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Often described as "punk jazz," British avant-garde jazz ensemble Led Bib are a progressive, stylistically varied group touching on everything from swinging post-bop to skronky free jazz and a healthy dose of neo-prog and noise rock. The group first emerged with 2005's Arboretum and gained wider recognition with 2009's Mercury Prize-nominated Sensible Shoes. They have continued to expand their sound, issuing genre-bending albums like 2014's The Good Egg and 2017's Umbrella Weather.
Formed in 2003 by drummer/composer Mark Holub (with the band's first gig in February of the following year), Led Bib also feature bassist Liran Donin, keyboardist Toby McLaren, and alto saxophonists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams. Drawing on such inspirations as saxophonist Ornette Coleman, avant-garde firebrand John Zorn, free jazz icon Sun Ra, and even '60s psych rocker Captain Beefheart, Led Bib released their debut album, Arboretum, on Slam in 2005. The band's sophomore album, Sizewell Ten, dropped in 2007 on Babel. Since 2005, the group has logged some high-profile gigs, including a one-hour live broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and an appearance at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
Led Bib released their third studio effort, Sensible Shoes, on Cuneiform in 2009, which was short-listed for the Mercury Prize. In celebration of the group's tenth anniversary, Cuneiform issued two Led Bib albums in May of 2014: The People in Your Neighbourhood and the limited-edition vinyl LP The Good Egg, the latter recorded live at two London shows in 2013. In early 2017, Led Bib issued Umbrella Weather, their seventh outing, marking the band's debut for the London-based RareNoise Records. The collaborative multimedia project, It's Morning, arrived in 2019 and featured songs with vocalist Sharron Fortnam and an accompanying film directed by Dylan Pecora. ~ Matt CollarAlbums, EPs, Collections
