Debuting at the club in March, Eddie Gripper is a young jazz pianist based in Wales with an authentic and original take on the classic piano trio format. When we heard his debut album Home on Ubuntu music we had to have him at the club. As well as his intriguing originals – beautifully embellished by a well rehearsed and empathic rhythm section of Ursula Harrison (double bass) and Patrick Barrett-Donlon (drums) – he will be including some standards to take us from what we know and love towards what we are about to discover!

An unedited summary appears below:

Reviews

“In it’s maturity of approach and deftness of execution, Home is a significant achievement by any standards” – ★★★★

Peter Jones (Jazzwise)

“One of the best début recordings I have heard for a long time. Gripper is a multi-faceted writer and his compositions are full of delightful and unexpected twists and turns.” – ★★★★

Ian Mann (The Jazz Mann)
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“Eddie Gripper, unusually for his age, has an uncommon ability to sit with understatement in his music. Gestures can be used sparingly and musically and he plays and writes very dynamically allowing his trio to interact naturally, and indeed to shine. A musical voice that brings talent and modesty to the table- I look forward to hearing lots more from Eddie and his trio over the coming years.”

Alex Merritt (https://www.alexmerritt.co.uk/)
“Quite exceptional musicianship from such young players”

Linley Hamilton (BBC)
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“An original and fresh voice on the UK jazz scene. A highly eclectic range of compositions that showcase a really individual approach. Definitely a name to look out for in 2023”

Huw Warren (https://huwwarren.wordpress.com/)
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“A young, up-and-coming, fantastic wizkid on the british jazz scene”

Sarah Chaplin (JazzLondonLive)
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“As for someone always on the lookout for the new interesting names in jazz music, discovering Eddie Gripper has been a true pleasure for me. I have just finished listening to his debut album “Home“, and I found it full of little gems – both from the point of view of composition and performance. His is quite a sophisticated music, sometimes with intricate time signatures, rhythms and harmonies which yet never seem to be the goal “per se”: these pieces always sound beautiful and accessible. Listening to such a work full of sparkling creativity gave me a lot of joy: thanks to the talented young musicians like Eddie and his Trio, modern jazz is not only kept alive, but the new horizons are constantly being set in this
genre.

I wish this band every success, and I really hope that the promoters across the UK and further afield will notice their music and invite them to perform at a multitude of venues thus ensuring that the level of modern jazz is maintained at its highest.” 

Yuri Golubev (https://yurigoloubev.com/)
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“A satisfying debut album” – ★★★★
Neil Duggan (All About Jazz)
“A remarkably mature-sounding trio album for a pianist who is still only 22”

John Bungey (London Jazz News)
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“A sensitive pianist of the Bill Evans school of less is more, his minimalist interpretations of his own compositions are quite beautiful… A nice album and well worth sounding out in real/cyberspace. In fact, it's lovely.”

Lance Liddle (Bebop Spoken Here)
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“The seven tracks offer intriguing grooves and harmonies that show a sophisticated understanding of contemporary jazz… He’s a talented composer as well as improviser, not a common combination. Gripper’s album offers immediate promise… I predict interesting developments over the coming years, which I'll be keen to keep track of.”

Andy Hamilton (Rhinegold International Piano)
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“It does not take long when listening to this remarkable debut album from pianist Eddie Gripper that you realise here is something quite special. A set of all original compositions that do not all swing in the conventional sense but have their own internal rhythmic logic and flow that is most compelling. Gripper’s melodic compositions have an easy charm about them that demand repeated listening. Sometimes to confirm that yes, you have just heard that correctly and just where did that phrase come from?; or simply because the music is that good.
Each of the seven pieces on the album are all carefully structured to hold their own as stand alone compositions, but also sit together well as evoking the feeling of home and the comfort that it brings. The album’s finale, ‘To The Moon’ echoes that sentiment, and in a perfect moment of reflection in this delightful piece for solo piano Eddie Gripper leaves us hanging on every note. As the era of overlong albums seems to be falling away in favour of shorter, more compact musical statements, Eddie Gripper leaves us wanting more… and soon.”
Nick Lea (Jazz Views)