Wed 14 April The Jazz Æsthetic
Nathan Higgins (trumpet) Andrew Robinson & Natalie Aldridge (alto saxes) Ben Ten-Bruggencate and Jon Wallace (tenor saxes) Jack Swift (trombones) Isaac Draper (electric guitar) Chris Legg & Peter Elsdon (piano / keyboards) Jamie Moore (electric bass) Ed Ball (drums)

The Jazz Æsthetic is a band based at the University of Hull, directed by the Head of Jazz and Popular Music, Dr. Peter Elsdon (who just happens to be one of the Hulljazz house pianists!). All the members of the band are undergraduate music students, most of them studying on the University's Jazz and Popular Music degree programme. The band was formed with the intention of allowing these young musicians to showcase their talents in jazz clubs around the region, as part of an ensemble.

The band's repertoire is currently built around a project called 'Directions in Groove: the music of Herbie Hancock'. This hour-long set explores some of Hancock's famous but also lesser known pieces, focussing particularly on tunes from the 'Headhunters' era. The band also performs an opening set which includes a range of contemporary jazz, including compositions by Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, The Yellowjackets, Bob Berg, and John Scofield.

Peter Elsdon explains: "The whole point of The Jazz Æsthetic for me, not just as a lecturer but a jazz musician, was to have a student band that I could be an active part of and take out on the road. I want the band to be recognised on its own terms, not because its members are students. The jazz world has always provided opportunities for young musicians to learn on the bandstand, and that's why I formed this band: it allows these young musicians to practise and hone their art in Yorkshire jazz clubs, on 'home turf', as it were."