Producer/keyboardist/composer/ DJ , MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE is nothing if not prolific. The New Zealander has deployed his various talents on over 250 releases – both on his own and in collaboration. February sees the release of his latest project and it’s one of his most ambitious.

Last year MARK was playing at an improv festival in Rotterdam and when Dutch trumpeter, ROB VAN DE WOUW heard him play he immediately asked if he’d guest with his band – THE ROTTERDAM JAZZ ORCHESTRA. They teamed up and eventually decided to record an album – where the aim was to mix big band sensibilities with club music and experimentation. The result is the collaborative effort ‘Take The Space Trane’.

The 8 tracker features seven DE CLIVE-LOWE compositions (two written specifically for the project) and a cover of the DUKE ELLINGTON classic ‘Caravan’. One of the original tunes is the album’s title track on which composer and band try to meld the feel of 60s COLTRANE and McCOY TYNER with 21st century rhythms. The result is interesting and when first played to a live audience it divided opinions – with older jazz fans walking out and the younger ones simply revelling  in it. Its title, by the way, is a play on the ELLINGTON standard ‘Take The A Train’ … but “with the modal jazz influences a la John Coltrane and undercurrent of beats and electronic elements, it just made sense to be ‘Take The Space Trane'”

MARK DE CLIVE-LOWE with THE ROTTERDAM JAZZ ORCHESTRA’S ‘Take The Space Trane’ is released on TRU THOUGHTS RECORDS on February