Julie Sassoon has recorded 2 albums on Babel. New Life (BDV2662) and Azilut!
People sometimes wonder where she has vanished to!. In fact, she has been living for the past 4 years in Berlin, where she has hooked up into a scene including Tom Arthurs, Toby Delius, Achim Kaufmann and many other of the imaginative musicians there. She has recently released a new album Land of Shadows.
She will also be performing some of the music at Bishopsgate Institute as part of a double bill with Enrico Pieranunzi on 15 November. (Book tickets here.)
She has sent me the following information on the album which includes a bonus CD.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The sounds rise up from silence, from a far away place, from a different time, until they land in the present where they begin to glow. Watching Julie Sassoon play, one has the impression that the piano will consume her completely. From hidden depths she unearths the sounds, one by one, she threads them into chains, bundles them up into sound clusters, and lets them slide gently back into silence..." Bert Noglik - Berlin Jazz Festival Director
Britishpianist/composer Julie Sassoon’s recent release on the Berlin Jazzwerkstatt Label Is a live solo piano CD entitled ‘Land of Shadows’. The music explores her German-Jewish identity - a theme that has become a prominent part of her artistic work since her move from London to Berlin in 2009. RBB Kulturradio recorded and broadcasted her concert at the main synagogue in Berlin – (part of her Spring 2012 German Tour.) Performances at the Bauhaus, Dessau and the Loft in Cologne are also included on the CD. The result is a highly emotive and unique album.
Her debut solo piano album ‘New Life’ on Babel received rave reviews and was voted among the top ten favourite international albums in Jazzwise Magazine. The solo gig she shared with Oregon at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the London Jazz Festival was described as ‘one of the most inspired pairings of the festival’ and received a 5 star Evening Standard review and a BBC radio 3 broadcast.
Julie will be returning to the London Jazz Festival on November 15th to give her first UK performance of this music - at the Bishopsgate Institute. She'll be sharing the evening with the wonderful Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi.
•"Sassoon’s capacity to sustain interest without resorting to licks,tricks or slickness of any kind is remarkable... music of rare beauty." Duncan Heining**** Jazzwise
• "Julie Sassoon's new album ‘Land of Shadow’ is a release which - in my opinion - more than rivals another solo piano album recorded nearly 40 years ago in Germany ... Keith Jarrett’s Cologne Concert..." Mike Gerber - UK Jazz Radio
• "Julie Sassoon, a pianist of astonishing resources, applies a concentrated beam of intelligence to everything she does ...
an earnest, brilliantly gifted player." • "a mesmeric solo performer". Mike Butler
****Jazz UK Chris Parker
Bonus DVD:
WHAT THE CHURCH BELLS SAW... (16:40)
for further information contact Julie Sassoon:
www.juliesassoon.com juliesassoon@googlemail.com 0049 (0)1769 61 60 871
16:40