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Olie Brice

I’m a jazz and improv double bassist, based in London. I lead and compose for two groups at the moment:

The Olie Brice Quartet (with Mark Hanslip – tenor, Leon Michener – piano and Jeff Williams- drums)

The Carracks Project (with James Allsopp – reeds, Nick Malcolm – trumpet, Alex Bonney – laptop and Mark Sanders – drums)

I’m also involved in several collaborative projects, including:

Riverloam Trio – (Mikolaj Trzaska – alto sax, bass clarinet and Mark Sanders – drums)

Catatumbo (trio with Ingrid Laubrock – tenor and Javier Carmona – drums)

Duo with Neil Metcalfe – flute

BABs (James Allsopp – bass clarinet, Alex Bonney – laptop)

and am in a few people’s bands, including:

The Nick Malcolm Quartet (Nick Malcolm – trumpet, Alexander Hawkins – piano and Mark Whitlam – drums)

Loz Speyer’s Inner Space Music (Loz Speyer – trumpet, Chris Biscoe – alto sax, alto clarinet, Rachel Musson – tenor & soprano, Simon Roth – drums)

Alex Bonney Trio (Alex Bonney – trumpet, Jeff Williams – drums)

Other musicians I’ve appeared with include Evan Parker, Paul Dunmall, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Ken Vandermark, Tony Marsh, Lol Coxhill, Pat Thomas, Mulatu Astatke, Alan Wilkinson, Hannah Marshall, Steve Reid and Steve Swell, among many others.

Tags

8
Album Review

Johnny Hunter / Mark Hanslip / Olie Brice: Divisions

Read "Divisions" reviewed by John Sharpe


Divisions might seem a strange choice of title for such a cohesive set. It is the name of a four-part suite written by drummer Johnny Hunter for this all British trio completed by bassist Olie Brice and tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip. As well as his own dates, such as Pale Blue Dot (Northern Contemporary, 2020) for string quartet, sax and drums, Hunter also stokes the fires of Cath Roberts' Sloth Racket and the collective Spinningwork (NEWJAiM, 202z). Perhaps the divide ...

5
Album Review

Paul Dunmall / Olie Brice: The Laughing Stone

Read "The Laughing Stone" reviewed by John Sharpe


Reedman Paul Dunmall and bassist Olie Brice have collaborated on many occasions, with Palindromes (West Hill Records, 2020) and John Coltrane 50th Memorial Concert At Cafe Oto (Confront, 2019) only the most recent offerings. They supplement that tally with The Laughing Stone, a studio duet captured in November 2021 in Birmingham, England. Now one of the elder statesmen of the British scene, the prolific Dunmall has appeared alongside luminaries ranging from Evan Parker to William Parker and many more ...

5
Album Review

Olie Brice Trio / Octet: Fire Hills

Read "Fire Hills" reviewed by John Eyles


This two-CD Olie Brice release features very different discs--one featuring five tracks, which total forty-five minutes, by the trio of Brice on double bass plus Tom Challenger on tenor sax and Will Glaser on drums, while the other has three tracks, totalling forty-eight-and-a-half minutes, by an octet comprising Brice and drummer Johnny Hunter plus two trumpets and four saxophones. The two groupings were studio-recorded in July and November 2021, respectively. As always with Brice-led ensembles, his strengths are the quality ...

4
Album Review

Cath Roberts & Olie Brice: Conduit

Read "Conduit" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Do not let the length fool you. Clocking in at just under thirty minutes Conduits by the UK duo of Cath Roberts and Olie Brice is a full meal. During the Covid lockdown, the two musicians recorded the music in two separate locations, but also in real time. Utilizing special software called JackTrip, which eliminates the dreaded internet delay, the pair was able to fashion this seamless recording session. Maybe the separate locales necessitated closer listening by the musicians. Here, ...

4
Album Review

Cath Roberts & Olie Brice: Conduits

Read "Conduits" reviewed by John Sharpe


In some ways one could liken Conduits to a telephone call between two friends, given that it was recorded simultaneously over the internet at the homes of baritone saxophonist Cath Roberts and bassist Olie Brice who live some 60 miles apart in England. But, while the vibe is conversational, this being an instrumental exchange, it is as if both talk at once, pursue different subjects, and even go off at complete tangents. And it is all the better that they ...

6
Album Review

Paul Dunmall, Percy Pursglove, Olie Brice, Jeff Williams: Palindromes

Read "Palindromes" reviewed by John Sharpe


Bassist Olie Brice had an inkling that it might be worthwhile introducing two of his collaborators who had never played together before, British reed titan Paul Dunmall and American drummer Jeff Williams. It proves devastatingly correct on Palindromes. They unite, together with trumpeter Percy Pursglove, on a collective live album--recorded at London's Cafe Oto, in February 2020, during a short tour--which dazzles at every turn. Williams, a veteran of bands with the likes of Dave Liebman, Stan ...

7
Album Review

Vicente / Brice / Sanders: Unnavigable Tributaries

Read "Unnavigable Tributaries" reviewed by John Sharpe


One of the UK's premier rhythm sections meeting with the adventurous Portuguese trumpeter Luis Vicente results in some classy unfettered mischief on Unnavigable Tributaries. Bassist Olie Brice and drummer Mark Sanders indulge in the masterful interplay that has buoyed up the likes of the Riverloam Trio with Polish saxophonist Mikolaj Trzaska and their trinity with ICP stalwart saxophonist Tobias Delius. Vicente exhibits the same canny command he has shown in dates such as Points (Multikulti Project, 2019),Chamber 4 (FMR, 2015) ...

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'consistently inspired' - The Wire

'Brice makes the entire body of his bass sing. He has the ability to deliver a fractal line that is as purposeful as any by the great jazz bassists, but to do so within an entirely abstract setting' - Brian Morton, Point of Departure

Photos

Concerts

Jun 18 Tue

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Immense Blue

West Hill Records
2024

buy

The Laughing Stone

Confront Recordings
2023

buy

Divisions

Discus Music
2023

buy

Conduits

Relative Pitch Records
2022

buy

Conduit

Relative Pitch Records
2022

buy

Fire Hills

West Hill Records
2022

buy

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