Hot Sale Alive in London

The chordless trio is a noble tradition in jazz, offering an uncompromising freedom of expression to those bold enough to take on the mantle, it’s a challenge that Ferg Ireland clearly relishes. On this second outing with his trio, Ireland, one of the busiest bassists on the London scene, reunites him with his equally in-demand colleagues and co-creators Nathaniel Facey on alto saxophone and first-call stylistic omnivore James Maddren on drums. Alive In London presents the band captured live at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho in front of a capacity crowd, with all the raw unfiltered energy and immediacy that are the hallmarks of master improvisors. All the songs bar two are Ferg Ireland originals and capture him exploring new avenues of creativity within the strict but paradoxically liberating confines of the format. “I wasn’t interested in playing conventional linear solos, instead I wanted to write bass parts that suggest and support