flipped eye publishing unveils house band

For Immediate Release
March 2009

l'8 quintet
flipped eye publishing Unveils House Band To Mark 8th Anniversary

flipped eye publishing, an award-winning small press based in Manchester, has unveiled a house band l'8 quintet (pronounced lit quintet) to mark its eighth anniversary. The brainchild of publisher Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the band will play a series of gigs with literary guest musicians such as Roger Robinson and Hisham Matar from July 2009 after their official debut at the Southbank Centre on May 20 2009 at a gala evening to celebrate flipped eye publishing's milestone and launch their nationwide series of readings and performances, the f8 tour.

The f8 tour's gala launch has been described by Mr Parkes as 'a fun-filled evening to remind us all why we fell in love with words.' Drawing inspiration from the kinds of literary evenings that saw Langston Hughes jam on stage with jazz greats, the programme consists of a quiet session with readings from short stories and novels, and a 'punctuated' session where writers will jam with l'8 quintet while mingling with the audience and enjoying wine from Chile and Argentina, sponsored by South American wines online.

The members of l'8 quintet are keyboardist, trombonist and arranger, Dave Holland, saxophonists Chris Rand and Rob Sell, trumpeter Mark Crown and bass player Hedi Pinkerfeld. Although a young collective, members have played with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, including Courtney Pine, Estelle, Jason Yarde, Finley Quaye, Denys Baptiste and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Notes:

• l'8 quintet is a jazz-style quintet and the brainchild of writer and publisher Nii Ayikwei Parkes who has always sought to sustain the fun in literature and thought l'8 quintet would be the perfect way to link his love of music with his love of words. He enlisted the help of friend and jazz virtuoso Jason Yarde to audition a set of 'groovy and tight' young musicians with a good appreciation for words at the Spice of Life in Soho to form l'8 quintet (pronounced lit quintet).
• Nii Ayikwei Parkes, the publisher at flipped eye publishing, started his performance career at the Frog & Bucket in Manchester and has shared the stage with many musicians and bands including the Kindred band, Natalie Williams, Trouba, Terri Walker and US hip-hop icons, Dead Prez.
• l'8 quintet can be found online at www.l-8vibe.com

Further Details:

For images, or more information on l'8 quintet please contact Ian Somers on: Ian.Somers [at] shesgotthatvibe [dot] com

For more information flipped eye publishing and its initiatives, please contact Horton Silvera: horton [at] shesgotthatvibe [dot] com or Stuart Strong on: stuart [dot] strong [at] flippedeye [dot] net / 0845 652 9517

posted at 10:50 PM