Billy Marrows: ‘Dancing on Bentwood Chairs’

Following the release of ‘Dancing on Bentwood Chairs’ earlier in 2026, Billy Marrows and his band have released a new live version of the album, recorded at Love Supreme just a few months ago.

All the tracks are composed by guitarist Billy Marrows, with excellent performance and improvisation by Chris Williams (alto and tenor sax), Huw V Williams (bass) and Jay Davis (drums). You can watch videos of some of the performances on Marrows’s YouTube channel.

Appearing on the New Generation Jazz Stage, the live show was engaging in the sunshine and it’s no less entertaining when listening at the end of the summer on the release of the album.

Marrows’s lyrical guitar playing makes inventive use of loops to develop the sound, not least on the opening of The Protagonist, working together with Williams and Davis to create a groove that steadflastedly underpins Williams’s sax and then Marrows’s own guitar solo.

It’s nice to have some of the interactions with the audience, including the introduction to the free and expressive Capel Fawnog.

Chamber jazz sometimes finds it difficult to contend with the bigger sounds of larger ensembles at festivals like Love Supreme, but the quiet confidence and tight sound of Marrows’s band clearly hold their own. This is an engaging live version of the February 2026 studio album.

Both the live and studio versions of ‘Dancing on Bentwood Chairs’ are available on Bandcamp