Dreamers by Mark Lockheart

Dreamers is the new project from the legendary British saxophonist and composer Mark Lockheart featuring Elliot Galvin (Dinosaur, Elliot Galvin Trio), Tom Herbert (Polar Bear, The Invisible) and Dave Smith (Robert Plant). Stylistically free and psychedelic in nature, the release of Dreamers signals a new trajectory for the musician who has already featured on a wide ranging and diverse catalogue of albums including Radiohead's Kid A. As a founding member of Loose Tubes and Polar Bear, Mark Lockheart has always remained ahead of the curve and has constantly explored new directions in his own music. Dreamers epitomises this adaptation and evolution, allowing the music to speak beyond the boundaries of genre and predictability. Mark has created an album which is direct and unpretentious but also surprising and unexpected.

As Mark explains: “The grooves, the sonics and the musical character of each piece are all hugely important. The process of writing music for these musicians led me into a new sound world that's very different from anything I’d done before”.

“I wanted this music to be unfussy and direct, but also unpredictable and surprising. The writing happened quickly for this album - my only intention being not to be restricted by style or genre. Of course there are influences and with hindsight I can hear many of them, John Zorn, Burt Bacharach, Ellington and  Kraftwerk are all here, not sure how, perhaps they were all in one of my dreams!”

Since 2009’s quintet album In Deep, Mark has become one of the Edition family, releasing a string of critically acclaimed albums under his own name, with the group Malija and with Edition artists including Slowly Rolling Camera, Jasper Hoiby and Laura Jurd. Mark has continued to work with classical artists (a collaboration that began with his group Perfect Houseplants in the 1990s (the Orlando Consort, Andrew Manze and Pamela Thorby) continued with theatrical and operatic work with Mark Anthony Turnage in the 2000s and his English Renaissance music record Salvator Mundi recorded at Temple church in London with organist Roger Sayer in 2019.

Saxophonist and composer Mark Lockheart first came to prominence in the mid 1980s with the influential big band Loose Tubes. Since then he has played a prominent role in Polar Bear and worked with many of the Jazz greats. Days on Earth is his most ambitious album to date, wrapping 25 years of musical and life influences into a one career-defining album.

marklockheart.co.uk