Philip Clouts was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and lived in London from an early age. Clouts was a founder member of worldbeat jazz band Zubop, with whom he composed music and played the piano, touring internationally and releasing five CDs. Performances included Ronnie Scott’s, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, and the Womad and Glastonbury Festivals. Acclaim in the press has included The Observer describing their music as “optimistic, unpretentious and hugely accomplished.”

Philip has released a trio CD of his compositions entitled “Direction South” which was described in Jazz UK as “an enormously enjoyable set of accessible but distinctive originals. Like the compositions, Clouts’ solos are thoughtful and persuasively structured”

More recently the Philip Clouts Quartet has been a major focus of his composing and playing.  The first quartet album ‘Sennen Cove’ garnered many enthusiastic reviews and was praised in Musician magazine for “consummate musicianship”;second album ‘The Hour of Pearl’ was also very well received, with Jazzwise magazine celebrating its “pulsating groove-orientated music…distinctive…spiritual and soul jazz…strongly melodic themes”. The Guardian praised the “precise ebullience and relaxed funkiness”of the latestalbum ‘Umoya,’ which is titled from the Zulu word for ‘life force’.

Ron Phelan studied bass in Dublin before moving to the UK. He has worked with some of the best musicians and performers in the country touring both nationally and internationally in projects ranging from jazz ensembles to large scale theatrical productions. He currently lives in the South West of England where he divides his time between performing and composing.

The duo setting provides an ideal opportunity for these performers to present their work in an intimate context. The music will cover a wide variety of moods, and in addition to Clouts’ original compositions the programme will feature some pieces from the jazz repertoire.