Jazz: Atlantic Road Trip

We are very excited to launch the Be-Bop Club’s 24/25 season with this fantastic international line-up, who are touring the UK to promote their debut album One.

Chicago-based trumpeter Chad McCullough first met Slovakian vibraphonist Miro Herak in 2009 at the Banff Center for the Arts, a catalyst for creativity under the direction of trumpeter Dave Douglas. The two became great friends and frequent collaborators, touring throughout Belgium and Holland with numerous projects. Shortly before the pandemic they joined forces with Scottish alto saxophonist Paul Towndrow, another longtime associate of Herak’s who is also heard here on traditional whistles and flute. Scottish drummer Alyn Cosker and Irish bassist Conor Murray complete the international ensemble. “We stayed in close contact throughout the pandemic and even remotely recorded a set for the 2021 Glasgow Jazz Festival,” remembers McCullough. The following year, Atlantic Road Trip toured the UK, Netherlands, and Belgium. Returning to Scotland in 2023, they managed to find the time in their busy touring schedule to record One.

Combining prominent musical voices from Europe and America, the group explores the evolution and fusion of traditional indigenous folk music from Scotland, Ireland, and Slovakia, and their historical coalescence through the medium of contemporary jazz and improvised music. The project also draws upon intertwined musical paths of European folk traditions and their historical interplay with music from Africa, South America, and beyond.

“With this debut album, Atlantic Road Trip have given notice that they are one of the most interesting and inspirational groups on the world jazz stage.” – London Jazz News.

“Trans-national teamwork, it should be noted, can often lead to an impressive outcome, which is certainly true of ONE, an exemplary debut album by the masterful quintet Atlantic Road Trip.” – All About Jazz