Camerata Ritmata.....
performs new music fusing some of the most powerful sounds from
across continents and epochs with visceral jazz improvisation,
the flair for sound of classical music and contemporary currents
in jazz and classical composition to create immediate and moving
music unique to the group. Camerata Ritmata features innovative classical guitar virtuoso
Simon Thacker and three of the UK’s leading jazz and world musicians,
Paul Harrison (piano), Mario Caribé (bass) and Stu Brown
(drums/percussion).
Both classically trained and
steeped in the folk and art music of countless countries from a
young age, Simon forges and explores new genres by combining his
knowledge and love of music from every corner of the globe: the
raw power and spirituality of Native American sacred and secular
music; the exotic modality of the Middle East; pulsating rhythms
from East Africa; impassioned romances of the Judeo-Spanish
Sephardim; colourful raags of India and South Asia; the
distinctive melodies and time cycles of Afghanistan's Pashtun,
merging each with his own musical
language, which draws on contemporary sounds and the incredible
musical experiences of all four performers. Further directions
are on the horizon so watch this space....
Music includes.....
Simon's
Cantigas de Santa Maria Suite, miracle songs by a 13th
century Spanish king reimagined for the 21st century. Most of
the movements feature a singer, an instrumental Cantiga is
here.
Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) music, with its roots in Spain and
influences from the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans.
Brazil has featured
prominently in performances, including: virtuoso performer and
experimental genius Egberto
Gismonti; Afro samba by Roberto Baden Powell, often referred to
as the greatest ever Brazilian guitarist; the remarkable melodic
gifts of one of the most important artists in 20th century
Brazil, Radamés
Gnattali; legendary composer and key figure in the bossa-nova
movement Antonio Carlos Jobim; Latin America’s most celebrated
composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos.
For several performances,
including many at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, singer
Daisy Chute has been added to
the line up as a special guest. Further collaborations to
come.....
The musicians.....
Simon Thacker..... is Head of
Guitar at Napier University and Honorary
Fellow in Music at the University of Aberdeen. He has been
nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award and
in 2006 was a winner of the 50th Park Lane Group
Awards, resulting in his acclaimed solo Purcell Room debut.
Simon has performed in Cuba, the USA, Spain, Malta, France
and Belgium, and broadcast on Cuban TV and BBC Radio 3.
Simon is renowned for his
exciting and innovative projects which showcase the guitar
in new and groundbreaking ways, moving and entertaining
audiences in equal measure, redefining the limits of the
classical guitar. More infohere
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, Săo
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.
“An audience so unexpectedly
large that it almost exhausted the chair supply, forcing a
slight delay in starting the music, was treated to an
imaginatively put together programme... 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
“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
videos:
Camerata Ritmata's unique take on
Mario
Lima Caribé da Rocha.....
