ICE are a seven-piece jazz-funk band from Birmingham. Formed in September 2005, the original trio of sax (Chris Duncan), keyboards (Mark Heath) and drums (Farooq Khan) became an instant success, creating insistent, catchy grooves with influences from across the board, blurring the boundaries between genres, and exploring deeper into the ever disappearing world of jazz, funk and soul.
During summer 2006, the founding members went away to record ICE’s debut EP, “Three’s a Crowd”. Released in November 2006, it was praised as “worthy of professional albums” by music industry contacts of the band, and a “tight, clean sound” that was “easily a match” for music on the radio today.
Since the release of the EP, ICE set about expansion of the group. A bassist was recruited in December 2006 (James Taft) and the four-piece began working with a number of guitarists and vocalists, before Helen Watkinson (vocals) and Francis Gardener-Trejo (guitar) joined the ranks.
In August 2007, Francis left for university. The band took a short break to find a new guitarist, write songs and rehearse a brand new set. In January 2008 they announced two new members: Nikita Bassi on vocals with Jake Murphy replacing Francis as the guitarist. With Farooq moving away, ICE have begun working with different drummers to find a replacement. The band are set to return with the new lineup before easter 2008.
