Ben Crosland created his first Quartet in December 2000 with Steve Waterman. It also featured two of the best young musicians on the Manchester scene: Stuart McCallum on guitar, and Dave Walsh on drums. To critical acclaim, the Quartet recorded two albums, “Heartland” and “Last Flight Out”, and has toured extensively with Jazz Services. In 2004, Threeway was formed by Steve Lodder (and Steve Waterman) and performed at festivals in Manchester,Swanage and Hawick. The trio approach improvisation with subtlety, creating intensity through group interplay. This group is best suited for the concert hall. The debut album, Conversations, was featured on BBC Radio 3 Jazz Line Up in April 2006. Crosland created his new quartet in 2006, along with a regular working band that included Jamil Sheriff on piano, Rod Mason on saxophones and Dave Tyas playing drums. Crosland continues to work on other projects: In 1996, Crosland composed and recorded several pieces in a quartet with Jim Mullen, Adrian Ingram (guitar) and Eryl Roberts (drums). The album, titled ‘Spread the Word,’ was again well received by critics. Crosland was an active member of the Rod Mason Quartet that featured Steve Lodder for many years. Crosland is a member the Rod Mason/Jim Müller Quartet and tours each year, along with Dave Tyas as part of John Etheridge’s Trio North. He also performs jazz in concert and on radio. From /www.ukjazz.net
