BEVERLEY BEIRNE - Jazz, Fun & Eighties Pop
Interview by George Cole
In 2012, British jazz singer Beverley Beirne released her highly acclaimed debut album, Seasons of Love. Now, she is about to present her follow-up album, Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun, featuring covers of a dozen tunes from the 1980s and produced by Jason Miles ( his cv includes Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, George Benson and Grover Washington Jr).
Yorkshire-born Beverley got her love of jazz from her father, who was a big Ella Fitzgerald fan, but she initially moved into drama and musical theatre. But her heart was in becoming a jazz singer, and she studied jazz at Leeds College of Music. Since then, Beverley has been wowing audiences in Yorkshire and London, with a band featuring Sam Watts on piano, Flo Moore on double bass, Ben Brown on drums and Rob Hughes on saxophone.
For many people, the 80s were a time when music lost its way. They cite how real instruments were replaced synthesisers and drum machines; when the record producers often got a bigger billing than the artist, and overblown productions were ten a penny. But Beirne disagrees, “Songs from the 80s are sometimes dismissed as a lot of fluffy nonsense, but have a good listen to the lyrics. A lot of songs were socially conscious - The Specials’ Ghost Town” is one of them. I remember people out of work and sitting in cafes in Yorkshire – the places were literally ghost towns. They were very poignant songs as well. Another thing I remember about the music of the 80s is that there are some absolutely stunning melodies.”
Beirne decided that her next album should feature covers of songs from the 1980s. “The first song I had performed live was Slade’s “Come On Feel The Noize” – I did it as a swinger and it went down well,” she recalls, “and I said to the band, ‘what do reckon to doing an album of these songs?’” Beirne initially had a list of around one hundred songs and began paring it down, “The 80s were an amazing time and I was lucky to be there. I figured if I could get a song to swing it was going to work, and from there, I could move to Latin or whatever. If I got it to full-on Jazz, I could play around with the time signatures, so that was one way of whittling the list down. The other way was the lyrics – not all the lyrics were going to work in the way I wanted to sing. So, I might think, ‘That’s a great song, but the lyrics don’t work.’”
In 2012, British jazz singer Beverley Beirne released her highly acclaimed debut album, Seasons of Love. Now, she is about to present her follow-up album, Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun, featuring covers of a dozen tunes from the 1980s and produced by Jason Miles ( his cv includes Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, George Benson and Grover Washington Jr).
Yorkshire-born Beverley got her love of jazz from her father, who was a big Ella Fitzgerald fan, but she initially moved into drama and musical theatre. But her heart was in becoming a jazz singer, and she studied jazz at Leeds College of Music. Since then, Beverley has been wowing audiences in Yorkshire and London, with a band featuring Sam Watts on piano, Flo Moore on double bass, Ben Brown on drums and Rob Hughes on saxophone.
For many people, the 80s were a time when music lost its way. They cite how real instruments were replaced synthesisers and drum machines; when the record producers often got a bigger billing than the artist, and overblown productions were ten a penny. But Beirne disagrees, “Songs from the 80s are sometimes dismissed as a lot of fluffy nonsense, but have a good listen to the lyrics. A lot of songs were socially conscious - The Specials’ Ghost Town” is one of them. I remember people out of work and sitting in cafes in Yorkshire – the places were literally ghost towns. They were very poignant songs as well. Another thing I remember about the music of the 80s is that there are some absolutely stunning melodies.”
Beirne decided that her next album should feature covers of songs from the 1980s. “The first song I had performed live was Slade’s “Come On Feel The Noize” – I did it as a swinger and it went down well,” she recalls, “and I said to the band, ‘what do reckon to doing an album of these songs?’” Beirne initially had a list of around one hundred songs and began paring it down, “The 80s were an amazing time and I was lucky to be there. I figured if I could get a song to swing it was going to work, and from there, I could move to Latin or whatever. If I got it to full-on Jazz, I could play around with the time signatures, so that was one way of whittling the list down. The other way was the lyrics – not all the lyrics were going to work in the way I wanted to sing. So, I might think, ‘That’s a great song, but the lyrics don’t work.’”
Beirne’s final dozen was certainly eclectic - Adam and the Ants’ “Prince Charming”, The Specials’ “Ghost Town”, Kajagoogoo’s “Too Shy”, ABC’s “When Smokey Sings”, Slade’s “Cum On Feel The Noize”, M’s “Pop Muzik,” Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer,” Right Said Fred’s “Deeply Dippy,” Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes,” Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City.” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” Beirne’s arrangements pared down the music, and she produced lead sheets for each number. Then, she and Watts worked on the harmonies.
She explains how Jason Miles got involved with the project. “I didn’t have a producer on my first album, but I wanted one for my second album. But I didn’t know how to get the producer I wanted. My husband Mark was a friend of Jason’s on Facebook, and asked Jason if he knew of any UK producers we could contact. Jason asked Mark to send some of my stuff, adding that he was planning to come over to Europe to promote his Kind of New album. Jason liked what we sent him and then I had a Skype call with Jason - we got on really well. Jason came over and we made two albums – it worked out beautifully.”
Miles flew from New York to London and Beirne recalls a jet-lagged Miles turning up at the studio and catching the band at the tail-end of a rehearsal. “Jason remarked how tight the band was. The next time we went into the studio Jason was refreshed and said how much he loved what we were doing. It was a ‘gently-does-it’ situation with Jason, because he would watch us in the studio and encourage us, ‘Why don’t you try this?’ It was gently nudging people in a direction. It was easy and comfortable and he got the best out of the musicians.” Beirne adds, “Jason came into his own when he went back to New York and worked on the tapes. He got Jimmy Bralower to mix it and Mike Fosenkemper to master it. Jason got Romero Lubambo to play guitar on “Cruel Summer” and Jason played Hammond on “Deeply Dippy” and “Waiting,” which was brilliant. These are the things that a good producer does – they hear an extra element to a song and lift it to a different level.” While he was in the UK, Miles produced a second album with Beirne, Dream Dancer, a more straight-ahead jazz album.
She explains how Jason Miles got involved with the project. “I didn’t have a producer on my first album, but I wanted one for my second album. But I didn’t know how to get the producer I wanted. My husband Mark was a friend of Jason’s on Facebook, and asked Jason if he knew of any UK producers we could contact. Jason asked Mark to send some of my stuff, adding that he was planning to come over to Europe to promote his Kind of New album. Jason liked what we sent him and then I had a Skype call with Jason - we got on really well. Jason came over and we made two albums – it worked out beautifully.”
Miles flew from New York to London and Beirne recalls a jet-lagged Miles turning up at the studio and catching the band at the tail-end of a rehearsal. “Jason remarked how tight the band was. The next time we went into the studio Jason was refreshed and said how much he loved what we were doing. It was a ‘gently-does-it’ situation with Jason, because he would watch us in the studio and encourage us, ‘Why don’t you try this?’ It was gently nudging people in a direction. It was easy and comfortable and he got the best out of the musicians.” Beirne adds, “Jason came into his own when he went back to New York and worked on the tapes. He got Jimmy Bralower to mix it and Mike Fosenkemper to master it. Jason got Romero Lubambo to play guitar on “Cruel Summer” and Jason played Hammond on “Deeply Dippy” and “Waiting,” which was brilliant. These are the things that a good producer does – they hear an extra element to a song and lift it to a different level.” While he was in the UK, Miles produced a second album with Beirne, Dream Dancer, a more straight-ahead jazz album.
Beirne is full of praise for the band, “They’re phenomenal. We’ve been playing together for a couple of years, with some gigs in London. Sam Watts had been recommended to me for a gig and he brought along his trio, with Flo Moore on double bass and Ben Brown on kit. I needed a sax player and my husband had seen Rob Hughes performing at the 606 and thought he would work really well with me. I approached Rob. He’s so versatile - on “Hot In The City”, Rob is the horn section!” She adds, “The band pretty much does everything I throw at them, and they’re very creative as well. I’m not a dictatorship and when I go into rehearsal, I’ll have my own ideas, but I’m open to other ideas. That’s where the creativity comes in – not being rigid, but being open to everybody having input.”
Unlike much of the music of the 1980s, Beirne’s album was recorded live in the studio, “It was all recorded live,” she says, “except when Rob was layering up a horn – he’s good but not that good! We had about three takes of each song and did them all in one go because I wanted to perform live with the band. Live performance is what jazz is all about for me. Working with the band live means I can hear the joy of the moment and it’s just blissful."
"I was a bit a bit tentative about doing this album and it might be a bit Marmite – not everyone in the jazz world will appreciate it,” says Beirne, "but those who have heard the album are positive – including several artists whose music appears on it. “Limahl [from Kajagoogoo] liked the version of “Too Shy” and Robin Scott, who wrote “Pop Muzik”, liked it and asked how we put it together. [Slade’s] Noddy Holder said some lovey things about my cover and was really supportive.” She also hopes Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun will encourage people to reengage with the music of the 80s.
Finally: was the album title, Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun a reaction to the fact that jazz is sometimes seen as a little too earnest? “Because I had had so much fun making the album, the title seemed a natural fit. But in retrospect, it could be interpreted that jazz can be taken too seriously, and it can sometimes alienate people a bit,” says Beirne, “If I can reach out to people, and they find the music more accessible, then that is all to the greater good.”
Unlike much of the music of the 1980s, Beirne’s album was recorded live in the studio, “It was all recorded live,” she says, “except when Rob was layering up a horn – he’s good but not that good! We had about three takes of each song and did them all in one go because I wanted to perform live with the band. Live performance is what jazz is all about for me. Working with the band live means I can hear the joy of the moment and it’s just blissful."
"I was a bit a bit tentative about doing this album and it might be a bit Marmite – not everyone in the jazz world will appreciate it,” says Beirne, "but those who have heard the album are positive – including several artists whose music appears on it. “Limahl [from Kajagoogoo] liked the version of “Too Shy” and Robin Scott, who wrote “Pop Muzik”, liked it and asked how we put it together. [Slade’s] Noddy Holder said some lovey things about my cover and was really supportive.” She also hopes Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun will encourage people to reengage with the music of the 80s.
Finally: was the album title, Jazz Just Wants To Have Fun a reaction to the fact that jazz is sometimes seen as a little too earnest? “Because I had had so much fun making the album, the title seemed a natural fit. But in retrospect, it could be interpreted that jazz can be taken too seriously, and it can sometimes alienate people a bit,” says Beirne, “If I can reach out to people, and they find the music more accessible, then that is all to the greater good.”
Click on the album cover to read our review
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For more information visit www.beverleybeirne.com
