nominated for the 'Best band' award at the BBC Jazz Award 2004, while Rochford was nominated for the 'Rising Star' award. Their first album Dim Lit was released in the same year and was a small scale success. Their second record, Held on the Tips of Fingers merged elements of cool jazz
, funk
, dance music
, free jazz
, electronica
and drum and bass
and was, by comparison, a massive crossover hit, earning Polar Bear a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005.
The success was all the more unusual for an almost purely instrumental album. The album was nominated for a BBC
Jazz Award 2006. It was selected as one of "100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World" by Jazzwise
magazine. They are part of the F-IRE Collective
. They released their self-titled third album, Polar Bear, in July 2008 with Tin Angel Records. Their fourth album, Peepers, was released in March 2010.
-BalconyTV Hamburg performance in June 2011.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
band led by drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Seb Rochford
Seb Rochford
Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
with Pete Wareham on tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and baritone saxophone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, Mark Lockheart
Mark Lockheart
Mark Lockheart is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who came to prominence as a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s....
on tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, Tom Herbert on double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and Leafcutter John
Leafcutter John
Leafcutter John is the recording name of John Burton, a UK-based musician and artist. He makes frequent use of Max/MSP in his compositions. Much of Burton's style is based in computer music and use of samples of everyday sounds. However, he also has roots as a folk musician, and this influence...
on mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and electronics
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
.
Polar Bear were nominated for the 'Best band' award at the BBC Jazz Award 2004, while Rochford was nominated for the 'Rising Star' award. Their first album Dim Lit was released in the same year and was a small scale success. Their second record, Held on the Tips of Fingers merged elements of cool jazz
Cool jazz
Cool is a style of modern jazz music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempos and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop style that preceded it...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and was, by comparison, a massive crossover hit, earning Polar Bear a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005.
The success was all the more unusual for an almost purely instrumental album. The album was nominated for a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Jazz Award 2006. It was selected as one of "100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World" by Jazzwise
Jazzwise
Jazzwise Publications Limited is a UK-based specialist jazz music publisher and education company. It was founded in 1984 as a mail-order company promoting jazz and improvisation through catalogues and short courses and workshops for musicians...
magazine. They are part of the F-IRE Collective
F-IRE Collective
F-IRE Collective is a creative music community founded by Barak Schmool in London, United Kingdom. Additionally, the Collective also has a record label....
. They released their self-titled third album, Polar Bear, in July 2008 with Tin Angel Records. Their fourth album, Peepers, was released in March 2010.
External links
- Held on the Tips of Fingers review at www.allaboutjazz.com
- Held on the Tips of Fingers review at BBC Jazz Review.
- The Leaf Label web site
- Polar Bear web site
- Polar Bear on Myspace.com
-BalconyTV Hamburg performance in June 2011.