Fail Better presents: Merlin & Polina Shepherd Duo / Aptère (France) / Jed Cutler
Schedule
Fri Oct 17 2025 at 07:30 pm to 10:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
A L P H A B E T Brighton | Brighton, EN
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There is no other way to put it: we are incredibly honoured, humbled and privileged to host the crème de la crème of national and international musicianship on the 17th of October at exquisite A L P H A B E T. Please come and share with us what promises to be an unforgettable evening.MERLIN AND POLINA SHEPHERD
Merlin and Polina Shepherd Duo (clarinets, voice, piano) perform together in a way that is rarely encountered. They play music from several linked cultures with improvisation, freedom and spontaneity. The Duo’s playful approach to their root traditions – klezmer, Slavic, East European and southern Mediterranean – is full of knowledge and deference. It creates a unique sound that embraces the enduring spirit of folklore and takes the listener to new dimensions.
Merlin & Polina have been performing as a duo since 2004. Apart from their own concerts, they collaborate internationally with performers of various disciplines: a baroque orchestra, a punk band, contemporary dancers, DJs, and theatre productions.
(Merlin Shepherd) One of the leading British musicians in an American dominated scene who provided the spiritual and emotional heart with an extended Romanian-style improvisation. His playing, the versatility on display throughout the night… a reminder of the sheer power of great musicianship.
Simon Broughton, Evening Standard, London
Nice clarinet playing
Al Pacino
Merlin Shepherd is Britain’s finest Klezmer clarinetist.
Songlines
(Polina) Shepherd’s compositions are highly original and sensitive… Delicious dissonances sit within tight vocal harmonies. Yiddish or Slavic–style melodies ebb and flow. And here and there we hear a classical vocal style, something more operatic, or a flourish of a music theatre. Instrumental styles are just as varied: musical modes weave together with a klezmer-sounding clarinet, jazz–style saxophone and …rock guitar.
Songlines
APTÈRE
Aptère is a duo unifying the cellist Lina Belaïd and accordionist Antoine Girard around a common passion for live and popular music, Jazz, Balkan or Musette, among others. The sounds of bowed strings and blown reeds blend and mingle on their musical playground. Sensitive compositions, adventurous improvisations, reveal rich texture ranges, melodic lyricism, haunting rhythms, oriental ornaments and bold harmonies.
www.instagram.com
https://www.discordeon.com/projets/aptere
https://www.instagram.com/lina__belaid/
https://www.instagram.com/ant1girard/
://www.instagram.com/lina__belaid/
JED CUTLER
Jed is an Anglo-American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and singer from Brighton and Hove, England. All-round expertise in a variety of musical styles and techniques, including Blues, Jazz, Rock, Slide, Fingerstyle and improvised music. Over 15 years’ gigging experience working with a wide variety of musicians and bands. With humble beginnings in the deep south, of England, Jed first picked up the guitar at age 11. He grew up in a household with eccentric parents and a healthy input of a variety of music, from Bach to Mississippi John Hurt. With a deep joy of playing all kinds of music he also carries on the flame of old time blues, jazz and gospel music in his solo performances. He also has a number of other projects. These are Django Chutney, a gypsy jazz trio who play the music of Django Reinhardt. The Jones Street Collective, a quintet of outwardly looking gentlemen playing their own take on blues, jazz and gospel. And Holiday on Saturn, a Jam Band inspired space blues quartet playing a mix of original material and covers from the Allman brothers band to Sun Ra.
https://jedcutler.com/home
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Where is it happening?
A L P H A B E T Brighton, 11, Dyke Road,Brighton, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
