Polar Bear (British band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Polar Bear

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Img_capt = Polar Bear at Taylor John's House, Coventry, England, 2007
Img_size = 300px
Background = group_or_band
Origin = London, England
Genre = Experimental Acoustic Jazz
Years_active = 2004 - present
Label = Babel Label, Tin Angel
Associated_acts = F-IRE Collective
Acoustic Ladyland
Fulborn Teversham [http://www.myspace.com/theinvisiblethree The Invisible]
Also Known As =
URL = [http://www.polarbearmusic.com Official site]
Current_members = Seb Rochford
Pete Wareham Mark Lockheart
Tom Herbert Leafcutter John
Notable_instruments =

Polar Bear is a British experimental post-jazz band led by drummer Seb Rochford with Pete Wareham on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on mandolin and electronics.

Polar Bear were nominated for the 'Best band' award at the BBC Jazz Award 2004, while Rochford was nominated for the 'Rising Star' award.cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article455556.ece|title=BBC awards snub the champions of popular jazz|last=Sherwin|first=Adam |date=July 10, 2004|publisher=Times, The (London)|accessdate=2008-07-19] Their first album "Dim Lit" was released in the same year and was a small scale success. Their second record, "Held on the Tips of Fingers" merged elements of cool jazz, funk, dance music, free jazz, electronica and drum and bass and was, by comparison, a massive crossover hit, earning Polar Bear a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005.cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4217140.stm|title=Antony and Johnsons win Mercury |date=September 7, 2005|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=2008-07-19]

The success was all the more unusual for an almost purely instrumental album. The album was nominated for a BBC Jazz Award 2006. It was selected as one of "100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World" by Jazzwise magazine.cite news|url=http://www.jazzwisemagazine.com/news/item/1612|title=The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World|date=August 2006|publisher=Jazzwise|accessdate=2008-07-19] They are part of the F-IRE Collective. They released their self-titled third album, "Polar Bear", in July 2008 with Tin Angel Records.cite news|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2289927,00.html|title=Polar Bear, Polar Bear|last=Walters|first=John|date=July 11, 2008|publisher=Guardian, The (London)|accessdate=2008-07-19]

Discography

*citation|title=Dim Lit|publisher=Babel|id=BDV 2446 |year=2004
*citation|title=Held On The Tips Of Fingers|publisher=Babel|id=BDV2552|year=2005
*citation|title=Polar Bear|publisher=Tin Angel|id=|year=2008

References

External links

* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=16975 "Held on the Tips of Fingers" review] at [http://www.allaboutjazz.com www.allaboutjazz.com]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/hd8c/ "Held on the Tips of Fingers" review] at BBC Jazz Review.
* [http://www.babellabel.co.uk Babel Label web site]
* [http://www.polarbearmusic.com Polar Bear web site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/sebastianrochford Polar Bear on Myspace.com]