Spice Jazz Soho: Five Way Split – “Modus operandi” Album launch

After 25 years of solid jazz promoting, as founded by Paul Pace, at the Spice of Life Soho, nurturing upcoming talents as well as established masters of the music, the SpiceJazz Team (Tara Minton and Clement Regert) are excited to relocate their acclaimed operation to the well-appointed and stylish music room of Crazy Coqs.

Five-Way Split is a jointly-led band formed in 2020 featuring some of the finest contemporary jazz musicians in the UK, fronted by renowned trumpet star Quentin Collins and Greek saxophone phenomenon Vasilis Xenopoulos. The rhythm section features the golden touch of pianist and composer Rob Barron, virtuosic bassist Matyas Hofecker and dynamic drummer Matt Home.

The band’s vision is to carry on the lineage of groups like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as well as mirroring the New York contemporary-bop scene. From this inspiration, the band presents a sound that respects the tradition of the hard-bop era whilst also bringing it up to date for today’s audience. With an extensive repertoire of carefully crafted and imaginative original compositions by each member, along with hip, swinging material by greats like Jimmy Heath, Cedar Walton and Horace Silver, Five-Way Split delivers a night of the best swinging and soulful music in town.

The band members have collectively worked with the likes of Al Jarreau, Kyle Eastwood, Stacey Kent, Harold Mabern and Barry Harris. They have played sold out shows at London’s Ronnie Scott’s & 606 Jazz Club, Pizza Express Live, as well top UK festivals like Swanage, . Their debut album “All The Way” was released in March 2023 on Ubuntu Music, and contains mostly original compositions by the band as well as a couple of choice arrangements of classic jazz standards. It will appeal to all those fans of Hard Bop and straight-ahead, contemporary jazz music.

LINE-UP:
Quentin Collins: Trumpet
Vasilis Xenopoulos: Tenor Saxophone
Matt Home: Drums
Matyas Hofecker: Double bass
Rob Barron: Piano

“Barron, Collins and Xenopoulos have collectively achieved a poised sound that is very pleasing indeed” – Peter Vacher, Jazzwise ★★★★★

“Five-Way Split is a group of some of the finest contemporary musicians on the UK circuit who make a strong case for bebop and hard bop being a vital force in 21st century jazz” – Nick Lea, Jazz Views

“Splendid” – Quentin Collins

★★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

“One of the most fiery young saxophonists around” – Vasilis Xenopoulos

★★★★ – The Times