Led Bib
Sizewell Tea
BDV 2665

Stinging Nettle mp3
Battery Power
Shower
Manifesto for the Future
Spring
The Keeper mp3
Forest Fire
Chocky
Lichen mp3
Heroes mp3

All compositions by Mark Holub except The Keeper (Toby McLaren); Chocky (Chris Williams); Heroes (David Bowie) arr. Holub  

Mark Holub - Drums
Liran Donin - bass
Toby McLaren - Keyboards
Chris Williams - alto sax
Pete Grogan - alto sax

“…If you don't go near jazz because it just isn't damned noisy enough, then come back to life to try the deliciously uncivil new Led Bib album... Led Bib are jazz, though, through and through, crammed with horn and blast, and as much swing as sweat” ( Paul Morley Observer Music Monthly - April 2007)


“...deliciously mutilated” (Uncut ****)

"... this second album from London quintet Led Bib is worth exploring. Just like their labelmates Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear, this outfit achieve an exciting crossover, splicing jazz instrumentation with distinctive and feverishly groovy garage rock riffs." (Metro London)"

So the race is on to find this year's Polar Bear or Acoustic Ladyland – the next punky jazz outfit with a cool name and rock 'n' roll attitude to snaffle a Mercury nomination. Drummer Mark Holub's blistering outfit certainly have all the moves: punk energy, hard-blowing horns and a dynamite live show. Sadly though, their frazzled mash up of New York downtown jazz and hometown swagger somehow ends up being rather less than the sum of its parts." (Kerstan Mackness, Time Out and formerly of Mactwo)

"Reminds me of Roland Shannon Jackson and Django Bates with a bit of Radiohead chucked in" (Julian Joseph, Jazz Line-Up)

This is the second album released on Babel in April 2007 by one of London's explosive new bands Led Bib led by drummer Mark Holub. Relentlessly dodging any definitions, Led Bib are both a maverick jazz band and an unlikely rock quintet. As John Lewis from Time Out quite aptly puts it; “ Imagine a super-group featuring Zorn, Berne , Donny Hathaway, Sid Vicious and Robert Wyatt and you're halfway there.”
Taking their name from a protective garment used on patients during dental treatment, this East London based five-piece pride themselves on side-stepping convention, with incendiary results. Their second album, Sizewell Tea, is named after a tea stand found next door to the notorious nuclear power plant in Suffolk. Bandleader Mark Holub stumbled upon the humble shack whilst performing a gig in the area. This twisted sense of black humour is typical of a band who refuse to take the conventions of the jazz establishment too seriously.

In the wake of fellow risk takers Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear (who have both recorded albums for Babel), Led Bid are paving the way for an exciting new generation of jazz musicians, daring to rip up the rulebook and leap into the unknown.

Composed of drums (Mark Holub), bass (Liran Donin), keys (Toby McLaren) and fronted by two alto sax players (Chris Williams and Pete Grogan), Led Bib are blazing a trail with their fiery and gutsy live shows. Driving melodies roar at full throttle, powered by Holub's pounding drums. Combining the energy and passion of a rock outfit with the technical ability of trained jazz musicians the effect is exhilarating. The group have already toured the UK with support from Jazz Services and curated their own three day festival, The Dalston Summer Stew, at London 's Vortex jazz club last July.

Given that band leader/composer Mark Holub grew up in New Jersey, it's no surprise Led Bib reference downtown New York experimentalism amongst their myriad of influences. Shaped by alternative sounds emanating from venues like The Knitting Factory and Tonic, Holub has always opted for the off-road route. Arriving in the UK, he studied at Leeds before completing an MA at Middlesex University. During this period he struck upon the idea of forming a band.

After several different incarnations, Holub finally settled on the current line-up. Drawn from different musical backgrounds (including rock, pop, soul and even klezmer) Led Bib exude all the gritty vibrancy and multiculturalism of their East London postcode.

Their 2005 debut album Arboretum (released through free improvisation label Slam) earned the band both critical acclaim and the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award for their cutting edge jazz. Follow up Sizewell Tea comprises ten succinct and punchy tracks reaching straight for the jugular. Although Led Bib describe themselves as primarily an “improvisational group”, their compositions resonate with classic songwriting skills. Catchy and engaging, never has free jazz been so instantly infectious and accessible. Paying homage to their mainstream influences, the album even closes with a cover of David Bowie's ‘Heroes'. Threatening to cross over into unexpected realms, Led Bib look likely to be everyone's cup of tea.

What they say about Led Bib...

“Gritty, raunchy jazz from a group who deserve to be checked out” 
Brian Morton The Wire 

"anyone intrigued by the sonic possibilities explored by Ladyland and Polar Bear or the leading lights of the New York Downtown scene should check it out." The Scotsman

"They represent a new generation of jazz musicians, blessed with the technical know-how of a music college degree and the sexiness of rock n' roll."
Blues and Soul

 “Proof that groovy dirty jazz isn't just the preserve of downtown New Yorkers”
BBC Radio 3

“Like crossing the road in a reverie and being run over by a passing bus - but in a pleasing way.” Richard Godwin Evening Standard

“Hard-drivin' skronky, honky free jazz which heavily references Ornette Coleman and John Zorn.”
John Lewis Time Out

“With its mixture of the silly and the grimly serious, its screwball determination and up yours defiance it is Led Bib in a nutshell.”
Daniel Spicer, Jazzwise, on Sizewell Tea.

But there's always one person who doesn't get it... Here's Phil Johnson from the Independent on Sunday's verdict on Sizewell Tea.

"As with most things, you can blame post-modernism. But what irks about the punk-jazz trend, apart from music college grads squawking like they're down and dirty Bowery boys, is hearing something that wasn't that great in the first place, done so much worse. Drummer/ composer Mark Holub's quintet Led Bib have an unusual two-alto front- line, add Soft Machine-prog to the normal Ornettelite, and there are even electric bass solos. But Soft Machine had Elton Dean, who was a master. Having sat cross-legged through the original without having much fun, I'm unwilling to concede that this has not much reason to exist at all."

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