Sebastian Rochford (percussion)
Pete Wareham (tenor/baritone saxophone)
Mark Lockheart (tenor saxophone)
Tom Herbert (double bass)
Leafcutter John (electronics/guitar)

Polar Bear are a perfect fit for a modern London, where influences constantly collide to create new and exciting hybrids. Their take on jazz is never limited by constricting notions of what a genre ‘ought’ to sound like. Led by drummer/bandleader Sebastian Rochford, with saxophonists Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart, double bassist Tom Herbert and Leafcutter John on electronics and guitar, the group’s music actively embraces the different musical worlds that surround it. From the raw energy of punk and hip-hop to the delicacy of modern experimental and classical music, their music confounds expectations by being both shamelessly melodic and gloriously uplifting.

Following their 2004 debut Dim Lit, the group was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005 for their second album Held On The Tips Of Fingers, which found their sound expanding to incorporate electronic elements. The album was subsequently included in Jazzwise magazine’s 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World and The Guardian’s 1000 Albums To Hear Before You Die. The addition of Leafcutter John to the group offered new avenues to explore, something they took full advantage of on third album Polar Bear, which moved away from the previous tight, thrashy arrangements into a more longform style of composition.

Polar Bear’s live performances carry both the nervous, exploratory energy of improvisation and the confident intensity of a group of musicians who have been playing together for many years. In 2010, Rochford deliberately wrote and recorded their fourth album quickly, with the group having only played each piece once or twice before recording them live in a studio. The result was Peepers (their first album for The Leaf Label), with a wonderfully spontaneous feel.

Later that year, Rochford constructed further material almost entirely using samples of Peepers, in collaboration with London rapper Jyager. Their record, Common Ground, was released under the name Polar Bear with Jyager, and Polar Bear subsequently performed the material live, with saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings joining the line-up for several shows.

2013 will see Polar Bear regroup for a new album and tour, opening up a new window on Rochford’s intriguing writing and recording processes.