Sholto + George Bloomfield

Next Saturday, 21st February, Alphabet on Dyke Road is hosting a session that leans into the more cinematic side of the local jazz scene. SHOLTO and George Bloomfield are bringing their collaboration to the stage, specifically focusing on the material from SHOLTO’s album, The Sirens. It’s a project that has picked up some interest from broadcasters like Gilles Peterson and Deb Grant, moving away from standard jazz structures towards something a bit more atmospheric. The music itself is built around a mix of deep bass lines and more delicate elements like strings and harp, creating a sound that feels both quite old and very modern at the same time—almost like library music designed for a specific kind of dream state.

The performance includes a full ensemble to bring those studio sounds to life, featuring Syd Kemp on bass, Clementine Brown on strings, and Rachel Horton Kitchlew on the harp. One of the central pieces they’ll be playing is ‘Persephone’s Perception’, a track originally recorded at SFJ studio in Hackney that reinterprets Greek mythology as a deliberate transformation. It’s the kind of set where the focus is as much on the narrative and the "groove" as it is on the technical jazz fusion. Acid Box Presents is the organiser behind this one, and they’ve scheduled the evening to run from 19:00 until 21:30, which makes it a fairly early start for a Saturday night in Brighton.

If you’re planning on heading down to the venue at 11 Dyke Road, there are a few different ways the pricing is working out. Tickets are £12 if you book them in advance, though platforms like DICE have them listed at £13.47 once fees are included. If you decide to just turn up on the night without a booking, it’ll be £15 at the door. It is worth noting that this is strictly an 18+ event, so you'll need to have your ID ready. It’s an interesting chance to see how these complex, cinematic arrangements—which involve a lot of layering in their recorded form—actually hold up in a live, intimate setting like Alphabet.