Art Themen Organ Trio / Lewis Wright & Kit Downes

A stalwart of the British jazz scene for more than 50 years, Mancunian Art's saxophone style originally owed much to the influence of Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins, but later influences included such disparate saxophonists as Coleman Hawkins, Evan Parker and John Coltrane.

Art's new Organ Trio - which has released the quirkily titled CD, Thane And The Villeins - features the soulful organ groves of Pete Whittaker and drummer George Double.

Both award-winning, internationally recognised musicians in their own right, Lewis and Kit are regarded by critics as one of the most virtuosic and original duos in recent years to emerge on the UK jazz scene.

While Gary Burton and Chick Corea’s classic Crystal Silence album can draw comparison, with Duets, these two precociously talented young musicians have reached a degree of instrumental mastery and ventured beyond.

A composer influenced by artists such as Chick Corea, Steve Swallow, Gary Burton and Mike Gibbs, Lewis knows how to write tunes that are both launchpad and docking station for improvisation, and has a true composer’s sense of when less is more, while ECM recording artist Kit won the Best Album Award at the 2014 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.