Many European jazz enthusiasts have been unanimously saying for years that London is the hottest spot for the genre on the Old Continent. The British capital, which is criss-crossed by the River Thames, is a mad cauldron of jazz, with a host of daring and devilishly talented artists setting the jazz trend for the world. Vinius Mama Jazz knows that these are not boastful statements and presents one of the hottest phenomena out there - Ill Considered, a collective that straddles the divide between improvisation, jazz, electronica and world music.
Formed in 2017, Ill Considered is the latest in a long line of artists and musicians. After spending a lot of time behind the scenes in the music studio working with greats like Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, pop star Katie Melua and ambient classic Brian Eno, drummer, producer and sound engineer Emre Ramazanoglu thought it was time to take a break and create something close to his heart. After meeting a couple of soul mates in the London boiler room - saxophonist, clarinettist and music producer Idris Rahman and bassist Leon Brichard - Emre didn't miss the chance to jam together. The first improvised performance became, in just 24 hours, the band's first album released under their own label set up for the occasion.
The spontaneous, no-strings-attached, DIY-philosophy-driven musical ship, while avoiding the big ports of call of the commercial music industry, soon became a highly sought-after item in the circles of Londoners who had seen and heard a lot, and before long it was sailing beyond the British Isles.
The creative backbone of the band is improvisation and enjoyment of the present moment. "Ill Considered's albums, more than ten of which have been released over the years, and concerts do not sound like meticulously detailed compositions. The musicians are constantly diving into sound, not to fulfil a pre-arranged plan, but rather to discover new creative angles and to surprise not only themselves, but also their listeners. This is fully reflected in the band's name, which in English is used to describe a reckless act.
The members of Ill Considered are based in London, but their sound transcends the British tradition. Born to an Irish and Indian family, I. Rahman and Turkish-born E. Ramazanoglu bring with them a solid trove of non-western music. In addition, Indian-born West African percussionist Satin Singh is a frequent collaborator, and recent recordings have featured tuba player Theon Cross, saxophonist Ahnanse, percussionist Sarathy Korwar and others. This wide range of influences from Ill Considered's regular members and their friends creates a unique gritty improvisational sound that organically blends jazz, electronic music, Afrobeat, funk and the musical heritage of the Middle East and India.
The band is also characterised by its exceptional album art. Each of their album covers is a subdued abstract artwork by Vincent de Boer, the artist who has become an integral part of Ill Considered. The plastic, delicate forms and subtle symmetry of his work are reminiscent of a mixture of the exquisitely playful art nouveau and the functionalistically rigorous art deco. It is this blend of architectural movements that captures the content of Ill Considered's albums incredibly well, with a masterly balance between feeling and reason, improvisation and structure.
