We sat down with Alcyona Mick, a musician at the forefront of the UK jazz scene, ahead of her upcoming gig at Omnibus as part of the Alcyona Mick & Tori Freestone Duo.
OMNIBUS THEATRE: How did you meet and when did you start collaborating?
ALCYONA MICK: We have played together in the London Jazz Orchestra for many years and started working as a duo after playing Monk tunes on a project in Tenerife. Manchester Jazz festival gave us our first platform in 2015, where we performed at the beautiful St Ann’s church.
OT: Describe your genre of music in 5 words.
AM: Dynamic, Intriguing, heartfelt, explorative, inviting
OT: Describe a little further your ‘unusual use and fusing of instrumentation’?
AM: This refers to our backgrounds working with many different artists. We’ve both worked with everything from 18 piece big-bands, to chordless trios, to playing solo gigs alongside silent film.
I’ve worked in North Africa, Middle East and Turkey with many musicians, Tori has worked with artists such as Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal, Cuban salsa bands and has a background playing English folk music as a child.
OT: Do you ever find it slightly constraining only using 2 instruments to perform jazz ?
AM: Actually I find the opposite. I have more freedom as a pianist to use the whole piano whilst playing and don’t feel the need to ‘fill in’ for bass or drums at any point because it’s a totally different, more open sound. In fact sometimes Tori accompanies me on Sax. It’s more of a conversation between the two of us. Tori has the opportunity to use the natural resonance of her instrument which can sometimes be lost when playing with a full band.
OT: How do you hope audiences will feel leaving your performance at Omnibus Theatre?
AM: I hope they will enjoy whatever elements of the gig speak to them the most. We hope to make it an uplifting experience. We have a large range of influences in our material and playing and hope that there is something for everyone to take away.
Catch Alcyona Mick & Tori Freestone Duo at Omnibus Theatre on Sunday 18th March – get your tickets HERE
