Bill Laurance: Presented By Music Network
Sat 24 Oct 2026
2:30pm
€30/€28
Experience
the electrifying sound world of Grammy-winning pianist and composer Bill
Laurance. This
October, Music Network presents one of the most inventive voices in
contemporary jazz. A founding member of five-time Grammy Award-winning group
Snarky Puppy, Bill has wowed audiences around the globe with his genre-defying
performances and compositions. Laurance’s
music blends jazz, classical, electronica and groove to create something
entirely his own. His latest album Lumen, hailed by Jazzwise for
its “distinct and engaging melodies” and “rich, layered arrangements”, marks
his most personal and expressive work to date. A master
collaborator, Laurance has performed with a stellar roster of artists including
David Crosby, Salif Keita, Morcheeba, Terence
Blanchard, Laura Mvula and Jacob Collier, and has composed for major dance
companies such as Alvin Ailey and English National Ballet. Join us for
an unforgettable performance of dazzling virtuosity, soulful improvisation and
boundless creativity from one of the most compelling pianists of his
generation.
Bill Laurance?piano About the Musician As
an original member of 5-time Grammy Award-winning group Snarky Puppy, Bill Laurance
has played to tens of thousands of fans worldwide. His solo work is much
admired for its
imaginative and improvisational nature, often evoking a
striking sense of time and place. Laurance’s latest release Lumen,
considered to be his most personal album to date, is wowing fans and music
critics alike with Jazzwise praising its “distinct and
engaging” melodies and “rich and layered arrangements”. Attending the University of Leeds, Laurance majored in classical composition,
exploring jazz, funk and drum’n’bass in addition to classical music. Since
then, he has honed the melodic immediacy of this approach, along with his
intense improvisational prowess, forging a distinctive personal style that
embraces English classical, electronica and jazz-rock sensibilities, alongside
gritty contemporary grooves. In the early-noughties, a twenty-something Laurance was trying to make a living
on the Leeds music scene when an unremarkable but timely pick-up concert
presented itself with a young?Michael League?in singer?Michael Solomon
Williams’?band. Following a series of successful performances in the north of
England, Laurance forged a friendship with League who happened to be looking for
a new piano player. League invited Laurance to the US to record the first
Snarky Puppy album?The Only Constant and the rest, as they say, is
history. Laurance has performed with such renowned artists as?David
Crosby,?Morcheeba,?Salif Keita,?Terence Blanchard,?Susana Baca,?Lalah
Hathaway,?Laura Mvula,?Jacob Collier,?Musiq Soul Child,?Khalid Sansi,?Chris
Potter,?Lionel Loueke,?Carlos Malta,?The Metropole Orchestra?and the?WDR Big
Band. He has also worked extensively in the dance world with Alvin Ailey,?Ballet
Rambert,?Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures,?Phoenix
Dance,?Northern Ballet Theatre?and English National Ballet. Alongside touring as a solo artist and with Snarky Puppy, Laurance is the Artist
in Residence at Morley College London. He is a passionate educator and
continues to guide the next generation of artists at music institutions all
over the world.
