Hitchcock, Scandroglio & Manzanza

Three distinctive voices from across the international jazz scene come together for a special evening at Band on the Wall: UK saxophonist Alex Hitchcock, Italian double bassist Michelangelo Scandroglio, and New Zealand-born, London-based drummer and composer Myele Manzanza. All three are established bandleaders and composers in their own right, with careers spanning contemporary jazz, improvisation, groove, electronic music and cross-cultural collaboration.

They have also spent the last few years developing a shared musical language through lvdf (La Via Del Ferro), the international project they formed alongside pianist and synth player Maria Chiara Argirò. The project has taken them to festivals and venues across the UK and Europe, including the London Jazz Festival, Bergamo Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s, and resulted in a self-titled debut EP released in 2025.

Hitchcock is an Ivor Novello-nominated composer and distinctive improviser; Scandroglio is an award-winning bassist whose work moves between contemporary jazz, groove and experimental music; while Manzanza brings a powerful, genre-fluid rhythmic approach shaped by his New Zealand roots and extensive work across jazz, electronic and African-influenced music. Their experience together means there is already a deep familiarity between the three musicians, allowing the music to move freely between tightly composed material, groove and spontaneous interaction.

With no piano or other harmonic instrument to define the terrain, Hitchcock, Scandroglio and Manzanza create an unusually open space in which saxophone, double bass and drums can constantly reshape the music around one another. An evening of contemporary jazz built around connection, spontaneity and collective exploration from 3 of the worlds best young musicians Hitchcock, Scandroglio, Manzanza — 19 November, Band on the Wall, Manchester.