Tea Break

A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.

Dave Manington

Dave Manington is a well established double bass player on the UK jazz scene. He leads his own bands, but you will find his name on many recordings by other bands. He took his first degree at Nottingham University, focusing on composition, and then went on to graduate from London's Guildhall School For Music And Drama. He has returned the learning over a number of years as an educator, teaching double bass, guitar and jazz improvisation in schools and universities, regularly run workshops on improvisation and ensemble playing, and has been invited to examine the double bass final recitals back at the Guildhall School.

Dave has played all around the world and appeared in many major international festivals including Algeria, Italy, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Norway, Lithuania and of course the UK. He was nominated for a Worshipful Company of Musicians jazz medal award in 2006 and for an Ivor Novello Award for Jazz Composition in 2021. He was a founder member of the Loop Collective in 2005, and then of the much respected e17 Jazz Collective.

Dave Manington’s Riff Raff was formed back in 2012 when they recorded the Hullaballoo album. All of them are significant jazz musicians on the UK jazz scene - Brigitte Beraha (vocals/co-composer); Tomas Challenger (tenor saxophone); Ivo Neame (piano, keyboards); Rob Updegraff (guitar); Dave Manington (double bass) and Tim Giles (drums). Their last album, Challenger Deep, was released in 2017, and now we have a new album, Weightless, with the same line-up as for the previous two albums.

Weightless was released on the 14th February, 2025. It opens with Strike The Harp with the band setting the sound style for the album and then featuring Tomas Challenger's saxophone. Woolly Mammoth is a track that appeals to me, bringing in Brigitte Beraha's voice with an understanding how on this album the rest of the band work together. Run The Gauntlet follows with a nice change of pace, and River Swim , and other tracks benefit from being able to read Brigitte's lyrics which are clearly added on the Bandacmp pages highlighted here. Hold It has an effective drum introduction from Tim Giles and then one-by-one the others join in taking us into the solo bass introduction to the title track, Weightless, with some fine playing by Dave Manington, joined by Brigitte's voice, and then a soundscape from the band. When Time Stood Still is a gentle, lyrical, romantic track and is perhaps one of my personal favourites. El Camino is a nice 'bonus track' before we go out on Mr Owl Ate My Worm - more on that in a minute from Dave. The album is a well put together collective album with some nice individual playing from each member. It is worth spending some time with.

I met up with Dave Manington for a Tea Break and to talk about the album:

Hi Dave, this café looks OK for a quick tea break. The counter and some tables are at the front but there is an area at the back that is quiet. What can I get you? Tea, coffee?

Tea for me please, Ian!

It’s a plot that you have to order the tea and coffee at the cake counter! I might have a Danish pastry; can I tempt you?

Maybe a bit of fruitcake ... ?

I'll be back in a minute ...

......They say they'll bring it over.

You didn’t need to bring out your double bass today. I was thinking, is it increasingly difficult taking it about to gigs in London, say at the Pizza Express in Soho? Driving and parking are more of a challenge and carrying it on the tube must be a nightmare. How do you manage?

It’s definitely a lot harder than it used to be to drive, slower and more expensive too. I don’t often drive into central London for a gig these days, I tend to take the tube if possible and brave the packed carriages. Most decent venues have a bass amp in situ and some even have a house Bass. I always prefer to play my own instrument but at some places I’ll just play the house Bass and save my back all that lugging around.

I don’t suppose that has anything to do with a subconscious inspiration to name your new album ‘Weightless’ – or did the inspiration come from somewhere else?

I find the idea of space travel and the infinite vastness of the universe fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. We try and capture some of the strange otherworldliness of floating free of the Earth’s gravity on this album and especially the title track. There are themes running through the album, themes of contrast between freedom/isolation, loss/hope, momentum/inertia. The freedom to float untethered in space versus the crushing weight of daily earthly life.

Ah! Here's the coffee! I think I understand what you mean by those contrasts. Somehow things seem so demanding, like an expectation that a ringing telephone or an email has to be answered immediately.

Some things remain stable though - what is particularly impressive is that your band, Riff Raff, is the same as recorded ‘Hullabaloo’ in 2012 and then again for ‘Challenger Deep’ in 2017. Each musician’s style might have changed over the years. Is that something you are all aware of and has it contributed to any changes in the music?

Exactly, keeping a settled line up is something I believe is particularly important, we know each other’s playing so well. It makes the music stronger, allowing everyone in the group to be relaxed and confident. There is a mutual respect and trust built up which allows for greater communication between us and greater freedom to improvise. I don’t see that they’ve changed their styles over the years though, just matured and committed to being themselves more and more.

That comes across on the new album. Do you have any favourite tracks on the album? And why are they favourites?

Currently my favourite is River Swim, an evocative track about something I love to do in the summer whenever I get the opportunity. Brigitte wrote some perfect lyrics to complement the tune, and she sings it so beautifully. Another favourite is Run the Gauntlet, which features an exhilarating guitar solo from Rob Updegraff.

Let's check out Rob's solo:

And, come on, you have to explain what the last track, Mr Owl Ate My Worm, is all about?

“Mr Owl” is a musical palindrome. I liked the idea of the challenge of writing a palindromic piece. It’s not a new idea; Bach was at it in his “Musical Offering” for instance. It was fun to write and it’s fun to play around with it and gives us a new angle to get creative with the improvised sections as well. Audience members have been suggesting other palindromes for alternative titles after hearing us play gigs. “Do geese see God?” and “Straw? No! Too Stupid a fad. I put soot on warts!”.

That's quite a challenge! I can see myself staying awake at night trying that.

I notice that you have followed the trend to put out singles from the album in advance of the album itself. Have you found that a good idea?

Well, it’s worth doing because of the increased number of chances for promotion and potential playlisting on a streaming platform. I don’t think it’s made any difference this time around, but you never know. I’d just like people to hear the album, I’m sure there’s plenty of people who will enjoy it if they get to listen to it, but it’s hard to get the message out there without the help of people like you, Ian!

Mine is just a small contribution in comparison. I don’t think people appreciate how much time and trouble it takes for you to promote an album. It must take a lot of time to compose, arrange, find time when the band can come together and then record an album and then promote it when it is done? Audiences see a finished album at gigs, but it must be a challenge to promote it? You have also turned to Lamplight Social Records to handle the album. I have not come across them before, why did you choose them?

It’s the hardest bit of the whole process, and the part musicians generally aren’t trained at! It’s been nice promoting alongside Lamplight Social Records. They are a great indie label from Leeds run by James Mainwaring (Roller Trio, The Exu). I was introduced to them through my brother-in-law – pianist Jamil Sheriff. They are great and it’s been helpful to have a new angle, and they have a different set of contacts and ideas to enrich my own.

So, what is the plan from here? You had some gigs during February, I see, have you any further Riff Raff gigs booked? I appreciate that you probably have commitments with other bands too.

Yes, Riff Raff have a special London concert to launch the album on Monday May 12th at Pizza Express, Soho. There are details about it here. We have a few more gigs after that going through to the end of the year and I really hope to be able to take the band to some festivals. I also have a tour in Europe with Yazz Ahmed promoting her new album A Paradise In The Hold, and gigs in the UK with Eddie Parker, Tori Freestone and various others. Lots to look forward to!

A launch at Pizza Express, eh? Humping the bass on the tube again! I'm sure it will be worth it! Thanks for meeting up for the tea break, Dave. It is still quiet back here so how about finishing up with another quick drink and tasting another track from the album? Which track shall we have?

Why don’t we finish with Woolly Mammoth. Nothing says modern jazz like an extinct pachyderm eh?

Good idea. I see the definition for a pachyderm is a creature with a thick skin .........

The album Weightless by Dave Manington's Riff Raff is available to listen to and to buy here.

You can read much more about Dave and his music on his website here.

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