First London show in 38 years by the Philadelphia smooth jazz trio Pieces of a Dream at Soul Mama.
Pieces of a Dream play Soul Mama on Saturday 31 October, their first London show in 38 years. It's a long gap for a band that's been working steadily since the seventies, and the date marks their return to the city after nearly four decades away.
They started out in Philadelphia's music scene in 1976, taking their name from Stanley Turrentine's cover 'Pieces of Dreams'. For a while they were the house band for the local TV show City Lights, which is where jazz legend Grover Washington Jr. first heard them and sat in to play 'Mr. Magic'. Washington Jr. signed them to his new production company, Elektra, and they put out three albums in quick succession: Pieces of a Dream (1981), We Are One (1982) and Imagine This (1983), with 'Warm Weather', 'Mount Airy Groove' and 'Fo Fi Fo' coming from those. They later moved to EMI/Blue Note and recorded seven more albums.
At the core of it all are childhood friends pianist James Lloyd and drummer Curtis Harmon, who've played together for over 40 years and put out more than 25 recordings. The Philadelphia Inquirer called them 'Pioneers of Smooth Jazz'. They record with Shanachie Entertainment now, and long-time saxophonist Anthony Watson Jr. has become an official partner of the band. The London show is billed as their first in the city in 38 years, so it's been a long time since they last played here.
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It's on Saturday 31 October at Soul Mama, 21 Angel Central, London, with the music starting at 6:30 PM.
