Having fumigated the trombone and sharpened the quill I've been spending time with an amazing bunch of musos, the Lambeth Wind Orchestra. In my boho-military days, characters from which have been turning up recently in happy numbers, we used to relish playing anything that was thrown at us. The Lambeth guys have no brass hats to answer to but a benign maverick of an MD,John Holland,and the likes of his fellow multi-instrumentalist Roger Cawkwell who switches from wagner tuba to post-Miles Soprano Sax in the space of a swift half. As well as the traditional places you'd find bandly stuff, the LWO fetched up at a guerilla club in an abandoned video store the other week supporting the Crumbling Ghosts, HM meets folk and Percy Grainger, and a real morris dancer in the crowd. Great use of the space and nice vibe spilling onto the pavement...
www.lambethwindorchestra.org.uk/
...And so to Memphis and Director Kendra-Boaz-Zentero's first feature. This fab survivor of an artist has just starting a project 8 years in themaking and asked me to set about some underscore, which was brilliantly read through by the Lambeth posse last week with Roger's driving improv atop the 30 other voices. Copying parts in pools of heat wave sweat is particularly worth it with KBZ and LWO around on the case. More on the movie down the line.
Saturday 4 July 2009
Upbeat and Memphis
Some musical oases in the scorching city..
I've lately joined the team at Upbeat , an extraordinary way of meeting a need head-on in the light of experience. Creative Director Phil Harvey decided to be upfront about the stresses of managing a major band-Coldplay-and they rallied behind him to support what Upbeat does, by which time Phil had teamed up with a muso who happened to use mental health services. The place is anything but worthy and prescriptive. I was delighted to at last meet manager Lucia Way, who is a denizen of several rangy initiatives in Camden,with lead faciliator Finn Cheshire,like me a classically house-trained guy turned loose. Finn's own band is going to be one to check, as are the fine artist roster you'll find at http://www.upbeatstudios.org. Please support the major fundraiser coming up in September and keep an eye on the site for their live showcases.
I've lately joined the team at Upbeat , an extraordinary way of meeting a need head-on in the light of experience. Creative Director Phil Harvey decided to be upfront about the stresses of managing a major band-Coldplay-and they rallied behind him to support what Upbeat does, by which time Phil had teamed up with a muso who happened to use mental health services. The place is anything but worthy and prescriptive. I was delighted to at last meet manager Lucia Way, who is a denizen of several rangy initiatives in Camden,with lead faciliator Finn Cheshire,like me a classically house-trained guy turned loose. Finn's own band is going to be one to check, as are the fine artist roster you'll find at http://www.upbeatstudios.org. Please support the major fundraiser coming up in September and keep an eye on the site for their live showcases.
Sunday 24 May 2009
Timespring
This Stan Tracey tune title comes to mind as I contemplate where exactly the time has gone.
We had a modestly succesful gig as previewed above, but got to thinking about how we might connect better with the nice people we run into to cajole them into showing up as an audience.
Amrit is working on a second album and gigs prolifically, never one to fall back on familar riffs.
Al went back to his IT thing and steady stream of pianistic gems,and got very happily married, as did two members of the Laundrette Poets. I ran into Nicky the other day and we discussed a film she's been scoring online. So one way and another the mission continues.
Me? A spell in Essex soaking up the vibes of allotments and goatiness, with more than a whiff of Gavin and Staceiness about, got me into composing again. I've just debuted three-fifths of 'LoveSeasons' for voice and piano which is a series of snapshots of a fictionalised one-on-one.
A bit before that 'Tod Transcending' was workshopped by the London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. Martin Jones, my pianist on LS is also the Double Bass soloist in this imagining of conductor Vernon 'Tod' Handley's last moments. A female friend of mine shared a cab with him during which he told a few earthy yarns of his concert life, so that was my starting point. There'll be a concert performance in October, details nearer the time. Meantime it was a pleasure to meet Errolyn Wallen and get her pithy supportive feedback on how the thing looked and played.
Errolyn is currently alsofunctioning as a singer-songwriter,and her back catalogue is also full of bold and sympathetic innovations.
Groaning for a crust
I was delighted to be asked to sing at the gig in which we debuted LS a couple of weeks back. In doing some publicity for this I was torn between describing myself as Chansonnier (which kind of implies you can speak the odd syllable if it falls that way) and Baritone. In the end it just describes how high or low the pitch of a voice is but it carries a lot of provenant illustrious baggage. I was working chorally with some fine trained voices in collegiate and churchy circles who were very encouraging. This leads me to suspect that half the deal in solo vocals is standing out there to dodge the tomatoes, as Stephen Sondheim put it. Gracious and sympathetic response to my attempts I must say, thanks Guys. Rooting around I notice that Steve is among the composers who've put across the jist of their lines and-at their level of eminence- become 'special editions'-see also Antonio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach on 'At This Time' for example. Some pundits point to the untrained unprotected nature of voices on the indie scene, where the voice is part of,say, some kind of protesting persona. A few years on you maybe care a bit less about the image aspect.But either way at some point a voice coach shows up and if they get it right need not usually change the bones of what's there that much. Maybe the fact that Dylan, Costello, Jagger and even the wispy persistence of Jane Birkin is somewhat down to these discrete interventions, and maybe a bit of growing old disgracefully, not tidying up too much.
A cabaret-ish duo is taking shape at the moment in a lovely old church in E17 with pianist Peter Jewell. We're arriving at our sound bit by bit and we hope from enjoyable tangents, and we'll probably show up for a gig somewhere in a few months.I'm figuring out whether to post some work in progress, vetting my vocals on public health grounds before I get them looked at by the vet.
We had a modestly succesful gig as previewed above, but got to thinking about how we might connect better with the nice people we run into to cajole them into showing up as an audience.
Amrit is working on a second album and gigs prolifically, never one to fall back on familar riffs.
Al went back to his IT thing and steady stream of pianistic gems,and got very happily married, as did two members of the Laundrette Poets. I ran into Nicky the other day and we discussed a film she's been scoring online. So one way and another the mission continues.
Me? A spell in Essex soaking up the vibes of allotments and goatiness, with more than a whiff of Gavin and Staceiness about, got me into composing again. I've just debuted three-fifths of 'LoveSeasons' for voice and piano which is a series of snapshots of a fictionalised one-on-one.
A bit before that 'Tod Transcending' was workshopped by the London Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. Martin Jones, my pianist on LS is also the Double Bass soloist in this imagining of conductor Vernon 'Tod' Handley's last moments. A female friend of mine shared a cab with him during which he told a few earthy yarns of his concert life, so that was my starting point. There'll be a concert performance in October, details nearer the time. Meantime it was a pleasure to meet Errolyn Wallen and get her pithy supportive feedback on how the thing looked and played.
Errolyn is currently alsofunctioning as a singer-songwriter,and her back catalogue is also full of bold and sympathetic innovations.
Groaning for a crust
I was delighted to be asked to sing at the gig in which we debuted LS a couple of weeks back. In doing some publicity for this I was torn between describing myself as Chansonnier (which kind of implies you can speak the odd syllable if it falls that way) and Baritone. In the end it just describes how high or low the pitch of a voice is but it carries a lot of provenant illustrious baggage. I was working chorally with some fine trained voices in collegiate and churchy circles who were very encouraging. This leads me to suspect that half the deal in solo vocals is standing out there to dodge the tomatoes, as Stephen Sondheim put it. Gracious and sympathetic response to my attempts I must say, thanks Guys. Rooting around I notice that Steve is among the composers who've put across the jist of their lines and-at their level of eminence- become 'special editions'-see also Antonio Carlos Jobim, Burt Bacharach on 'At This Time' for example. Some pundits point to the untrained unprotected nature of voices on the indie scene, where the voice is part of,say, some kind of protesting persona. A few years on you maybe care a bit less about the image aspect.But either way at some point a voice coach shows up and if they get it right need not usually change the bones of what's there that much. Maybe the fact that Dylan, Costello, Jagger and even the wispy persistence of Jane Birkin is somewhat down to these discrete interventions, and maybe a bit of growing old disgracefully, not tidying up too much.
A cabaret-ish duo is taking shape at the moment in a lovely old church in E17 with pianist Peter Jewell. We're arriving at our sound bit by bit and we hope from enjoyable tangents, and we'll probably show up for a gig somewhere in a few months.I'm figuring out whether to post some work in progress, vetting my vocals on public health grounds before I get them looked at by the vet.
Saturday 16 August 2008
human scale at a warm chill in august
I'm sitting in a teccy basement in Soho drafting my contribution to an upcoming gig on saturday, August 23rd at The Space, Westferry http://www.space.org.uk/ . starting at 7.30pm.
In the shadow of the gradually localising Docklands complex, it's one of those atmospheric converted nineteenth century churches-lovely acoustic ,grand piano , gallery. Having previously worked there with Cat Kontz in her music theatre piece Mie, I now have the pleasure of hosting an eclectic bill of musicians and songwriters including Alex Routledge, whose post-romantic piano has been in my musical orbit for 3 or 4 years now, and Grammy-Winning guitarist Amrit Sond, whose playing generates the texture of a small orchestra with a busy percussion section. We'll also have the Cello-Led Laundrette Poets who are the mellow side of Hull and Nicky Hart with Chansons from Stoke Newington. All in all its a convivial musos' hangout that extends its franchise to a receptive and diverse audience.
I guess what could be said to be common ground for us all is that we've taken to enjoying working downsized. With that goes a certain unplugged intimacy that lends itself to smaller
venues, but it does allow a bit of stretching out now and again and at least a passing glance at the broader picture de nos jours. It's a bit folky, a bit country, a tad jazzy and classically-house trained. We hope you'll come along and see what you make of us.
Tickets are the laid-back sum of a fiver and are available through Ticketweb or the venue itself.
The Space also houses a comfortable cafe bar operation to the rear which I'd highly reccomend
as an alternative to the windy city of Cabot Square and thereabouts.
Laundrette Poets are at www.lawnsoundmusic.co.uk/LDP1.html
Alex Routledge is at http://www.cibolastudiosco.uk/
Amrit Sond is at www.amritsond.com/
Nickie Hart is at www.nickiehart.co.uk/
In the shadow of the gradually localising Docklands complex, it's one of those atmospheric converted nineteenth century churches-lovely acoustic ,grand piano , gallery. Having previously worked there with Cat Kontz in her music theatre piece Mie, I now have the pleasure of hosting an eclectic bill of musicians and songwriters including Alex Routledge, whose post-romantic piano has been in my musical orbit for 3 or 4 years now, and Grammy-Winning guitarist Amrit Sond, whose playing generates the texture of a small orchestra with a busy percussion section. We'll also have the Cello-Led Laundrette Poets who are the mellow side of Hull and Nicky Hart with Chansons from Stoke Newington. All in all its a convivial musos' hangout that extends its franchise to a receptive and diverse audience.
I guess what could be said to be common ground for us all is that we've taken to enjoying working downsized. With that goes a certain unplugged intimacy that lends itself to smaller
venues, but it does allow a bit of stretching out now and again and at least a passing glance at the broader picture de nos jours. It's a bit folky, a bit country, a tad jazzy and classically-house trained. We hope you'll come along and see what you make of us.
Tickets are the laid-back sum of a fiver and are available through Ticketweb or the venue itself.
The Space also houses a comfortable cafe bar operation to the rear which I'd highly reccomend
as an alternative to the windy city of Cabot Square and thereabouts.
Laundrette Poets are at www.lawnsoundmusic.co.uk/LDP1.html
Alex Routledge is at http://www.cibolastudiosco.uk/
Amrit Sond is at www.amritsond.com/
Nickie Hart is at www.nickiehart.co.uk/
Saturday 9 August 2008
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