"Subtle, spontaneous, informed contemporary jazz." John Fordham The Guardian

"Thoughtful, delicate, yet powerful"  Time out     

http://www.jonathanbratoeff.com/Quartet.html               

 The Jonathan Bratoëff Quartet came to life after Bratoëff and founding members Seb Rochford and Pete Wareham studied at The School for Improvisational Music in New York with musicians Ralph Alessi, Ravi Coltrane and Jason Moran in 2003. With the arrival of Tom Mason on bass the band developed a unique sound and recorded the acclaimed album Between Lines in 2004 after a successful French tour of the same year.  

Since 2007 the line up has consisted of Jonathan Bratoëff on guitar and compositions, Tom Mason on bass, Mark Hanslip on sax and James Maddren on drums. Each musician brings with him great musical variety and adaptability to a band that looks for a truly contemporary sound with a strong emphasis on melody and energy while paying great attention to textures and sounds as well as forms and structures. It results in a music swaying between architecturally quite complex  compositions to more free and open improvisations.  

The Jonathan Bratoëff Quartet draws influences from many sides of the jazz world, from Coltrane to Ornette Coleman  to Jason Moran via the New York   downtown scene. The key ingredients are simple, with powerful melodies, energetic and vibrant rhythms, rich colorful textures and a mixture of the jazz tradition blended with other musical idioms such as African, Rock and Latin music the listener experiences an honest sound that pushes boundaries and evokes raw emotions. The new album entitled Mindscapes was recorded in 2009. (read what the press says about the band)