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Details of new Edinburgh
Fringe Festival programme
with singer Daisy Chute
here
Camerata Ritmata.....
is a unique collaboration between classical guitar virtuoso
Simon Thacker and some of Britain’s leading jazz and world musicians.
Initially founded to explore the idea of combining jazz with classical
music, a concept that has inspired musical personalities as
diverse as Miles Davis, Stravinsky, Egberto Gismonti and Mark
Anthony Turnage, Simon has subsequently redefined the focus of
Camerata Ritmata to incorporate diverse musics from
across the world and sees the group as a vehicle to forge and
explore new genres by combining his knowledge and love of
different musical cultures, notably Spain, Brazil, India, the
Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. Further directions are
on the horizon so watch this space....
Repertoire.....
Initial performances were based around one of the ingenious "Jazz Concertos" by
French composer Claude Bolling that defined the concept of
jazz-classical crossover and became a huge musical phenomenon in
the 1970s. These were the result of a series of collaborations
with some of the great classical soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma,
Zukerman and Rampal. The guitar incarnation, full of memorable
tunes, is one of the most successful fruits of this creative
dichotomy.
The music of Brazil has always
featured prominently in performances, including: the remarkable melodic gifts of one
of the most prominent artists in 20th century Brazil, Radamés
Gnattali; virtuoso performer and experimental genius Egberto
Gismonti; Afro samba by Roberto Baden Powell, often referred to
as the greatest ever Brazilian guitarist; legendary composer and key figure in the bossa-nova
movement Antonio Carlos Jobim; Latin America’s greatest
composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Other music includes a
showstopping reworking of Led Zeppelin, thrilling Jewish music
from Dagestan, Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) songs, a poignant
version of a Mexican mariachi song and Simon's
Cantigas de Santa Maria Suite, songs by a 13th
century Spanish king reimagined for the 21st century.
Press.....
“The enthusiastic reception,
resulting in a beautifully restrained quartet arrangement of
Wild Mountain Thyme, was no more than the four musicians – and
Thacker in particular – deserved.”
Glasgow Herald (full review
here)
“Outside the weather might have been whipping up a storm, but
inside … a packed audience was basking in sunny, irresistible
Brazilian jazz rhythms.”
The Scotsman (full review
here)
The musicians.....
Paul Harrison.....
entered Edinburgh
University on a prestigious piano scholarship. After graduating
he gravitated towards jazz and was the winner of the Scottish
Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition in 1998 and again in
1999. He travels widely with many top Scottish performers as
well as visiting international stars and has performed at the
Cork, Montreux, and Shanghai Jazz Festivals, as well as in the
birthplace of jazz, New Orleans.
Often seen accompanying the country’s best jazz and blues
vocalists and instrumentalists, Paul is also known for his
acclaimed, genre-defying solo projects.
"Simply sublime"
The Scotsman
 Mario
Lima Caribé da Rocha.....
Brazilian born, Mario obtained a
BA in Composition from the
Universidade
Estadual de Campinas, São
Paulo, Brazil and an MA in Jazz Composition with Distinction from
Edinburgh Napier University where he now teaches.
He has experience with all styles
of music, from symphonic to salsa, jazz to klezmer, samba to
electronic music and has played with many of the leading jazz
musicians in the U.K. and abroad, such as Kenny Wheeler, Carol
Kid, Norma Winston, Suzanne Bonnar, etc.
"The
easy going and relaxed style Caribe promotes disguises an
amazing technique."
Evening News
Stuart Brown..... is one
of the most active drummers on the Scottish jazz scene. He
completed an honours degree at Glasgow
University then studied at Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA
in 1998. Stuart has worked with many internationally renowned
artists, including Barbara Morrison (vocalist with Ray Charles),
Dave Gordon (Sun Ra Arkestra), Israeli saxophonist Gilad Atzmon
and ex-Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne on the soundtrack to
the film ‘Young Adam’ (starring Ewan MacGregor). He was recently nominated for a
Scottish Jazz Award and his tribute to composer Raymond Scott
has toured to rave reviews.
"One of the highlights of the
jazz festival"
The Scotsman
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