Thu 18th Feb - DOG SOUP / TOM-MIX / PHRONESIS

8.00pm
Dog Soup
The band employ effects, samplers and loops to create a swirling bed of music over which to improvise a seething electronic stew of gritty, dark grooves.

Robbie Robson (trumpet & fx), John Turville (keyboards), Johnny Brierley (bass guitar) and Tim Giles (drums).

9.00pm
Tom Mix
A relatively new band, led by Mark Hanslip (tenor sax), with Olie Brice (double bass) and Tony Marsh (drums), exploring open improvisation based on a broad frame of reference which includes the work of John Coltrane, Lee Konitz and Sonny Rollins, the classical music of Bartok, Webern and Xenakis and the raw energy of rock and hip hop.

10.00pm
Phronesis
Sparked by a repeated bass figure, the band feel their way into a groove, slowly shifting its emphasis and subtly altering its dynamics as they go until all its many and varied possibilities have been explored. 'A frenetic, grooving, great young band with bags of confidence' (Time Out).

Anton Eger (drums), Ivo Neame (piano), Jasper Hoiby (bass).

Fri 19th Feb - YOLK / BLINK / DAVE MANNINGTON'S RIFF RAFF - GOLDEN AGE OF STEAM

8.00pm – Loop Friends Series
Yolk
European TV brass trio comprising Matthias Schriefl (trumpet), Daniel Casimir (trombone) and Francois Thuillier (tuba).

9.00pm
Blink
With special guest Vincent Courtois.
Blink has established itself as a unique ensemble on the current UK and European Jazz scene. The trio premiere their collaboration with world-class French cellist Vincent Courtois featuring music from their forthcoming second album as well as new pieces composed especially for the occasion.

'Blink enjoys a nimble agility that seems intent on taking everyone by surprise…somehow discovering accidental perfection in the face of infinite possibility' (Jazzwise)

Robin Fincker (sax & clarinet ), Alcyona Mick (piano), Paul Clarvis (drums) and Vincent Courtois (cello).

10.00pm
Dave Manington’s Riff-Raff
Playing material from their 2008 album release 'Headrush' described as '... an absorbing and oddly compelling album, another quiet triumph for the consistently intriguing Loop Collective' (Chris Parker).

The Quartet is augmented by vocalist Brigitte Beraha. 'Her pure, agile soprano addresses lyrics and imaginative scatting with equal aplomb' (Chris Parker).

Brigitte Beraha (vocals), Mark Hanslip (tenor saxophone), Ivo Neame (Rhodes), Dave Manington (bass) and Tim Giles (drums).

11.00pm
Golden Age of Steam
Led by reeds player James Allsopp, the band builds on his association with drummer Tim Giles, his co-leader of the award-winning quintet Fraud and the line-up is completed by keyboard virtuoso Kit Downes, winner of the BBC Jazz Award for Rising Star 2008.

Inspired by the anarchic playfulness of Ligeti’s music, the joyous thunder of Coltrane and Ayler and the twisted lyricism of Captain Beefheart, the music is sometimes labyrinthine, sometimes eerily sparse – incorporating seismic riffs, limping marches and intricately woven textures.

James Allsopp (tenor sax ), Kit Downes (organ) and Tim Giles (drums).

Sat 20th Feb - MA / FRINGE MAGNETIC / UMLAUT / GEMINI

8:00pm
Ma
Earthy, dub-inflected cyclic grooves and group improvisations that belie the size and instrumentation of the group – Tom Challenger (tenor sax ), Ross Stanley (organ), Dave Smith (drums) and Matt Calvert (laptop).

9.00pm
Fringe Magnetic
Trumpeter Rory Simmon's Fringe Magnetic brings together chamber music and cutting-edge jazz and improvised music. The ensemble features some of the most exciting young musicians on the London jazz, classical and improvised scene.

Vocalists Elisabeth Nygaard and Andrew Plummer lend the ensemble a mesmeric darkness which converges in a mix of New-York downtown, 20th century contemporary classical and skewed verse.

10:00pm – Loop Friends Series
Umlaut
Peeping Tom with special guest Evan Parker.

Pierre-Antoine Badaroux (alto sax), Joel Grip (bass), Antonin Gerbal (drums) and Evan Parker (sax).

11.00pm
Gemini
Vibes player Jim Hart's Gemini fuses melodic lyricism with complex rhythmic counterpoint and free improvisation. The music draws on the influences of Bill Frisell, Wayne Shorter and John Hollenbeck’s Claudia quintet.

Autumn 2009 saw the release of their new album 'Narrada' and a successful UK tour.

Jim Hart (vibes), Ivo Neame (alto sax), Jasper Hoiby (bass), Dave Smith (drums).

This evening's performance will be recorded by BBC Radio 3

Sun 21st Feb - LIMA / OUTHOUSE / IVO NEAME 4TET

8.00pm – Loop Friends Series
Lima
Matt Bourne (piano, keyboards & laptop).

This is Bourne's second ever improvised solo performance using only the legendary Moog Memorymoog analogue synthesizer. Expect a memorable (excuse the pun) sonic and sometimes hilarious journey through its circuits – with ear-splitting frequencies, passages of John Carpenteresque 80's soundtracks and the unmistakable warmth that only 18 voltage-controlled oscillators can produce...

9:00pm
Outhouse
Following a busy year which included a European tour with guitar wizard Hilmar Jensson and a UK tour with 'Ruhabi' (their critically acclaimed collaboration with five west-african percussionists) – Outhouse starts their 2010 season at the Loop festival with a brand new set of music written for the quartet.

Still blurring the line between composed and improvised music, Outhouse, dubbed by Jazzwise as 'one of the best young bands on the current London Jazz scene', is all set to embark on an engaging journey without stylistic boundaries.

Robin Fincker (tenor sax & clarinet), Tom Challenger (tenor sax), Johnny Brierley (bass) and Dave Smith (drums).

10.00pm
Ivo Neame 4tet
Featuring an unusual front-line line-up of piano and vibes, two of the country's most resourceful soloists, Jim Hart (vibes) and Ivo Neame (piano), stretch out and strike sparks off each other over one of the most intense yet thoughtful rhythm sections currently operating in the UK – Jasper Hoiby (bass), James Maddren (drums).

'...immediately appealing, fresh and stimulating, courtesy not only of the infectious enthusiasm and commitment of Neame's band but also of the sheer classiness of his writing for it' (Chris Parker).