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 Gill Whiteley and Geoff Bright are launching a small initiative around improvised music and experimental performance (extending right through to areas such as dance, moving image, sound art, live art) called Afternoon Shift at Shirley’s. We hope this will be a bit different from anything else around and will compliment, support and extend the already established improvisation networks in Sheffield.

Our aim is to seed and grow a kind of ‘community of friends’ (players, possible players and those who just enjoy listening)  around spontaneous improvisation, which will involve a series of afternoon sessions taking place at Shirley House, Psalter Lane in Sheffield on the second Monday of the month, starting on Monday 14^th September at 2pm -3.30pm (subsequent sessions will aim to be 3pm-4.30pm).

Each session will include a freely improvised quartet performance followed by a very informal discussion around the nature of improvisation and questions arising from the specific performance.  Each quartet will always include an out-of-town player and, wherever possible, a player from the wider Sheffield area, plus ourselves, Gill and Geoff (or others who may stand in).

Current agreed guests…

Monday 14 Sept Johnny Hunter  + Gayle Brogan  + Hervé Perez  2pm – 3.30pm

Monday 12 Oct       Dave Birchall  + Lyn Hodnett        3pm-4.30pm

Monday 9 Nov  Alistair Zaldua + Lauren Redhead  + Rob Gawthrop 3pm-4.30pm

Monday 14 Dec   Phil Morton  + Mick Beck. 3pm-4.30pm

Other players are lined up for the new year but not finalised… so more later.

We know you are probably busy with all sorts of things in the daytime – work, kids and so on – but if you are a player, a potential player or simply a listener/fan of spontaneously improvised musics and related artforms, we hope you might support this project in whatever way you can as it grows.  

It might sound a bit formal but due to restrictions of our booking arrangements with Shirley House, numbers have to be limited so we have to formally invite you. It’s important to our project that no charge will be made if you want to come.

Please let us know if you are likely to come to one or any of these free and enjoyable sessions and/or if you wish to be considered as one of our local players at any time for one of the specific sessions – you would be welcome!

Also see www.polimprov.com

not one not two new Discus album launched October 2025 – cover design by Gill Whiteley

Lyn Hodnett and I will talk about our practices and do a short improvised performance incorporating video, sound and drawing at the ARTLAB at Everybody Arts ArtLab in Halifax 2pm-3.30pm Saturday 13th December

 

Exhibition celebrating breaks, tears, fractures and revaluing of scrap ‘broken’ materials – my handmade, printed pocket pamphlets made from salvaged stuff Ten Women Anarchists  are in the zine library (and on sale) as part of the exhibition.

YOWL!!

Gill Whiteley – piano, viola,  Geoff Bright – saxes, found rants, Walt Shaw – percussion, electronics, voice,  Lyn Hodnett – voice, cello, flugelhorn, objects

Yowl!! cook up sonic intensities across an accelerating space from whispered zero to full on improv disintegration. Expect a beautifully, ugly car crash of reeds, brass, voices, strings, electronics and percussion.                                 

SEPPINGS

Peter Rophone – voice Nick Robinson – guitar John Jasnoch – bass guitar

Appropriately named after Aunt Dahlia’s butler, this reasonably well established trio will once again construct a concept album before your very eyes and ears during this 40 minute set. If audience members have any ideas about subject matter they would like to have incorporated into the concept album then please write a note and submit it to Mr Rophone on the night.