Dinosaur is part of a generation of young musicians who give strong impulses to the British jazz community. It is hard to believe that this all developed behind the scenes of club music, soul and classic jazz: a spirited eclectic scene that has abandoned traditional styles. Dinosaur, with trumpeter and composer in Laura Jurd at the centre, are no exception, despite their connections to electric Miles-Davis, 80s synth pop bands and even British folk music. The most recent album “To the Earth” ventures on a slightly differently path than previously. The acoustic instrumentals are more in the foreground, Jurd und Elliot Galvin’s improvisations are nuanced and keep creating surprises. Jurd, who studied at the London Trinity Laban Conservatoire, created furore with Human Spirit and the Chaos Orchestra and was honoured as a “Rising Star” by the British Jazz Awards, has become even more concise: her tone can be sharply contoured, bold, wonderfully dirty and sometimes beautifully spherical. “I never thought about becoming a musician,” she once said, “but I’ve always felt I am one.”
