Red Hippo
with support: Tongue & Groove

‘The “wow” factor was there from start to finish. If Red Hippo come anywhere near, don’t miss them’. Topic Folk Club, Bradford

Red Hippo brings together three outstanding Calder Valley musicians, Peadar Long, Daz Jones and Simon Chantler. They play saxophones, sousaphone, fiddle, whistles, bass clarinet, stompbox, flute, and even the highland bagpipes, combining Jazz, Folk and World music to create compositions which are accessible yet challenging. Red Hippo takes the listener on instrumental journeys influenced as much by Swedish traditional folk music (for example) as by New Orleans Second Line Jazz or Reggae or Dub. They respectfully nod towards The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Bellowhead, Filafolket and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and yet don’t sound like any of them.

Red Hippo have appeared at Towersey Folk Festival, Whitby Musicport Festival, Sidmouth Folk Week, Beverley Folk Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Barnsley “Madfest,” and Marsden Jazz Festival. They have also supported the likes of The Oysterband, LAU, Andy Irvine, O’Hooley and Tidow, and Kan.

‘Red Hippo engage an audience with a unique combination of instruments & personalities, and come up with a sound that is both captivating and thoroughly inventive’ Jim McLaughlin, Musicport Festival

‘Intricate arrangements and phenomenal musicianship from these three top quality musicians gave us an unforgettable evening … a unique event. The “wow” factor was there from start to finish. If Red Hippo come anywhere near, don’t miss them’. Topic Folk Club, Bradford

Daz Jones is a virtuoso sousaphone player and has performed with World-beat combo  The Real Macaws, with the UK’s only Acoustic Ska Band – Skavolution, and with The Last Chance Saloon Band. Violin player Simon Chantler has played with legendary folk-punks The Whisky Priests, and now plays in Calderdale supergroup A Rookery, with ceilidh band Shinjig, and Irish band Kelly’s Heroes.

Peadar Long plays saxophones, whistles, bagpipes and bass clarinet and has had a distinguished career in both the folk and jazz worlds, with Celestial Echoes, the award-winning Kitsyke Will and innumerable other bands up and down the country.

Along with pianist Dave Nelson, Peadar was also a founder member of local world-jazz legend Tongue & Groove – starting off in 1992 as a duo and expanding to three, four, five and then eight musicians before settling on a quintet over a couple of decades. For this concert the original duo will be playing support to Red Hippo, revisiting some of their favourite compositions from that time.