Saturday 18th April 2026
Experience an unforgettable night of contemporary jazz with the Duncan Eagles Quartet - a group known for their electrifying energy, rich improvisation, and expressive sound!
Led by acclaimed saxophonist Duncan Eagles, the quartet blends modern jazz with soulful melodies, powerful grooves, and exciting spontaneous moments. Tonight, they will be performing music from Duncan’s latest albums released over the last few years on USA based label Ropeadope, as well as some brand-new material that will feature on his upcoming album due for release later this year. The band features the internationally renowned pianist Igor Yakovenko as well as long time collaborators Max Luthert on bass and Billy Pod on drums.
Line up:
Duncan Eagles – saxophone
Igor Yakovenko – piano
Max Luther – bass
Billy Pod - drums
Described by BBC Radio as a “rising star of British Jazz” saxophonist Duncan Eagles is a virtuosic improviser with a distinctive sound. Based in London, he performs regularly at venues and festivals all over the world and recently opened for Joshua Redman at the Barbican Concert Hall. Duncan is also known for his work with critically acclaimed band, Partikel, which was nominated for “Best Jazz Ensemble” at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Describing his approach as “cinematic and expressive”, Duncan cites influences from funk and blues to avant garde on his brand of jazz.
Composer and pianist Igor Yakovenko belongs to a new generation of musicians with no boundaries between classical and non-academic music, switching the roles between author and performer. For him, there is also no boundaries between creativity and the exact sciences: choosing between music and technology in his youth, he first graduated from the Aerospace University.
Engineering education pushed Yakovenko to overcome the isolation of the musical worlds: he studied at the Moscow Conservatory at the Department of Historical and Modern Instrumental Performance and also received an improvisational education at the Maimonides Academy under the guidance of Igor Bril - the Master of Jazz Performance. Due to his exceptional musicality he became a member of the residence of Snape Maltings (Great Britain), which hosts the world-famous Aldeburgh Festival founded by Benjamin Britten.
Bassist Max Luthert has built up a reputation as one of the most in demand musicians on the international music scene. Seen regularly playing all over the world with the likes of Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, Binker Goldings and Bill Lawrence as well as leading his own projects in both acoustic and electronic music.
Billy Pod is the artist name of Greek born drummer/musician Vasileios Podaras - currently based in London, UK. His album "Drums to Heal Society" that was released in 2019 has not just given Billy Pod a prominent position among the new generation of drummers internationally but has also demonstrated his compelling skills as a composer and music ensemble director. After attaining a well-rounded music education with BA and MA in jazz performance, he has been working internationally for more than ten years performing festivals and touring around Europe, USA and Asia. He has recorded more than 20 albums as a sideman and he has a long list of performances with acclaimed artists from award winning saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, New York acclaimed vocalist Jd Walter, to Greek music legend Dionisis Savopoulos. He left Athens to relocate in London in 2020 and since then, he has already worked with several leading jazz artist in the London Jazz Scene.
Video 1 (Duncan Eagles Quartet – Narrations press roundup): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw83xccolys
