ŠPERCASA

We’re thrilled to be welcoming Špercasa to the NQ Jazz stage, an environmentally-concerned quintet led by drummer, Marek Dorčík.

Following many years based in Manchester, Marek first formed Spercasa in 2019 in order to mark his relocation to London, along with a new chapter of experimentation which would see him immerse himself much deeper within the world of improvised music, the four musicians who joined him – George Crowley on saxophone, Miguel Gorodi on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tom Hewson on piano and Mick Coady on double bass – carefully selected to “enrich the sound” that he already had in mind for the project.

In 2021, the band joined the long line of genre-spanning acts and artists embracing the album as a form of activism when they released the aptly-titled About Time, its main focus “expressing concern for our planet and the changing climate”, each composition featured intended to highlight and elicit thought upon the global emergency’s associated issues. Some songs feel urgent and demanding, others light-hearted and hospitable, but with the record’s original release date and accompanying tour sadly scuppered by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic – yet another symptom of an ecosystem being stretched beyond its limits – what’s clear is that their music is spreading a message that simply must be heard.

“Marek is a great listener… he plays the drums, but more than that, he plays music with a warm heart too. I never had to think about what he was doing… it just felt right.”