James Allsopp
JAMES ALLSOPP
Clarinet, bass clarinet
James Allsopp is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He first came to public attention leading a band called "Fraud" which made an album shortlisted for the 2007 BBC Jazz Award for best record. This brought him some critical acclaim, the 2008 BBC Jazz Award for Innovation, and the Ronnie Scott Award for Best New Act.
He now focuses on leading his quintet "The Golden Age of Steam" which has made two albums the first one as a trio and the second in the new quintet format. It is an exciting circus of the psychedelic which can do just about anything, veering between delicate ambient textures, stomping punk freak outs and intricately woven contrapuntal textures.
As a sideman James works regularly with the fantastic "Kit Downes Quintet", the demented "Nostalgia 77", Andrew Plummer's musical leviathan "World Sanguine Report" and is a co-leader of the rancid art-blues trio "Snack Family". He has also worked with many other wonderful people including Django Bates, Brian Irvine, Stan Sultzmann, Polar Bear, Tom Rainey, Graham Collier, David Axelrod, Jamie Cullum, Kenny Wheeler, Mark Lockheart, Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Arthurs to name a few!