Reworkings of tunes from the jazz cannon and beyond with open expansive forms, counter point & evolving harmonies. The music is melodic and expressive, yet full of subtle twists and surprises. 

Grown out of a love of the jazz tradition & the American song book. 

The project sits alongside John's more exploratory Hidden Notes work on extending the sonic possibilities of the saxophone and his involvement on the Afro and global music scenes, bringing tradition and experimentation together.

An all-star lineup completes with Dave Newton (piano), Henrik Jensen (double bass), Dave Smith (drums) & John Martin, featuring the full Bb saxophone family - tenor, soprano & rarely heard granddaddy of them all: the bass saxophone!!

John Martin – Composition & saxophones

After studying composition with Nikki Iles and Eddie Parker at Middlesex University, John went on to

play as a sideman in many bands on both the jazz and world music scenes. His début album “Dawning” was reviewed as ‘one of the most fascinating and beautiful releases’ of 2011, receiving positive testimonials from both Kenny Wheeler and Iain Ballamy. John has been a guest on both BBC radio 3’s jazz line up and jazz Fm’s Sunday jam and has been featured in the Jazzwise column “taking off” 

Martin’s 2^nd groundbreaking album “The Hidden Notes” received 4 star reviews from Jazzwise, The Jazz Mann, The Arts Desk and All About Jazz. Legendry American saxophonist ‘Bob Mintzer’ described it as, “Beautiful and Compelling” While Barak Schmool lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music called it “A milestone for himself and the saxophone world” 

Henrik Jensen is a Danish bassist and composer prominent on the UK jazz scene. After moving to London in 1997 to study electric bass, he transitioned to double bass, training at the Royal Academy of Music. Known for his lyrical and rhythmically complex compositions, Jensen leads a new trio with Esben Tjalve and Dave Smith, featured on the album Above Your House. He has released four albums as a leader, including Affinity (2020), praised by The Guardian. Jensen has collaborated with artists like Iain Ballamy and The Puppini Sisters, and appears on albums by Steve Banks, John Law, and Joy Ellis.

David Newton – Piano

Dave began his musical career in theatre before switching to jazz piano and after making his first recording with Martin Taylor and Buddy De Franco, was persuaded to move to London by his old Leeds Conservatoire room-mate, Alan Barnes. He gained reputation as an accompanist to visiting American musicians before launching his own solo career.

Newton has fifteen albums in his name and collaborated on over eighty with other artists. 

He became a fellow of Leeds College of Music in 2003, where he is a principal lecturer in jazz piano and in 2019 was voted best Jazz Pianist in the British Jazz Awards for the sixteenth time. 

Dave Smith - Drums 

Dave is one of the most in demand drummers on the UK Jazz scene and has performed and recorded with Mark Lockheart, Pete King, Cloudmakers Trio (with Jim Hart and Michael Janisch), Anglo-Gambian band Fofoula, Sam Crockatt, Rebecca Nash, Jason Yard, George Crowley and many more. He's also well known outside the jazz world for his work with Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters

Dave Smith is a drummer, rhythm educator, and founder of Rhythm Skool and the Dave Smith Rhythm Academy — a global community helping musicians develop internal pulse and unshakeable timing through body-based training.

Trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Dave is best known for six years touring and recording with Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters (2012–2018), performing at Glastonbury, the Sydney Opera House, and the Royal Albert Hall, and appearing on The Tonight Show and Later with Jools Holland. He has also worked with Patty Griffin, Donny McCaslin, Chrissie Hynde, and Eddie Henderson, and recorded for Rachid Taha and Bassekou Kouyate.

As co-leader of Fofoulah and Outhouse Ruhabi, Dave has pioneered fusions of West African Sabar drumming with European jazz, releasing albums on Glitterbeat and Loop Records. His immersion in Sabar began with a trip to The Gambia in 2002, studying with Wolof master drummers — an experience that transformed his understanding of rhythm and became the foundation of his teaching.

Since 2021, Dave has focused on rhythm education through his proprietary Triangle of Inner Pulse method (Step, Clap, Say), helping musicians of all backgrounds move from mechanical counting to embodied rhythm. Rhythm Skool now has thousands of members worldwide.