Back to the National Theatre

I've been terribly remiss at maintaining this blog lately. I blame part of that on getting stuck into a bit of writing again - the two zones don't really mix for me. There may at least be one or two of these new songs at the National Theatre gig I'm playing this Sunday, 27 September (1.15pm). We shall see. I've got the excellent guitarist Nigel Price playing and also multi-talented bassist Andrew Milloy. Maybe see you there :)

Grimeborn and Write to Ignite

Living in the corner of inner city London that I do, there are times when I long for the rolling fields and plentiful parking I assume lies just beyond the M25.
However, last weekend, I was reminded about the good things about where I am. One: the Arcola theatre in Dalston. I managed to catch 0ne of the shows in the Grimeborn season of new opera and music, towards the end of the festival. It was a showcase of mainly new musical theatre material, by contemporary writers and some stalwarts, such as Sondheim.
I don't see much musical theatre these days, although I was brought up on a diet of about three or four a year as a kid. These days, West End prices put me off. But the quality of the songs and the singing really inspired me to check more out. There are clearly some very talented writers out there right now. Some of my favourites from the show were The Last Time There Was Rain by Ricky Ian Gordon from The Grapes of Wrath - a really rousing and beautifully harmonised chorus piece. Also, the tongue-in-cheek Easier by Conor Mitchell, Funeral Sequence from Parade by Jason Robert Brown and Dividing Day from The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel. Some of these shows have played on Broadway - hopefully, those that haven't might make it to London or Britain in general.
I also really laughed at The Alto's Lament by Marcy Heisler - having sung alto in various choirs, I could completely relate to the sentiment of the song (as an alto, you rarely get any of the interesting lines to sing, unlike sopranos who mainly sing the melodies).
As to my own creative ramblings, I managed to get to a writing workshop as part of the Write to Ignite festival going on in Hackney at the moment. It got the juices flowing definitely - might even prompt me to finish some of the new songs I'm working on!

Ronnie Scott's of Cambridge

Here's a couple of photos taken at my Alimentum gig in Cambridge earlier this week, taken by the esteemed Mr Williams.

From left: Nigel Price (guitar), Simon Little (electric bass), moi

As you can see, it was a little cosy on the stage when I was standing up (as opposed to lying drunk on the floor ... I mean, playing at the piano). Good job we all get on! I had been a little jittery before the gig as it's a while since Simon (bass), Nigel (guitar) and I had played together on my songs. I shouldn't have worried, though, as they're both superb players and remembered everything. We also played one of my new songs - the Rocker one - and it worked really well with the line-up. Must get that recorded soon ...

We had a busy night - the manager told me the venue could have sold out twice! It was a little bustly to start off with, what with with people ordering food, arriving etc. But in the second half, when most people had finished, they dimmed the lights and it did feel a little like the Ronnie Scott's of Cambridge. I think we'll be back.

Gigs on fire

In a bizarre twist of fate, I didn't actually sing at the Pizza Express with Jon Regen on Friday. The reason being that the whole street was taken out by a fire in one of the buildings, so nobody could get near it from the afternoon till the end of the day. What are the odds?

Reminded me of a time, many moons ago, when I went to work in Covent Garden one sunny morning to find the street cordoned off and a crowd gathered at the rope. The fire was actually over but I guess everyone else was hanging about for the same reasons I was: wondering what the hell was going on and whether they were going to get their arse kicked for being late.

I said to the policeman, "That's my work in there - I'm supposed to be in."

"Not today you're not," he replied. "Go home and enjoy the sun." Far be it from me to argue with a policeman.

Of course, it's much more fun going home when you were supposed to be at work, than when you were supposed to be doing a gig. But such is the way of random urban fires and you can't plan for these things.

As it is, I'm now swotting up for my gig tomorrow at Alimentum in Cambridge. I played there last year and it's a classy joint. This time I have Simon Little on bass and Nigel Price on guitar - absolutely top players and on my album to boot.

You can check the details on the venue's website, or I have actually set up an event invite for you Facebook lovers out there.

Feel free to join the lovin'...

Pizza Express Dean Street performance

I'm guesting on NYC artist Jon Regen's gig at Pizza Express Dean Street tonight. For those of you who don't know the place, it's not just a random Pizza Express that happens to have some music, as you might think - it's actually a really top jazz venue, second in London possibly only to Ronnie Scott's. So it's pretty exciting to be singing some songs there tonight.

Jon is a singer-songwriter who also happens to play piano amazingly well. Some other guests could include David McAlmont (of McAlmont & Butler fame). It's gonna be rocking! So if you are in London and were wondering what to do with your Friday night, now you know :-)

Where to write, and what on

Met up with an old Guildhall mate of mine the other day. C is now a composer, and fully au fait with all manner of music software. We were talking about writing, and he was encouraging me to explore a little more of that technology to generate ideas. I do admire people who use that software, and often enjoy music that's been created in that way. Frankly, though, the thought of getting my head around it right now is up there with doing a car maintenance course: I know it would benefit me, and come in very handy if I broke down, but do I really want to bore myself to tears? Not yet. In this respect, I'm a typical girl. A woman's got to be a typical girl sometimes, hasn't she?

In contrast to the computer, the piano, where I write most of my music, represents a space, mentally and physically, to be creative - to be something else. I'm not alone in this. I recently read a book that charted a lifetime's obsession with the piano, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. Now there's a real piano nut. A writer discovers and gets to know a particular atelier in Paris, and begins to relive his childhood interest in the instrument, delving into and exploring all its facets - technical and historical - as an adult. It has points of resonance for a pianist, although I'm not sure non-pianists would find it as intriguing. It's certainly a fairly counter-cultural memoir for our technological age.

For a complete change of headspace, I came in and caught the last part of Michael Jackson's memorial service on TV. Not a current fan of the artist, and ingrained with that peculiarly British aversion to sentimentality, I can't say I really entered into the spirit of things. But I was transfixed by the reverence and weirdness of it all - sort of like a variety show for the deceased. I happened to switch on just as Usher was starting to sing, weep and touch the coffin. I can't help feeling that if that was in Britain, said artist would be whisked away on the grounds of health and safety, and headlines the following day would read: "So-and-so dropped by record label for breach of contract and inappropriate behaviour" - or something like that. As it was, it seemed to go down a storm.

The commentating - by Paul Gambacini and Trevor Nelson - was also very weird. Normally reserved for state events or traditional annual sporting events (eg Wimbledon, just gone), it felt odd and awkward for an artist the British press has mercilessly mocked for the best part of his latter years.

Personally, although I admire Jackson's early work and talent, what I find most poignant is the story of an artist who seems impossible to empathise with, who was almost unreal - whether that was due to his ever-changing appearance, his secrecy, his penchant for the company of children and animals or whatever. To me, the ability to generate that emotional resonance is a key part of the artist's skill. Clearly, the man had millions of fans, so I guess a good deal of them felt empathy of some sort. In the end, the public displays of grief, ostentatious group hugs and teary performances of the memorial seemed a fitting tribute to a man whose life was all about spectacle - a man who, until the last, managed to reveal very little about the real "man in the mirror".

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

Had a good laugh at the Rhubarb live session recently in Birmingham. I'd actually met Martin, the DJ, before, when I was doing my first show up at the Edinburgh Fringe four years ago. He was doing a show there at the time, too, and we met on the Royal Mile, both attempting to flyer punters - except that he was dressed up in a rather dodgy Elvis suit. Gotta love those gimmicks!

So it was a very relaxed session. The studio is set in the rather cool Custard Factory complex, which has some really nifty little boutiques and also a theatre. Across the way from the studio, in a glass-fronted room, there was even an ever-so swish white grand piano that I was very tempted to play. Instead - for logistical reasons - I had to content myself with the old keyboard. Still, we had a good chat and I played a few songs from the album. Hopefully I'll get back to Brum for some live gigs soon.

Meanwhile, this weekend, I'm going back to my jazz roots to play at the Upton festival in Gloucestershire. Here's hoping the sun continues ...

Return to form

Recently I heard of this movement called Slow Blogging. Not unlike the Slow Food movement, the clue is in the name. Here's some lines from one slow blogger's manifesto (in fact, I think he's the man who came up with it):

"Slow Blogging is a rejection of immediacy. It is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly, and that many thoughts are best served after being fully baked and worded in an even temperament."

I heartily agree, although one has to accept that readership may dwindle, or fail to build, when you blog at the snail's pace that, for example, I do. But then I've never been one to submit easily to being rushed.

The reason for my recent blogging hiatus, however, is that I've been away on a much-needed break. And since I've been back - just over a week - it's been all go.

There were two slots at the Haywards' Heath Jazz and Soul on the Broadway gig, in the scorching sunshine on a Sunday. One was guesting with Rythme Futur, the other playing with my own band. Then there were returns to the National Theatre and the National Portrait Gallery last week. It was good to wheel out one or two new songs - I was even been asked when one of them is being recorded! - and it's always nice to connect with the many people passing through those places, usually from all over the world.

I've also had another review for my album from Keyboard Mag in the States. Hooray! Check it out here.

There's some other gigs in the pipeline, including a radio slot at Rhubarb Radio in Birmingham. I'm going to be playing live and there'll be a bit of chat, too. So tune in from 10pm on Tues 16 June.

Playing at The Stables

The Stables gig was a joy. It lived up to its reputation as being a top place to play. Thanks to everyone who came: I really enjoyed meeting people at the end and having a bit of a chat. As in some previous gigs, there were also some old faces there I hadn't seen for a very long time. Which is always a treat. Courtesy of Facebook. So it does have something going for it. Speaking of which, if you are on the infamous FB and would like to stay in touch, please join the fan page. It's still in its infancy, you might say, and very open to newcomers :-) Muso contact is best left to MySpace - because there are so many portals, music platforms and other technological vices - or virtues, depending which side of the fence you sit on - it's hard to keep up.

Back to the gig - we were, unfortunately, unable to take photos during the performance, but there are some rather rough 'n' ready shots of us setting up. So instead of the usual close-ups of yours truly oohing on the piano or keyboard - which are becoming a little ubiqitous, it has to be said - there are some rather interesting - one might even say arty - shots from before the gig... Here they are. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-)


Me warming up


The band in full sound check!


Andrew (bass) tries out his piano chops

Feeling groovy

Brighton last week was a most refreshing experience. Lovely theatre room, warm audience, great location (near the sea) and friendly promoters!! You may shrug at this last point, but it makes all the difference from feeling OK, to feeling really excited about playing somewhere. It's not that I constantly encounter weasly, cold-hearted bastards who really couldn't give a toss about your performance ... although, if I put my mind to it, I could drudge up a few. But a little bit of enthusiasm goes a long way.

I'm told this is a Brighton thing. Chatting to the bar manager afterwards, he informed me the stereotypical image of Brighton as a happy-go-lucky, chilled out paradise is "120% true". So. You heard it here first.

Hopefully I'll repeat my experience at The Stables in Milton Keynes this Saturday, 18 April. It's a top venue, and I'm very chuffed to be invited there. Other artists on their upcoming programme include the likes of Georgie Fame, Ruby Turner, Imelda May, Show of Hands and, oh - Julie McKee! - would you believe. It's definitely worth a night out - a post-Easter soiree, if you like. 'Cos you're worth it :-)

I'm also feeling slightly buoyed after seeing a top gig last night at the Troubadour in west London. I hadn't been to a gig for ages, with one thing and another, and this time it was my turn to be a groupie - He-Man was drumming with the melodramatic pop combo of crooner Orlando Seale. And very engaging and enjoyable it was, too. Not only that, all the other acts I caught were really high calibre - gorgeous vocals and serene soundscapes from Rachel Wright, funk grooves from Miss P and a set from Mano de Dios that had me smiling from start to finish. They rocked the place, with in-your-face flamenco, punk and rockabilly grooves, and the Spanish songs took me right back to my student days in Barcelona ... ahh. Those were the days.

Incommunicado and lovin' it

My mobile's broken. The charger's bust, it's out of juice - in short, it's kaput. I really should get round to rectifying the situation, but the last few days have been bliss. No more cranking it up first thing out of bed, awaiting intrusion from the outside world. No urgent safe-keeping in my pocket as I pop out to the shops for 10 mins, because somebody might call or text. No putting it on silent while I'm out with someone (but keeping a sneaky eye on it) or monitoring it in the movies in case something oh-so-important crops up. What a relief.

Maybe there's a lesson for me in all this. A chance to create a little bit more space in my life. Hell, I even sat down to finish a song - twice - in the last few days! Now that's gotta be good.

I heard about last week's Earth Hour too late. So I didn't switch off my lights - that is, if they were, indeed, on at the time. I just checked onto the Earth Hour website to see what it was all about. Some of its suggestions, apart from switching off your lights for an hour, included taking a photo and uploading it to Flickr, taking a video and uploading it to YouTube and writing a live blogpost about it. Er, doesn't all that add up to a lot more energy consumed than an hour of lights-off?

I'm not knocking it, but I'll stick with the broken mobile for now. There'll be less brains and thumbs fried. And I may even finish that song.

A funny thing happened on the way to The Library

The sunny weather has been a welcome distraction from most things. That said, here are some pics from my last Freedom of Expression gig in north London not long ago, courtesy of Tom Nicholls.

As you can see, I was joined by Sam Chaplin, who played some inspired lines on the flugel horn. It was a memorable night, not least because some people actually went to the local library, as opposed to The Library venue we were playing at. An easy enough mistake to make, really. Apparently it caused quite a ruckus among the librarians, who bristled at the idea that their rival outposts might be having more fun than them, putting on concerts and the like - imagine! Might have started something there ... Fortunately, said punters made it in the end, I'm not quite sure how, and didn't miss my slot. Our set was fairly short and sweet, with another outing for the new song, which is still without a title. I'll get there soon.

You and the night and the music

When people ask me how things are going, I sometimes forget that they have not been party to the same conversation I've been having with myself about what I do and what I plan to do next. I tell people I've been doing a bit more "jazz" lately, and forget that to some, that's what I've been doing all along.

What I mean by that is that I've been gigging the kind of repertoire known as "standards", either on jobbing gigs or with outfits such as Rythme Futur. I put a lot of that stuff on hold last year to do my own material and get my album out, but somehow, it's been creeping back in via various sources. In fact, although I swore I'd had it with jazz, I've really enjoyed just getting up and singing, without the pressure of thinking I've got to sell albums. At least not my own, at any rate.

Last week I played Club Chat Noir with Rythme Futur at the Hanbury Club in Brighton. It was another album launch, of sorts, for them. The place was heaving and it was great to see so many people dancing to music that doesn't even have drums! Shows you it's still got that special something if people are in the mood for a good time.

I also played a scratch gig with Toby Nowell's band at The Lamb in Surbiton. It was a breezy and off-the-cuff affair, with some colourful guests sitting in - one of whom had a remarkable likeness to Roy Wood from Wizard (but younger). Among the musos were multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson, who also plays with the Lost and Found Orchestra, and Dan Redding, a great guitarist who amazed me by jamming on Lush Life (one of the most difficult - but beautiful - ballads out there) before we started. Now that is class.

Back to the originals, I joined in on Jazmine Ava's Candlelight Songwriters' Night in Colchester on Friday just gone. It was nice to see some Saint FM faces there - Anver and crew, plus Tersha, who sang on the Unsigned show's first birthday bash last December. I played a solo set, doing songs from the album, plus my new waltz, which has yet to be named - although I did get a few suggestions on the night. Am still deciding ...

Rythme Futur album launch

I seem to be playing a lot of jazz lately. Sunday night was the official album launch of Rythme Futur's new album, Yesterdays. Scroll down some posts back, and you will see the studio pics of those particular sessions, recorded at Tin Pan Alley studios. The CD has come out really nicely and you can get it either on gigs or drop me a note, and I'll put you in touch. I'm singing on about five tracks - hell, I'm even whistling on one of 'em!

We played our launch gig at Le Quecumbar, the top venue for gypsy jazz and Parisian swing. Everybody played well, but the duelling solos between Andy Aitchison on violin and James Evans on clarinet were something else. Sometimes virtuosity can be a bit alienating, as though it's just about instrumentalists pulling out all the tricks in their bag for the sake of it. Here, though, it really sounded like music as it should be: warm, inviting, inspiring and with a sense of humour. There were also star turns from the other troopers in the band: George Trebar on bass, Barrington Meyer on guitar and Simon Moore on guitar also.

If you've never been to Le Quecumbar, you should check it out. It's an entirely independent venue and feels as though you've walked into a stylish French bistro from the pre-war era, with live music virtually every night. I may well be back there with my own set-up, too. Watch this space.

Let it snow, let it snow

Well, this is the view from my study window today. I was due to be out pretty much all day - had three different appointments - but it was not to be. I've never seen so much snow in London. I feels a bit like a kid who's managed to blag a day home from school - except that my work is also at home, so there's no getting away from it!

I shall enjoy the snowscape, at any rate. And watching the few kids that live on our street making snowmen out on the pavement below.

As if that wasn't enough pictorial delight for one blog post, here are some photos of our show in Winchester on Saturday night, taken by a very nice man in the audience.

The show was a blast and we had a very appreciative audience. Nina Schofield set the tone in the first set with her beautiful vocals and slightly Tori Amos / R'n'B styled tunes. We also tried a few new tricks this time around: Andrew added extra welly, switching from electric to double bass on a few songs; we had manly warblings from Sam and Mark on backing vocals; and Sam got funky on the keys for a few numbers, which meant I could get up and jig about. Hooray!

Thank you to everyone who came, especially those old acquaintances who I hadn't seen for about 15 years - you know who you are! It was really great to meet people after the show - always one of my favourite bits of the evening.

Jazz in Croydon, originals in Winchester

Dipped my toe back into the old jazz roots yesterday at the Clocktower Cafe in Croydon. I've been doing this lunchtime gig pretty regularly ever since I left Guildhall in 2004, and I'm happy to say, I always get a pretty good response - there aren't many places you can say that for! Plus, it's kind of grounding to tap into those musical roots every so often - particularly when it's with Nigel Price, one of the most swinging guitarists around (also on my album, as it happens), and the esteemed George Trebar (of Rythme Futur fame) on bass.

We had a good old play and gave those jazz standards a workout. I enjoyed not being at the piano for a change - gave me a chance to boogie about a bit more!

I also decided to experiment with public transport, bringing my AER amp with me - supposedly portable - just to see how portable it really is. Well, I can now report it's about as portable as a sack of bricks. I felt like a human swingball, with a very heavy lump of concrete attached instead of a ball. That's not really how I want to feel before a gig. Somebody get me a roadie!! I could get vertigo. There were also a fair few people who had a go at thwacking it as well, on the tube - it was just too tempting. Still, it all means I never have to go to the gym or do aerobics - that's my excuse, anyway. And I think I definitely deserve a massage after that...

The next listening gig is in Winchester at the Discovery Centre on Saturday 31 January. I'm getting together with the guys over the next week for various plays and rehearsals, and it's all shaping up to be a tidy gig. Plus, there is support from an amazing, up-and-coming singer Nina Schofield. Even more reason to ditch Strictly (or whatever it now is on a Saturday night) and come out to play...

Southend radio session

So I had my outing to Southend radio - that of the jingle fame (the one I was supposed to write, that is) - and most enjoyable it was. Took me ages to get there, but as I started cruising down the Western Esplanade and glimpsed the sea to my right, I felt a deep calm. Ahhh. Wish I could've spent more time gazing onto the blue. As it was, I was already cutting it fine and there were songs, chats and jingles to be recorded! Ben Payne, the presenter of Live and Local, was lovely, and we had a good old chin wag in their new studio, where we managed to get the keyboard in and put down a good couple of tracks. Should go out on February 2, when, hopefully, you can also hear my jingle! Woo hoo. In the meantime, here we are, doing our thang:

Essex radio session

I've got another in-studio radio session this Friday. It's a pre-record and I'll be playing a live song on the piano and the DJ will probably play one of the tracks from the CD itself, also. Should be fun. I've been asked to come up with a jingle for the show, which is a new challenge for me! Not entirely sure what to do for that, although I've some ideas. It might well be the most acoustic jingle you ever heard, as I'm not really one for fiddling about with samples and the like. Not yet, anyway.

I've been working on a few new songs lately as well. Finally found some head space to get some thoughts on paper/ Garage Band. Nothing's finished yet, and I've no idea when they'll see the light of day at this present moment. But at least it's good to clear some of the bottleneck of ideas that have been piling up virtually non-stop for the last while. Either they come out, or they die! I know which option I prefer.

Happy New Year

Told you the regular blogging thing wouldn't last! Well, 2008 was a good year, and 2009 hasn't started on a bad foot either.

Check out the lovely feature Keyboard Player magazine did of me here.

Also on my News page, you can read some more nice words from the people at Performing Songwriter, one of my favourite muso-type mags.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that in December, I was cited in the Top 10 best albums of 2008 by Wildy's World! Here's what he said:

"Intelligent and witty lyrics make this one of the smartest albums of the year. An absolute must have for music fans."

Nice words, indeed. I'll be doing a more in-depth type review thingie of the last year soon...In the meantime, stay warm, have a good weekend and see you soon.