Cascade
Here's where we find out what's tickling the ears of our website guest of the month. You can also have a look at previous guests' selections via the list on the left.
 | Cascade is a new creative collective made up of five leading British musicians from all over the UK, each of whom has an international reputation for cross genre and improvisatory work. This project was commissioned with funds from the PRS Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Scottish Arts Council. |
Cascade will premiere at the London Jazz Festival on Sunday 19 November in the Purcell Room and will perform at the MAC Centre, Birmingham, in association with Birmingham Jazz/SAMPAD on Saturday 13 January 2007 and at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in association with Celtic Connections on Thursday 1 February 2007. Further UK dates in 2007 will be announced soon.
www.cascadetour.info
Aidan O’Rourke - fiddle
Aidan is a fiddle player and composer who is one of Scotland’s most expressive and dynamic musicians. He has toured extensively in Europe and North America and is currently the Musician in Residence at the Tolbooth (Stirling). He performs with the hugely successful Blazin’ Fiddles, Kevin MacKenzie’s Vital Signs, Unusual Suspects, Sunhoney and the Orcadian Trio. Aidan has an interest in exploring different styles of music, from rock/pop, to jazz, roots and groove to drum 'n' bass – all of which have had a large influence on his musicality and expression. As a composer, Aidan has been commissioned to write for Dundee Rep Theatre and, as musician in residence for Folkworks (Tyneside), Aidan wrote for a number of the region’s finest young instrumentalists. He has also written for the Celtic Connection's New Voices series and his work ‘Mantra Alba’ which he wrote in collaboration with children of Dunfermline was performed to welcome the Dalai Lama to Scotland on 3 June 2004.
Kris Drever: Black Water (Reveal)
A beautifully rounded album by one of Scotland's finest singers and guitar players. Though still in his twenties Kris has matured with a powerful voice and mastery of his instrument and this album marks his coming of age as a performer. I work alongside Kris in the trio Lau but I never tire of his music. It's a joy to hear him doing his own thing so well. It’s also a great selection of songs and tunes all carefully and cleverly produced by John McCusker.
www.krisdrever.com
Andy Sheppard - soprano and tenor saxophones
The man who has emerged as one of Britain’s foremost tenor and soprano saxophonists was introduced to the music of John Coltrane at the age of 19 and immediately went out and bought his own saxophone. A successful recording artist, bandleader and composer (for film, TV and theatre), Andy Sheppard is one of a very few British jazz artists to have made a significant international impact. A serial collaborator, Andy has worked with an astonishing range of partners from all genres of music and is remarkably, one of a very few soloists to have played in the big bands of all three of the greatest post-war jazz composers, Carla Bley, George Russell and Gil Evans. In the past year he has composed two new pieces Glossolalia a choral work with saxophone, guitar and percussion soloists commissioned by Bigger Sky and the Norfolk & Norwich Festival with a premiere in the Norwich Cathedral and the second work saw Andy commissioned by Brunel 200 to write a piece to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. For this work, entitled The Living Bridge: Andy Sheppard’s Saxophone Massive, Andy composed a fanfare using prepared electronics incorporating the sounds of the bridge and utilised the talents of 200 local saxophonists in homage to his early work with French performance artists Urban Sax.
Eivind Aarset: Connected (Jazzland Recordings)
I recently did a CMN tour with the great Norwegian composer/author/artist Ketil Bjornstad and Eivind was also in the band so I got to play with and hear his innovative guitar playing every night. I just love his sound and ideas - so much so that I've invited him to record with my band soon...
www.jazzlandrec.com
Kuljit Bhamra – tabla and percussion
Kuljit Bhamra is one of the most inspiring and influential musicians, composers and record producers on the British Asian music scene. A pioneer of the worldwide Bhangra phenomenon, combining traditional Punjabi rhythms, with western instruments and multitrack recording techniques, Kuljit has composed and produced over two thousand songs and is responsible for the rise to fame of numerous Bhangra and Bollywood stars. A virtuosic instrumentalist and highly skilled improviser and composer, Kuljit has worked, both independently and collaboratively, for over a decade on film scores such as the award winning Bhaji on the Beach, Bend it like Beckham, Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom, The Guru, A Little Princess, Wings Of A Dove, The Four Feathers, Alexander and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. He has also worked extensively in London’s West End and highlights in this arena include assisting on the percussion arrangement for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s massive hit musical Bombay Dreams (in which he gave a truly breath-taking performance as on-stage percussionist) and with his acclaimed Indian Music score for The Far Pavilions, Kuljit was the first British Asian to compose for a West End musical.
Throughout 2006 Kuljit has been developing a new cross-genre project with his west-end collaborator David Braun-White. Together they have composed repertoire for a large multi-cultural ensemble of musicians and this band – the Ku-Da-Mix Orchestra – heralds Kuljit’s desire to embrace all of the music that appeals to him and to create an ensemble that is a vehicle for his diverse and ever increasing compositional output.
Robert Mellin & Gian-Piero Reverberi: The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (Original Television Soundtrack) (Silva Screen)
There are many sentiments and memories connected with this particular album. I remember watching the TV series as a child and noticing for the first time how much the theme tune and underscore music contributed to my enjoyment of the series. Listening now, I admire and love the way that the same melodic themes appear in different guises and moods through clever orchestration.
www.silvascreen.co.uk
Sheema Mukherjee - sitar
A versatile and creative musician, Sheema works across many styles and genres from eastern and western classical music to pop and dance music. She has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Courtney Pine, Natasha Atlas, Transglobal Underground, Noel Gallagher, Cornershop, Australian recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey and has supported Mercan Dede with her new trio (sitar, guitar and tabla). Sheema Mukherjee is evolving both as a composer and as a collaborator. Recent work has included co-writing a piece with Turkish-born and Montreal-based Mercan Dede for his most recent album Su, an improvisation with Australian recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey in Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day and a creative development role in composition and song writing in Beijing, Hong Kong and Gateshead as part of the PRS Foundation and Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Creative Exchange Project. Larger scale work has included composition for full orchestra, electric and acoustic guitars, bass guitar, kit drum and tablas for two new pieces of theatre (Non-contact Time and Gluey and the Lion) that formed part of the Northern Exposure Festival at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. This year she has been concentrating on creating work for her debut solo album.
Nikhil Banerjee: Monomanjari (Sonodisc)
I always refer back to this music – it is my roots and my musical grounding.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikhil_Banerjee
Simon Thoumire - concertina
An acknowledged concertina virtuoso, Simon Thoumire has dazzled audiences with his playing all over the world. A winner of the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Young Tradition Award, Simon has always been keen to explore different genres of music, releasing many records delving into folk, jazz, improvisation and composition. Simon has also pursued interests in the industry side of traditional music forming Foot Stompin' Records, Scottish Traditional Music Trust and Hands Up for Trad. His compositional output is varied and covers new music in both contemporary and traditional genres. He has been the recipient of many commissions including: Celtic Connections Suite – a commission by Celtic Connections Festival to mark the opening of their late night club; Day Trip to Glasgow which was commissioned by Glasgow Jazz Festival; The Scottish Requiem, commissioned by Celtic Connections and performed by Hyndland School Strings and Drumchapel School Choir alongside a group of traditional musicians and singers; Ceilidh, commissioned by Yehudi Menuhin's organisation Live Music Now!; Myth, commissioned by South Lanarkshire Council's ARTSNET organisation for the children of South Lanarkshire Schools and the landmark piece, Music for a New Scottish Parliament which was written to mark a momentous time in Scottish history. This piece was also chosen by the BBC for the opening concert of their Music Live Festival at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Simon is currently working on his first Scots Fiddle Concerto.
Junction Pool: Junction Pool (Junction Records)
I like this album because it is a good fusion of traditional and jazz music, and I especially like its energy and vitality.
www.tradmusic.com/groupinfoa.asp?groupID=1621