Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Reviews on londonjazznews.com

I have been busy travelling around, and have posted a few things on www.londonjazznews.com

Julie Sassoon in Peitz:  http://www.londonjazznews.com/2013/06/review-julie-sassoon-at-jazzwerkstatt.html

Elbjazz in Hamburg: http://www.londonjazznews.com/2013/05/reviewroundup-elbjazz-festival-in.html
Inntoene in Austria: http://www.londonjazznews.com/2013/05/reviewroundup-inntoene-festival-austria.html

A reminder that Babel Babble is being broadcast every Tuesday on ntslive.co.uk
If you follow the links, you can hear the podcasts.
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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Latest News From the Tower


LATEST NEWS FROM THE TOWER (JUNE)
COMING SOON....
The View from the Tower Residency resumes 23 June at the Vortex Jazz Club 15.30. Once again Dan Messore will be curating the series which showcases British compositions as well as Babel artists. Each week Dan is accompanied by a group of very accomplished colleagues, each bringing their own unique style to the ensemble.  Sometimes new talent and mature talent come together in the form of  Iain Bellamy, Tim Harries or Steve Waterman with interesting results. Frequently, described as a 'young upcoming guitarist' Messore demonstrates a respect for his seniors whose influence have undoubtedly left a mark. He has been developing his own style of composing and playing: rich in influences and range - from post-contemporary fusion to folk rock. Where does all this inspiration come from? From nature and its natural surroundings he says. Having travelled a fair amount, leading something of an itenerant lifestyle,  Messore re-creates travel transfroming stunning landscapes into soundscapes through improvisation. On the way one encounters  African folk music inspired some gentle rootsy guitar playing, misty mountain landscapes of an americana tinged with nostalgia, breezy and light with floating melodies. While 'tradition' is close to his heart the unknown road is equally a lure, so recently Messore hit the road with his band Indigo Kid  which included his youthful colleagues Trish Clowes (sax), Calum Gourlay (bass) and Gethin Jones (Drums) on a two month tour of the UK.

A WORD FROM DAN...                                                                                  
Last few weeks have been great, finished a really enjoyable Indigo Kid tour as with jazz services kind support. I was joined by Trish Clowes, Calum Gourlay, and Gethin Jones. They all sound amazing and we had fun times. 
Also, I've come out of  mixing the second album with Tim Harries, Martin France, Trish Clowes and Iain Ballamy. I'm very excited about it. 
At SE Collective I had my first gig with a new project I've been writing for with Ross Stankey on organ, Tim Giles and Gareth Lockrane. It went really well, those guys are so killer. 
So, View From The Tower coming up soon and we got some new tunes coming from Mike Chilllingworth, Dave Hamblett, and Get The Blessing's Jake McMurchie. Plus in the pipeline we have an arrangement coming from Laura Jurd and also from our very own Elliot Galvin. 
It nice to get these fresh tunes in from these musicians, its great having them sit in the set with the growing repertoire. 

 DAN MESSORE ON BABEL
  

REVIEWSIndigo Kid 
BBC April (2012)    http://goo.gl/oKNdW 
All Bout Jazz (2012)   http://goo.gl/dtpq5
London Jazz News  (2012)  http://goo.gl/JxpoY
Americana UK (2012)   http://goo.gl/7I46D
BeBop Spoken Here (2012)  http://goo.gl/FNt7c
The Jazz Mann  (2012)   http://goo.gl/04CNj

 Lacuna - Talk on the Step
Music Web International  http://goo.gl/vzKEx
The Jazz Mann (2013)  http://goo.gl/jN3nQ
BeBop Spoken Here (2013)  http://goo.gl/lHvEV
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Saturday, June 01, 2013

MOSS PROJECT - 'What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?'.





 What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes? 
An album of collisions and reconciliations...

The CD and accompanying book represent a collision of sound and story, a marriage of music and literature. What started out as an album of original compositions has been expanded to a deluxe art object, with the addition of six new pieces of fiction, each one written as a response to a particular track on What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes?
In the up-beat groove of ‘The Bubble,’ tricky prog time signatures and stop-start riffs meet soulful funk and openhearted jazz soloing to make music for body and mind. In the down-tempo sigh of ‘Anniversary’, mel- ancholy fiddle and clarinet sit against twanging Bill Frisell-like guitar to paint a rain-soaked audio landscape. And on the title track, a jumping Afro-beat shimmy smashes into moody post-rock vibes to create a truly cosmopolitan 21st century hybrid.
In the same way, throughout the album, the contrasting lead voices of Moss Freed’s precise and determined electric guitar and Alice Zawadzki’s soaring violin and ecstatic wordless vocals combine to offer a captivating snapshot of the human heart that stops you in your tracks.
“Moody, cinematic compositions that blur the line between folk, rock and jazz with imagination and flair.” Time Out London
Led by guitarist Moss Freed, Moss Project, brings together key figures from the cutting edge of the 21st cen- tury UK jazz scene. What Do You See When You Close Your Eyes? is Moss Project’s second album, produced in conjunction with a book of short stories, written by some of Britain’s freshest literary talents. Naomi Alderman, Joe Dunthorpe, Colum McCann, James Miller, Lawrence Norfolk andHanan al-Shaykh have each contributed new work to this unique project, directly inspired by the music on this gripping album.
The music and words are brought together in a beautifully-illustrated hardback book with CD insert. If you missed the launch at The Vortex you can check out some recordings of the show on the new BABEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

 BIOGRAPHIES
Mancunian guitarist Moss Freed is founder and leader of Moss Project, which released its debut album, Vi- sion, in 2009. The album was greeted by prog-jazz drum legend Bill Bruford as “a real achievement.” Moss has also founded jazz-rock band Let Spin and established the Coventry Calling music festival in Connecticut.
Bassist Ruth Goller is best known for playing bass guitar in the groundbreaking band Acoustic Ladyland, although the Italian-born Londoner has also performed in a wide range of situations including work with the acclaimed Serbian jazz piano star Bojan Z. Goller also leads her own band, Big Cat.
Vocalist and violinist Alice Zawadzki has worked with jazz vocalist Norma Winstone of Azimuth, and singer Jacqui Dankworth. Zawadzki makes her solo debut as a bandleader in 2013.
Slovakian drummer Marek Dorcik cut his teeth in his national jazz scene before moving to Manchester in 2006. He has worked with the vanguard of the north-west jazz scene including Mike Walker of The Impossible Gentlemen, and the Cinematic Orchestra’s Stuart McCallum.
Reeds player Shabaka Hutchings leads his own highly rated band Sons of Kemet. He has also performed in drum-great Jack DeJohnette’s high-powered Jerwood All-Stars, and as a BBC New Generation artist com-posed ‘Babylon’, which was performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra in 2012.




AVAILABLE FROM  BANDCAMP
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