Jazz: Liam Brennan’s Abacus

Composer Liam Brennan last presented Abacus at the club in 2023, and returns as part of a short tour to promote their new album, which was recorded live in the same year. The band features some of the finest players from the Birmingham and London scenes, and on this occasion includes our own Nick Malcolm on trumpet, standing in for regular trumpeter James Borland.

Formed in 2022, the project concept was heavily influenced by Omer Avital’s Asking No Permission which featured a 4-horn frontline. The music aims to combine concepts from both the jazz small group tradition as well as the big band lineage

Liam draws influences from composers John Hollenbeck and John Taylor, as well as Charles Mingus and Oliver Nelson. He is currently studying a masters in composition and improvisation in Gothenburg, Sweden with an Erasmus project in Oslo, Norway.