Biography
British avant-garde jazz ensemble Led Bib first surfaced in 2005 via the release of Arboretum, though the group had already drawn notice for its hybrid approach often labeled "punk jazz." The quintet blends swinging post-bop, skronky free jazz, neo-prog, and noise rock within a single progressive and stylistically varied framework, a breadth that became still more pronounced on the Mercury Prize-nominated Sensible Shoes in 2009 and on subsequent genre-bending sets such as 2014’s The Good Egg and 2017’s Umbrella Weather.
Drummer and composer Mark Holub assembled the band in 2003; its first performance occurred the following February. The lineup also includes bassist Liran Donin, keyboardist Toby McLaren, and alto saxophonists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams. Influences ranging from saxophonist Ornette Coleman and avant-garde firebrand John Zorn to free jazz icon Sun Ra and ’60s psych rocker Captain Beefheart informed the Slam-issued debut Arboretum in 2005. Two years later the group delivered its sophomore album, Sizewell Ten, on Babel. Since 2005 Led Bib has played prominent engagements that include a one-hour live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a set at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
Cuneiform issued the band’s third studio album, Sensible Shoes, in 2009; the record earned a Mercury Prize short-listing. To mark the ensemble’s tenth anniversary, the same label released two projects in May 2014: The People in Your Neighbourhood and the limited-edition vinyl LP The Good Egg, the latter captured live at two London concerts in 2013. Early 2017 brought Umbrella Weather, Led Bib’s seventh album and its first for London-based RareNoise Records. The collaborative multimedia work It’s Morning followed in 2019, incorporating vocal contributions from Sharron Fortnam and a film directed by Dylan Pecora.
Drummer and composer Mark Holub assembled the band in 2003; its first performance occurred the following February. The lineup also includes bassist Liran Donin, keyboardist Toby McLaren, and alto saxophonists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams. Influences ranging from saxophonist Ornette Coleman and avant-garde firebrand John Zorn to free jazz icon Sun Ra and ’60s psych rocker Captain Beefheart informed the Slam-issued debut Arboretum in 2005. Two years later the group delivered its sophomore album, Sizewell Ten, on Babel. Since 2005 Led Bib has played prominent engagements that include a one-hour live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a set at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
Cuneiform issued the band’s third studio album, Sensible Shoes, in 2009; the record earned a Mercury Prize short-listing. To mark the ensemble’s tenth anniversary, the same label released two projects in May 2014: The People in Your Neighbourhood and the limited-edition vinyl LP The Good Egg, the latter captured live at two London concerts in 2013. Early 2017 brought Umbrella Weather, Led Bib’s seventh album and its first for London-based RareNoise Records. The collaborative multimedia work It’s Morning followed in 2019, incorporating vocal contributions from Sharron Fortnam and a film directed by Dylan Pecora.
Albums
Singles
