''Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise boldly go where fusion only hesitantly put out the odd foot before, and where prog rock could at best dream of going had it dared to. The music is vibrant, vital, exciting and fresh and even manages to surprise. One of these surprises is its wonderful accessibility and immediacy. "Inner Noise" has to be essential in any modern jazz and modern classical collection at the very least. Grab the original issue while you can as it's almost guaranteed to become a prized collectible''.
2004 Renaissance Man/Rainlore, February 2004, UK
''It's a challenge to distinguish oneself these days, but Asaf Sirkis & The Inner Noise is creating its own niche; an organ-guitar-drums trio like no other. The Song Within continues the precedent set on Inner Noise (Konnex, 2002) with Sirkis' best writing yet for a trio that has its own voice and continues to grow with each successive release''.
John Kelman, All About Jazz, 2007
... ''an attractive luxuriousness of texture, some sensational drumming and inventive soloing... Great playing from three contemporary performers at the upper-edge of the game''...
John Fordham, The Guardian Friday CD Review, June 2005
... ''fuelled fusion fun of the best kind, delivered without pretension and bursting with energy''.
Peter Marsh, BBC Magazine, June 2005
After
a classical degree course at Cambridge Steve tried
teaching before deciding that running a coffee
shop in Hampstead was the answer. From this base
he began working with London’s Jazz Luminaries,
including John Etheridge, Paul Nieman’s
“Elephant”, Maggie Nichols, Sarah
Jane Morris, Carol Grimes’s “Eyes
Wide Open” while also writing music for
film, theatre, and TV productions. At the end
of the 80’s joined George Russell’s
“Living Time Orchestra” where he met
Andy Sheppard and played on a couple of his albums.
In ’91 joined “Inco-motoin”,
Andy’s electric band and made 4 albums,
2 for Island, 2 for Blue Note, sharing the production
credits on the last 2. Other albums include “moving
Image” for Verve, featuring music from the
BBC profile of Peter Sellers, co-written with
Andy, and “Inclassificable”, a trio
with the Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos.
Steve also works with John Harle, contemporary
sax player (CD “Terror and Magnificence”);
Mark Ramsden, with whom he recorded a CD of music
for sax and church organ (“Above the Clouds”);
Monica Vasconcelos’s “Nois”(CD
released July 97), a Brazilian jazz line-up and
he has also been musical assistant to Paul- McCartney,
working on the “standing Stone” orchestral
project. Steve writes a monthly column for the
magazine “Making Music”. The Steve
Lodder 4tet performs fairly infrequently to enthusiastic
audiences. Andy Sheppard’s album “learning
to wave” is currently in the Jazz charts.
…"The two bands (Andy Sheppard/District
Six) shared a pianist in Steve Lodder who is increasingly
coupling a warm, embracing emotionalism with his
formidable but previously rather impassive virtuosity...he
was exceptional in both bands." Guardian 7/98
Mike Outram- Guitar
Mike
was born in Manchester, England and moved to London
in 1998. Since then
he has developed into one of the most original
and exciting guitarists in the
UK and is sought after as an improviser and for
his ability to contribute a
unique voice to any musical ensemble. He has been
heard with Herbie Mann, Stan
Sulzmann, Photec and alongside guitarists John
Etheridge and Martin Taylor. He
has appeared on over 30 CDs as a sideman, his
most recent recordings being
with Nikki Iles (Veils),Tony
Woods (Lowlands)and
Jacqueline Dankworth who's CD
'As the sun shines down on me' he Co-Produced
and contributed arrangements and
compositions to.
In
addition to performing Mike is a widely respected
teacher and has taught
at numerous workshops, clinics and summer schools
around the world. He is
Professor of Jazz Guitar at Trinity College of
Music, Middlesex University, The
Royal Academy of Music and The Purcell School
and has recently taught on the
Glamorgan and Wavendon Jazz Summer Schools.
Recently
Gooveyard, who Mike plays for, won the 'Best jazz
group in Europe'
award and they will be travelling to Spain to
collect the award and play at the
Granada Jazz Festival.
"Outram is a young jazz guitarist with world-class
credentials'' John
Fordham, The Guardian
