Dream band is a series recording my favourite musicians in new combinations, playing music written especially for them “I feel lucky to be surrounded by so many distinctive and contrasting voices, and want to capture that variety on record, creating space for the musicians to express themselves and shape my music. In 2021 when people weren’t able to play and create as much I tried to go the other way, taking a maximalist approach to make something adventurous and broad in scope. Partly, it was a kind of ‘curating’ – I imagined what different combinations of my favourite musicians would sound like and wrote music for that. “Alex Hitchcock’s triple CD Dream Band: Live In London is a hugely ambitious project. The music, all original and specially composed, was recorded over three nights at London’s Vortex Jazz Club, with a different band, convened by the saxophonist just for the occasion, playing on each of the nights. “I booked the musicians and then wrote the music so I knew exactly who I was writing for. I had ideas of how these musicians with these specific musical voices were going to play my music but it was great to hear the unexpected things people did as well,” he says. “Each band only had the day of the gig rehearsing so it was really satisfying to hear them bring [the music] to life.” “In response to the current challenging climate for artists, Hitchcock has chosen to aim high and be bold. His latest project,Band: Live in London is an innovative undertaking that showcases three distinct ‘dream bands’ formed by his preferred musicians. The bands were captured live throughout three nights at London’s iconic Vortex club, performing music composed for each ensemble. The extraordinary line-ups he curated are proof of the respect he has earned among his peers as a composer, player, and bandleader with a uniquely inspiring vision.