Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band [jazz/punk]

“Jazz like you’ve never seen it before…” – Chris Phillips – Jazz FM, Love Supreme

“Barmy, bombastic, cosmic, comical” – Cambridge Jazz Festival

Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band is the one-of-a-kind Jazz engine based in Leeds, led by Tina May Awardee Fergus Quill, the Composer, Arranger, and Conductor of the group. The band itself is no stranger to critical acclaim, recently being awarded the Peter Whittingham Award for 2023. This should be no surprise, considering the group is comprised of some of the most in demand musicians in the UK.

Fergus’s main creative projects are The Fergus Quill Trio and Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band. The latter released its eponymous debut LP in February 2023, while the trio has released two albums of its own, all on the Tight Lines label. Tracks from the LPs have enjoyed radio play from Gilles Peterson on both 6 Music and Worldwide FM, by Jamie Cullum on Radio 2, on Radio 3’s Freeness and from Jez Nelson and Chris Phillips on Jazz FM. The trio’s first LP Zoop Zoop was reviewed in Jazzwise. Fergus has also spent a number of years involved with NYJO as arranger, conductor, and performer, worked with renowned Brasilian music legend Hermeto Pascoal, and with John Zorn’s Bagatelles. At the same time, Fergus also had the honour of transcribing and arranging music for The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Knoell Scott.

Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band is an organic and fluid ensemble of young jazz musicians drawn from across the Leeds jazz scene. The band’s origins were as an informal five piece Sun Ra tribute project but quickly grew into a dynamic 25+ strong musical force with a reputation for energetic live performances and experimental arrangements. To pin the music down to one influence would be a task; a part of the sound owes itself to the works of Duke Ellington, Sun Ra Arkestra, and the Mingus Big Band, but the DIY Punk aesthetic and the love of film composers such as Ennio Morricone is something that is integral to the band sound also. It’s not at all uncommon for mosh pits to break out during the bands noisy numbers. Live composition is a big part of each performance and recording, with various hand signals and movements occurring at any moment that the band recognise and respond to. Fergus and the band also have a sensitive sound, with beautifully written ballad arrangements appearing regularly.

“Fantastic musicianship and soloing meet theatrical drama and punk attitude” – Ally J Steel, Jazz Revelations

“Riotous Leeds Ensemble…expansive, high-energy sets that are never the same twice.” – Kevin Le Gendre, BBC Radio 3