Aurelius, Kidderminster Jazz Club, St. Ambrose’s Parish Centre, Kidderminster, Worcs., 06/11/2026

Marcus Penrose – double bass, Will Butterworth – piano, Peter Ibbetson – drums

Aurelius is a ‘piano trio’ led by the Cornish born, London double bassist and composer Marcus Penrose.

I first encountered Penrose’s playing back in the period 2008 - 10 when he was part of a variety of line-ups led by  pianist and composer Will Butterworth that visited the Welsh Borders on a regular basis at that time.  Tonight’s drummer, Peter Ibbetson, was also involved in several of these groups. Numerous live performances by Butterworth led groups featuring Penrose and Ibbetson are reviewed elsewhere on this site.

Penrose and Ibbetson subsequently appeared on Butterworth’s 2011 trio album “Hereafter”, which is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/hereafter

Penrose and Butterworth subsequently teamed up with saxophonist Seb Pipe in the collaborative project Tournesol, the trio releasing their eponymous debut album in 2012. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/tournesol-tournesol

Penrose subsequently formed his own trio Aurelius, a group featuring Butterworth and drummer Marco Quarantotto. This line-up released the album “The Process” in 2019. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/aurelius-the-process

A second Aurelius album “Rizes Cave”, named after a location on Ithaca was released in 2025, with Chris Nickolls taking over from Quarantotto in the drum chair. My review of the “Rizes Cave” recording can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/aurelius-rizes-cave

As a sideman Penrose is currently a member of a sextet led by cellist Shirley Smart and a quartet led by pianist Philip Clouts. He also plays with the marvellously named Rage Against The Tagine (RATT), led by guitarist Christian Miller. 

Another group that features Penrose is the Inscape Jazz Quartet led by pianist and composer Nathan Hayward. Performing music inspired by the writings of the poet, priest and mystic Gerard Manley-Hopkins (1844-89) this line-up made a hugely successful visit to Kidderminster Jazz Club in February 2026. The success of that event was a factor in the Club deciding to invite Penrose back as the leader of his own group. My review of the Inscape Jazz Quartet performance can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/inscape-jazz-quartet-kidderminster-jazz-club-st-ambroses-parish-centre-kidderminster-worcs-06-02-2026

Other projects with which Penrose has been involved include MAP, a trio featuring Penrose, Ibbetson and saxophonist Alam Nathoo. The trio’s eponymous release from 2012 features the writing of Nathoo and Ibbetson.

Other with whom Penrose has worked include saxophonist Tom Neale, pianist Tom Jurkiewicz, guitarists Olli Soikkeli and Adrien Moignard, Trio Manouche and the Scott Willcox Big Band.

He has also worked with non jazz musicians, among them singers Danusha Samal and Marco Spieza, guitarist, singer and songwriter Adam Beattie and the groups Bonfire Band and Roses Kings Castles, the latter essentially the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Adam Ficek.

The members of the Aurelius trio have worked together for a long time,  the partnership between Penrose and Butterworth having begun more than twenty years ago when the pair played jazz standards six nights a week in a west London cafe bar, often with famous faces (Mick Jagger, Madonna, Annie Lennox) in the audience. Ibbetson has been in their circle for nearly as long and the trio has established an empathic rapport. Despite having different occupants in the drum chair both Aurelius albums are distinguished by the intelligent and delicate interplay between the trio members as they explore a series of original compositions by both Penrose and Butterworth.

Butterworth has also enjoyed a successful solo career and a live recording from the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho   by his trio featuring Ibbetson and bassist Henrik Jensen is reviewed elsewhere on this site. So too is “The Nightingale and the Rose”, a 2017 studio recording by a quartet featuring Ibbetson, bassist Nick Pini and alto saxophonist Seb Pipe. The Jazzmann has also covered Butterworth’s duo collaborations with alto saxophonist Martin Speake and drummer Dylan Howe, the latter a jazz exploration of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”.

Tonight’s performance featured a mix of originals by Penrose and Butterworth sourced from both of the trio’s albums, plus a selection of jazz standards that harked back to the earliest days of the Penrose / Butterworth creative partnership.

The music of the Aurelius trio has been endorsed by the great American bassist Larry Grenadier, who is best known for his work with pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Pat Metheny. The Mehldau trio, featuring Grenadier on bass and either Jorge Rossy or Jeff Ballard at the drums, has been hugely influential on the Aurelius sound, as has the music of the late, great drummer and composer Paul Motian.

Tonight’s performance began with “At Beenleigh”,  a Penrose composition from the trio’s debut album. Named for a friend’s farm the piece featured a loosely structured intro with the emphasis on the interaction between the three players. Aurelius eschew traditional jazz swing and their music is based around collective interaction and improvisation with Butterworth and Pearson subtly passing the lead between one another. Other than Ibbetson’s occasional drum features solos are not clearly demarcated. It’s an approach inspired by both Mehldau and Motian. Butterworth’s classically inspired piano playing is a vital component of the music, as is Ibbetson’s subtly detailed drumming, while the leader’s bass variously functions as both anchor and lead instrument. The trio have described themselves as “sharing a collective interest in finding beauty in all its forms within the corners of improvisation and a spirit of limitless possibility”.   There was certainly plenty of beauty in this opening piece with its flowing, crystalline piano lines, agile bass counterpoint and richly detailed cymbal embellishments. But in accordance with the trio’s mission statement there was plenty of improvisational rigour too as the trio stretched out, probing more deeply. Theirs is music that extends beyond mere ‘prettiness’.

From the same album came Butterworth’s composition “Western General”, ushered in by the pianist’s unaccompanied left hand chording at KJC’s acoustic upright piano. The addition of double bass and brushed drums saw Butterworth ‘soloing’ in more conventional fashion, gently lyrical at first but later probing more deeply and forcefully as the music gathered momentum, with Ibbetson graduating to sticks. Aurelius tunes have a welcome habit of unfolding in interesting ways, seamlessly incorporating changes of mood and pace during the course of a single piece.

Penrose recalled his early days of playing with Butterworth as he announced that the next two pieces would be performances of two of the jazz standards that they used to play at that west London cafe bar.

First we heard the ballad “Si Tu Vois Ma Mere” written by the great Sidney Bechet. Introduced by the duo of bass and piano and with brushed drums subsequently added this piece featured the melodic bass soloing of Penrose, followed by a similarly lyrical contribution from Butterworth at the piano, including an unaccompanied passage at the close. Ibbetson performed with brushes throughout. “Beautiful!” exclaimed one audience member as the final notes hung in the air. It was impossible to disagree with him.

Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing” offered something very different with Butterworth demonstrating his versatility by playing in a more percussive, obviously ‘Monk-ish’ style, with a stick wielding Ibbetson providing suitable drum commentary. Ibbetson was subsequently featured with a full on drum feature prior to a final theme restatement.

There was some debate about just how many days were involved in the title of “Eighty Five Days”, a Penrose original from the “Rizes Cave” album. The title is a reference as to how many days the notoriously grim month of January always seems to last. Centred around Butterworth’s recurring Morse code like piano motif the piece exhibited a suitably chilly lyricism.

The first set concluded with a further foray into standards territory and a rendition of “How Deep Is The Ocean”. Butterfield introduced the piece with a passage of unaccompanied piano, subsequently joined by double bass and brushed drums. Penrose took the first solo on double bass before handing over to Butterworth who probed more deeply at the piano as Ibbetson graduated to sticks. Aurelius are a unit more than capable of putting their own stamp on standards, adopting a thoroughly contemporary approach partly inspired by the Mehldau trio.

The second set commenced with “December 7th”, a Penrose original from the first Aurelius album. Described by its composer as a blues this piece had something of a ‘Monk-ish’ feel about it and acted as the vehicle for some typically interactive trio interplay in addition to individual features for all three protagonists.

From the “Rizes Cave” album Penrose’s “Minimata” was a lyrical ballad introduced by the duo of bass and piano, with Ibbetson later adding the sounds of cymbal shimmers and shakers. Led by Penrose at the bass this featured his melodic soloing, underscored by Ibbetson’s delicate brush work. Butterworth subsequently took over at the piano with Ibbetson finally switching to mallets to conclude a finely nuanced drumming performance. This was a piece that featured the trio’s delicate strengths at their best.

The first standard of the second set was “Stella by Starlight”, ushered in by Butterworth at the piano. Once again the trio very much imposed their own identity on this most familiar of standards, emphatically making it their own with features for Penrose and Butterworth as Ibbetson moved between brushes and sticks.

From “Rizes Cave” the title track was introduced by a passage of unaccompanied double bass from the composer. The lyrical theme was stated by Butterworth at the piano , who also took the first solo, accompanied by bass and brushed drums. This subsequently evolved into a dialogue between Butterworth and Ibbetson. The relationship between the piano and the drums is a particularly significant component of this highly interactive trio.

The final number of a shorter second set was the standard “It Might As Well Be Spring” which again saw the trio taking a particularly adventurous approach to the tune and again very much putting their own stamp on it via Butterworth’s piano musings and Ibbetson’s closing drum feature.

The deserved encore was a stunningly beautiful interpretation of the Beach Boys song “God Only Knows” in a wistful, slowed down arrangement featuring subtle gospel flavourings.

The thoughtful, sometimes complex music of Aurelius was well received by an attentive and supportive crowd who appreciated both its beauties and its subtleties. This was subtly challenging music that eschewed conventional jazz swing in favour of a more exploratory approach that emphasised the highly developed rapport between the players. The audience also warmed to Penrose’s self effacing, wryly humorous announcing style, with Butterworth adding the occasional aside.

Penrose subtly directed the flow of the music from the bass and also impressed as both anchor and soloist.  Butterworth’s playing was a welcome reminder of his technical facility as a pianist but also exhibited plenty of emotion, and particularly so on “God Only Knows”. Ibbetson’s drumming was finely detailed and subtly nuanced, although I have to admit that I occasionally found his playing to be a little bit too busy.

My thanks to Marcus, Will and Peter for speaking with me after the show. It was particularly pleasing to catch up with Will again after a hiatus of many years. Thanks also to the lads for posing for the attached image.

Tonight’s event brought the curtain down on a very successful 2026 for Kidderminster Jazz Club and promoter Annette Gregory. The Club will take December and January off before returning in February 2027. KJC will also present its first ever festival with a celebration of International Jazz Day on Saturday 24rh April 2027. Please visit
http://www.kidderminsterjazzclub.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

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