More News - Autumn 2011
Newsletter September 2011
Recent additions to the website and more...
Facebook News: After resisting the temptation for
years I now have a Band Page on Facebook called
Graham Collier Music. If you’re feeding it
into Facebook
Search on your browser don’t use
spaces between the words and the uppercase letters are
optional). Please link to it and take advantage of the
regular updates. Two full tracks from
directing 14 Jackson Pollocks are available on the BandPage for
free download.
CD News:
Discussion are in play for a double CD/DVD of a recent
concert in Canada. See here for a review
of the concert. And in
October BGO will release the fourth double-CD compilation
of Graham Collier material, this time including
Symphony of
Scorpions and The Day of the
Dead, both
based on the works of Malcolm Lowry.
Publishing
News:
memories arrested in space, six saxophone quartets inspired
by Jackson Pollock paintings, have now been published
by
Advance.
Website
News: grahamcolliermusic.com has all the
news plus a new page listing all the Free Stuff
that’s available on the three sites.
jazzcontinuum.com has some new writing such as
‘Talking about Complete Composers: Henry
Threadgill’, and reprints of important older
writings such as ‘The Churchill Report on Jazz
Education in America’, as well as an index of all
Graham’s writings.
thejazzcomposer.com
has been
re-designed with a new theme and some new material.
More on the concert in Halifax
How do Halifax's jazz musicians do it? Opportunities are
few. Occasions to rise above ordinary excellence even
fewer. Yet 14 local players drawn together as the Upstream
Jazz Orchestra came up Sunday night with one of the hottest
jazz bands ever to hit the Dunn stage. … Big bands
offer the most exciting possibilities in the business for
firing up the blood. And British jazz composer, band leader
and writer Graham Collier made more of those possibilities
than any of us in the packed auditorium thought possible.
… There was potential for confusion in the sheer
weight of tones and energies, and the number of improvisors
(everybody), but Collier kept both musicians and audience
in the loop, the groove anchoring the structures, and his
many devices for changing direction and orchestration and
gestures ensuring that no two performances would sound
alike.
Stephen
Pedersen, The Halifax
Chronicle Herald. The full review can be found
here.
Or you might prefer
this version which appears to have translated the review
into Sanskrit and back again …
How
do Halifax’s jazz musicians do it? Opportunities are
few. Occasions to arise above typical value even fewer. Yet
14 internal players drawn together as a Upstream Jazz
Orchestra came adult Sunday night with one of a hottest
jazz bands ever to strike a Dunn stage.
…
Big bands offer a many sparkling possibilities in a
business for banishment adult a blood. And British jazz
composer, rope personality and author Graham Collier done
some-more of those possibilities than any of us in a
packaged auditorium suspicion possible. … There was
intensity for difficulty in a perfect weight of tones and
energies, and a series of improvisers (everybody), though
Collier kept both musicians and assembly in a loop, a slit
anchoring a structures, and his many inclination for
changing instruction and adaptation and gestures ensuring
that no dual performances would sound alike.
Found
at
http://rsgband.com/upstream-jazz-orchestra-rises-ordinary/
[and there’s more...]
More
on Hoarded Dreams
continues ‘One of the remarkable things about
Hoarded Dreams,
and perhaps only equalled by Charles Mingus, is the
seamlessness of written material and improvisation.
… Without an overt political or social programme, it
still delivers an expression of togetherness and
individuality in balance that is hard to beat. …
Collier’s dream-hoard is rich, sometimes strange and
entirely free of British whimsy. A lastingly satisfying
experience.’
The 2009 edition of the Penguin Guide to Recorded Jazz gave
Graham Collier CDs a total of 46 stars: Hoarded
Dreams and
Workpoints
are
both in the top four star category which signifies
‘an outstanding record… a splendid example of
the artist’s work.’ Four of the others
– Deep Dark Blue
Centre,
Darius, New
Conditions and
Symphony of
Scorpions – get three
and a half stars signifying ‘an excellent record with
some exceptional music’, while eight more, given
three stars, ‘will reward the listener tuned to
[their] merits’.
More
Website News
All
three websites have been re-organised with new material
added and in one case a complete makeover.
This site has a new
News
page, which you are reading, a
list of Graham Collier compositions
with related notes and a new
Free Stuff
page which details all the free goodies available on all
three sites.
jazzcontinuum.com
has new and republished articles in almost all sections
plus a Writings Index which is, well you can guess.
There’s also a page on jazzcontinuum CDs and
downloads.
thejazzcomposer.com
has had a complete makeover with some new and revised
sections, including
playing catch-up
which details some new thoughts and the typos and other
mistakes uncovered by me and others.
Praise
for
the jazz composer, moving music off the
paper
One of the best, if not the best, summations of
what jazz & jazz composing are supposed to be.
Jakko Tahkolahti, jazz critic and
broadcaster, Finland
Bloody
Marvellous, but I don't agree with everything in
it. Ray
Comiskey, Irish Times.
A
great addition to the literature on
composition. George E. Lewis
This
is an important book. Doug Ramsey,
Rifftides
For
more about the book click on the title and be taken to the
book's dedicated interactive website.
Praise for
directing 14
Jackson Pollocks,
the latest recording from Graham
Collier.
In the best CDs of 2009 lists in Jazz Journal (Simon
Adams, Anthony Troon and Bob Weir), Jazzwise (Duncan
Heining) and Village Voice (Chris Kelsey) and picked in
eMusic’s notable new releases, August
2009.
A
visionary and inspired work that’s utterly unlike any
big band album released since the death of Gil
Evans. Chris Kelsey
Collier
reaches distillation of the notion that the orchestra, the
written music and the improvising soloist comprise a
trinity, each element inseparable from the
other. Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
Celebrate
with two full length downloadable extracts
Click on the title above to be taken to the dedicated page
to read more reviews while you listen to the
downloads.
Praise for
the third BGO
compilation
of classic Collier material
‘Invaluable
albums and a high water mark in British
jazz.’ Chris
Searle, Morning
Star
‘It
never fails to astonish me that in pieces like these, we
are listening to music recorded more than a quarter of a
century ago that’s still challenging and uplifting
despite the seduction of ‘new things’ in jazz.
In fact I feel a thread linking the spirit of Jelly Roll
Morton to Mingus to Collier in the vivacity and drive of
these pieces. … An irresistible
reissue.’
Anthony
Troon, Jazz
Journal