UK-based bassist and composer Michael Bede Dunlop steps into the spotlight with “Bede”, an adventurous debut that traces a line from Northumbrian folk songs to the spacious, melodic language often associated with Scandinavian jazz. Released on 27 March 2026 on vinyl, CD and digital platforms, the album captures the intimate chemistry of a close-knit small group while remaining deeply rooted in the landscape and musical traditions of North East England.

Recorded at The Old Church Studio in Thropton, Northumberland – a village with little more than the studio and the pub next door – “Bede” grew out of a focused set of sessions where the atmosphere of the place, and the late-night decompression at the bar, shaped the sound as much as the written material. The album takes its name from the Northumbrian monk Bede and is anchored in a strong sense of identity: the countryside and songs of the North East, the sturdy folk melodies Dunlop heard around Sunderland growing up, and the distinct flavour of Northumbrian tunes with their Scottish and Irish inflections.

During lockdown, back at his parents’ home with little to do but play, walk and think, Dunlop found himself reconnecting with these local songs, working through a book of tunes “for fun,” learning how they were constructed and reimagining them in a contemporary setting. That process sparked a desire to focus on his own material and to step forward as a bandleader after years as an in-demand sideman. Drawn to the clarity and space of “Scandinavian jazz,” he began assembling a repertoire that sits between Nordic translucence and the unvarnished directness of folk, gradually stripping his charts back from detailed prescriptions to simple frameworks – a melody, a few chords, open time – and trusting the band to do the rest.

The ensemble on “Bede” comes directly from that live work rather than a studio casting call. Dunlop first met saxophonist Albert Hills Wright at the Guildhall School and connected with pianist Finn Carter through mutual friends from the same scene. The initial concept was a drummer-less trio of bass, piano and sax, partly for the joy of playing without a kit, partly to push Dunlop into taking greater rhythmic responsibility at the core of the group. Later, hearing that some pieces were crying out for another percussive voice, he invited fellow Guildhall alumnus Dave Adsett to join on drums, and the music naturally split into two sound worlds: trio and quartet.

That duality is built into the album’s structure. On vinyl, one side features the quartet and the other the trio – two complementary chapters of the same story. The quartet tracks lean into a fuller, more driving energy, while the trio performances expose the grain of the writing and the interplay between bass, piano and sax, leaving more air around the melodies. Dunlop produced and arranged the session himself with a deliberately light touch, avoiding over-direction and letting the personalities in the band shape the music from the inside. Designed to be heard as a complete sequence rather than a playlist of isolated tracks, *Bede* unfolds like a book, inviting listeners to live inside its twin sound worlds for a while.

To launch the album, Michael Bede Dunlop takes *Bede* on the road with a run of UK dates in March:
– 14 March – Bede Quartet at The Bear Club, Luton
– 20 March – Bede Trio at St Pancras Clock Tower, London
– 27 March – Album release + Bede Quartet at Gala Theatre, Durham
– 28 March – Bede Quartet at Pottery Gallery, Sunderland
– 31 March – Bede Trio at Black Swan (Jazz Cafe), Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Together, the record and the tour present a clear introduction to who Michael Bede Dunlop is as an artist: a bassist-composer grounded in place, fascinated by song and interplay, and committed to music that feels both rooted and forward-looking.

For more information about Michael and “Bede”, or to discuss press and bookings, get in touch with us.