This double drum quartet first came together last June, at a tribute concert honouring the late Tony Levin. They gave such a brilliant performance, and the musicians felt so inspired by the combination, that they decided to reassemble for a short UK tour, and Jazz North East leaped at the chance to book them.

For more than 20 years Tony Levin was a key member of the free jazz supergroup Mujician, and two of his fellow members - Paul Dunmall and Paul Rogers - are at the heart of the new quartet. They are joined by improvising drummer Mark Sanders and, most appropriate of all, Tony Levin's son Miles.

This is a band brimming with talent. Paul Dunmall is an internationally acclaimed reedsman (and occasional bagpipe player), the only English musician ever to perform at New York's prestigious Vision Festival, while Paul Rogers - now based in France - has brilliantly extended the range of the double bass with a purpose built 7-string instrument that takes him into cello territory. Mark Sanders is well known to Jazz North East audiences through countless performances with the world's greatest free jazz players, while Miles Levin has inherited his father's ability to combine freedom with a deep rooted sense of swing.

The name of the band, 'Deep Joy', is a reference to the immense pleasure that Tony Levin brought to audiences and fellow musicians over a career that spanned 50 years. But it's equally applicable to the impact that the new quartet inspires in its listeners. Brilliant, varied, life-affirming music at its very best.