Manchester Collective: The Unfurrowed Field 09/03/2024

Fergus McCreadie is one of the most exciting jazz pianists on the world stage today. With a unique blend of Jazz and Scottish folk inspired by his country’s sublime landscapes, his music captures the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide, with an appeal that extends far beyond the constraints of genre.

Released on Edition Records to instant critical acclaim, Fergus’s 2022 album Forest Floor catapulted him into the international spotlight. The album topped the UK Jazz & Blues charts, prompted sold-out performances across the UK, praise from BBC 6Music, The Times, NME and earned him a 2022 Mercury Prize shortlist nomination, the 2022 Jazz FM Instrumentalist of the Year Award as well as the 2022 Scottish Album of the Year Award – the first jazz artist ever to be awarded the prize.

Fergus has an innate depth, flair and natural expression that communicates beyond his years. His ability to transition from a full flowing, radiant pulse-wash of sound to a tranquil stillness in a moment is simply breathtaking. Whilst his music is built on the folk traditions he grew up with, it’s the versatility of rhythm and colour from the most delicate shades to the highest energy that is most captivating.

Beginning with a run of 6 back-to-back shows at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, the 2023-24 season is a one of increasingly ambitious and innovative projects for Fergus and his trio, with international dates in France, Germany, Norway & Italy as well as the release of his fourth album on Edition Records in Spring 2024. Adding strings to his sound for the first time Fergus and the trio are also teaming up with the Manchester Collective on an extensive UK touring project The Unfurrowed Field, which will culminate in a performance and late-night ceilidh at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Fergus is also a 2022-24 BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist – the only non-classical artist in the current cohort.

Known for their imaginative programming, daring collaborations and engaging performances, the work of Manchester Collective has expanded at breakneck speed since their formation in 2016 by Adam Szabo and Rakhi Singh. The Collective’s vision is to reshape the future of classical music by creating radical artistic work from their base in the north of England.

The shape-shifting ensemble performs a combination of cutting-edge contemporary music, classical masterpieces and staged work nationally and internationally, in spaces ranging from concert halls to warehouses, nightclubs to festivals. They collaborate with an exciting array of award-winning artists, pushing at the boundaries of how classical music is presented and experienced. Notable previous projects include Sirocco and The Oracle with South African cellist Abel Selaocoe, Rosewood with guitarist Sean Shibe, and a multimedia performance of Michael Gordon’s ‘Weather’ with an installation by sound recordist Chris Watson.

New music is of vital importance to the Collective. Crossing different musical genres, in recent years they have commissioned major works by composers including Edmund Finnis, Emily Hall, Hannah Peel, Lyra Pramuk, Moor Mother, Laurence Osborn, and Alice Zawadzki. In 2021, Manchester Collective made their Royal Albert Hall debut as part of the BBC Proms Festival and are currently artists-in-residence at the Southbank Centre in London. In 2023, they won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Ensemble award. Manchester Collective record for the Icelandic label Bedroom Community. Their third studio album NEON was released in June 2023.