Polar Bear goes chamber

“Held On The Tips Of Fingers” is the second album by the British experimental jazz band Polar Bear. The release almost won the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and got a place on several lists of best jazz albums ever in recent years. The group was formed by Sebastian Rochford, one of the most gifted jazz drummer of his generation, who crafted this sublimely original chamber music. The record is sort of a crossroad of genres, where folk, avant-jazz, electronica and raw punk co-exist. Groundbreaking in many aspects, the record is among those which gave young British jazz bands the guts to label themselves like rock bands and to stretch beyond their comfort zones. The album, which was released in 2005 on Babel Label, sees Polar Bear's original line-up augmented by London-based electronic artist, songwriter and producer Leafcutter John, who has played a distinctive role in shaping the group's later albums.

“Held On The Tips Of Fingers” received strong reviews in the press and was called "an even more thrilling and momentous affair than its predecessor…..radical, invigorating and heartening"  in an All About Jazz review. Observer Music Monthly placed the album at number 12 on its list of the "Top 100 Album of 2005" and Jazzwise placed the record at 100 in the article "100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". They called Rochford "the most gifted jazz drummer of his generation" and described the music on the record as "sublimely original chamber music" and "groundbreaking". The success of the record lead to Polar Bear being shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005, about which Rochford said "I feel really privileged, it's an honour, especially as it's such a big field, not a genre-specific thing" This nomination and it's ensuing publicity enabled the band to reach a far wider audience than they had been able to previously.

Besides Sebastian Rochford and Leafcutter John, the musicians performing on the record include Polar Bear’s members Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass, and additional personnel consisting of Jonny Phillips on guitar, Joe Bentley on trombone, Emma Smith on violin, Ingrid Laubrock on tenor saxophone, Hannah Marshall on cello, and Greta Lange on vocals.