Pavillon is a 12 piece jazz ensemble led by leading jazz French horn player Jim Rattigan and featuring eleven top-notch London-based jazz musicians, including Martin Speake, Andy Panayi, Percy Pursglove and Steve Fishwick. 'Strong Tea' includes five tracks, each of which is a new and original composition by Jim Rattigan, who has been described by The Rough to Jazz as "a brilliant and versatile jazz soloist on French Horn and an interesting and questing composer/arranger". Jim's writing on 'Strong Tea' is absolutely first rate and the recorded sound is as satisfying as you're likely to hear. It's dynamic and colourful, and if it wasn't for the absence of any audience sounds it would have the feel of a live recording. Jim's playing throughout treads a fascinating path between refinement and spontaneity, successfully revealing and integrating two very different sides of the French horn. Jim Rattigan has performed all over the world both as a jazz soloist and as a band member of various groups. These include the Michael Brecker Quindectet, the Charlie Haden / Carla Bley Liberation Music Orchestra, the McCoy Tyner Big Band, Django Bates' Delightful Precipice, the Creative Jazz Orchestra with Kenny Wheeler, Brad Mehldau with the Britten Sinfonia, the Guy Barker Big Band and the London Sinfonietta.
