“...this is one of the most harmonically rich groups
touring the UK at present.” ~ Jazzwise

“Music for the people:
lush soundscapes to envelop the listener
in an explosion of aural imagery” ~ John Etheridge

Curious Paradise is a unique British band which explores the relationship between strongly melodic-based composition, improvisation and deeply appealing grooves. Although comprising five of the UK's most respected jazz musicians, this programme is not aimed purely at the jazz cognoscenti: this is 21st century music of great appeal for anybody with an open mind.

‘Now!’ is the third album by Curious Paradise and is a further development of the musical concept captured on English Elements (Live!). As with our last CD, this has been masterfully recorded by Adrian Zolotuhin allowing the listener to be absorbed by the rich, varied and groovesome soundscapes the band has created.

For further details of this release, go to the music/CDs page. To find out where you can hear the band promoting this album, go to the gig dates page. To purchase this album in advance of its general release (September ‘07) or if you encounter problems locating it in record shops, you can order it directly by emailing Pete at the address in the contact page.

A brief history of Curious Paradise

Since its inception in September 2003, Curious Paradise has enjoyed a flurry of activity which has seen 2 CDs and one DVD recorded within a year, 5 UK tours (including the extensive May/June ‘04 Arts Council of England tour), BBC radio broadcasts and various festival appearances.

The first eponymously entitled album ‘Curious Paradise’ was recorded right at the beginning of the group’s history (Sept ‘03) before any gigs had been performed. I had through-written the material for this album with the intention of creating a new group sound which would have a clear, cohesive thread throughout. To quote from my liner notes, “... in retrospect, I can see that my stubborn optimism veiled any notion that this might be a strange way of going about things: most bands tour or gig their material fairly thoroughly before committing it to disc.” However, this plan seemed to work in kick-starting the group as I intended it to go on and the album received some genuine critical acclaim (see reviews page).

Following the debut tour of Curious Paradise (Nov ‘03), I changed the personnel to bring in keyboards wizard Steve Hamilton (see links) and bass maestro Steve Watts. With this line up, the group won an Arts Council of England award, supporting an extensive UK tour in May and June ‘04. It was during this tour that the  album and DVD English Elements (Live!) was recorded.

The Live Experience

Despite the success of ‘English Elements (Live!)’, following the release of the album both Steve Hamilton and Steve Watts were unable to continue touring with us. I was very fortunate in being able to replace them with the virtuosic and highly inventive Phil Peskett on piano and keyboards, and the fabulous bassist Oli Hayhurst. Both of these players are completely in tune with the concept of the group.

Following the groups 5th UK tour in 2005, Mark Lockheart left the group due to his increasingly heavy commitments with Polar Bear. Mark is a wonderful player with very much his own personal sound and approach; there was only one person that I could think of that would – in his own way – appropriately fill the vacancy. This was Julian Nicholas and indeed, from the first rehearsal, he proved to be the PERFECT replacement