Talking Spirits

Talking Spirits play the National Centre for Early Music on Wednesday 11 November, from 7.30pm to around 9.30pm. It's a lively blend of world jazz, folk and Caribbean grooves led by composer and multi-instrumentalist James Lascelles.

Lascelles describes Talking Spirits less as a band and more as a musical convergence: a collective of world-class artists whose combined experience spans the hall of fame of modern music. The group traces back to a labour of love he started years ago with the late John McKenzie, rooted in a shared love of worldwide sounds. Across his career, Lascelles has performed, recorded and collaborated with an astonishing roster of names: the avant-garde genius of Frank Zappa and the pioneering violinist L. Shankar, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Joan Armatrading, Steve Winwood, Jeff Beck, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Joss Stone, Mick Taylor, Bob Marley, Incognito and Paul Buckmaster. That wide-ranging background comes through in the live show, which pulls together world jazz, folk and Caribbean grooves.

On the night, Lascelles takes on keys, dulcimer, melodica and percussion, joined by Richard Bailey on drums, Tim Herniman on sax and violin, and Michael Bailey on bass. The venue is an intimate room in the medieval, Grade I listed St Margaret's Church in the heart of York, home to the acclaimed York Early Music Festival founded in 1977. Tickets are £23, with concessions at £21 and under-35s at £8.