Brian Molley Quartet

One of Scottish jazz’s most travelled groups, the Brian Molley Quartet formed in 2012. Glasgow-based saxophonist and a former Jazzwise magazine One to Watch, Molley brings together some of the finest musicians from the UK’s jazz scene, with pianist Tom Gibbs, double bassist David Bowden and drummer Stephen Henderson currently joining Molley. Their enthusiastically received debut album, Clock was released in 2013 and was described by BBC Radio 3 as ‘a well-crafted and classy debut’ and by London Jazz News as ‘a minor masterpiece…strikingly good.’ Colour and Movement, their follow-up from 2017, was also greeted with praise. All About Jazz said, ‘Molley’s tone is gorgeous’. Subsequent releases have received similar plaudits such as ‘Molley never wastes a note’ (MOJO on 2021’s Modern Traditions) and ‘A heady mixture of contemporary jazz and traditional ideas…it’s exquisite’ (The Scotsman).

BMQ have been selected for the Made in Scotland programme at Edinburgh Festival Fringe an unprecedented four times and represented the cutting edge in UK jazz at Rochester International Jazz Festival, New York as part of Made in the UK 2015. On the same trip the group played club dates in New York City, drawing enthusiastic responses at Silvana in Harlem and WhyNotJazzRoom in Greenwich Village. Their numerous national and international tours include appearances at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester jazz festivals, a live session for BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Line-Up and several trips to tour, collaborate and record in India.

Their travels in India have proved particularly fruitful, leading to two acclaimed collaborations. In co-production with Rajasthan International Folk Festival and working in a custom-built desert studio, Brian Molley Quartet and the Asin Langa Ensemble recorded Journeys, a suite of Molley’s music fused with folk songs from Northern India. Released to much acclaim in 2025 the album continues to gather praise including ‘riveting…a joyfully intense cultural convergence’ The Scotsman. As part of the British Council’s UK/India season BMQ also produced Intercontinental, a remotely recorded album with renowned percussionist Krishna Kishor with subsequent touring in both India and the UK.

Further international touring has recently included performances in Europe, including at Sunside/Sunset in Paris and The Jazz Station in Brussels, as well as Auckland Arts Festival, New Zealand and Jarasum Jazz Festival, Seoul, South Korea. Most recently the group made their first trip to South America with concerts for Harmonia Jazz Festival in Joinville and Instituto Ling, Porto Alegre, Brazil.