ISSIE BARRATT’S 50th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION CONCERT
KINGS PLACE, 90 YORK WAY, LONDON N1 9EG JANUARY 24, 2015
Line-up: Rowland Sutherland (flutes), Mick Foster (clarinets, alto sax), Issie Barratt (baritone sax), Dominic Ashworth( guitar), Tom Hewson(piano), Matt Ridley(bass), Corrina Sylvester (percussion), Juice Vocal Ensemble (Anna Snow, Sarah Dacey, Kerry Andrew) plus special guest Laura Jurd (trumpet)
Issie Barratt is one of the most dynamic forces on the contemporary world music stage today. Composer, arranger, lyricist, record producer, baritone saxophonist and educator, she is a lady of many talents. She established Trinity College of Music’s Jazz Faculty in 1999 and in 2007 founded NYJC (National Youth Jazz Collective). She is passionate about jazz education, many of today’s young jazz stars hugely benefiting from her inspirational teaching. I wasn’t surprised at all when she won the 2014 Parliamentary Award for Jazz Education.
Three days before her big event, I had the chance to bear witness to her incredible work as a jazz educator at NYJC’s concert at Portcullis House, where legendary bass player Dave Holland (he’s president of the organisation) was guest of honour, joining the band in the second set. All the musicians played brilliantly. It was not just their technical powers that impressed. Technique is an empty vessel if there is no “feel” to the music. Music is also pretty dull if it is played without conviction, joy and passion. Issie knows this and, because of her, the new generation of jazzers know it too.
On the Wednesday the young played with great “feel”, conviction, joy and passion. On the Saturday the more mature displayed the very same qualities – but tonight was different. This was Issie’s Show. All of the compositions and arrangements were hers (many of the lyrics too), the concert proving what a mighty writer she is. To call her a jazz composer is to diminish her boundless talent. Yes she has mastered the art of large ensemble jazz composition but her musical language is not limited by jazz. She is a polyglot who knows the benefits of melding many different musics to create a wondrous and harmonious whole. In Barratt’s work the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. We may hear echoes of Gil Evans, Maria Schneider, Mike Gibbs and Soft Machine but we might also be reminded of Stravinsky, Ligeti, Lutoslawski and Messiaen. The important thing is the musical journey, the telling of tales, the message behind the notes. Is it jazz? is it classical? is it fusion? – in a way, these are the wrong questions. The questions should be: “does the music connect with the audience? does it have a strong narrative? does it have the power to move the listener? In the case of Issie, the answer is a resounding YES
There is always a perfect balance between through-composition and spontaneous, free-flowing improvisation in Barratt’s works. To bring her compositions to life you need very special players, players who possess both a formidable technique and an ability to take the listener on a journey through the innate power of their imagination. The musicians on display fitted the bill perfectly. Unsurprisingly, they are all long-standing colleagues and friends who know her music and her musical philosophy inside out.
Issie Barratt is one of the most dynamic forces on the contemporary world music stage today. Composer, arranger, lyricist, record producer, baritone saxophonist and educator, she is a lady of many talents. She established Trinity College of Music’s Jazz Faculty in 1999 and in 2007 founded NYJC (National Youth Jazz Collective). She is passionate about jazz education, many of today’s young jazz stars hugely benefiting from her inspirational teaching. I wasn’t surprised at all when she won the 2014 Parliamentary Award for Jazz Education.
Three days before her big event, I had the chance to bear witness to her incredible work as a jazz educator at NYJC’s concert at Portcullis House, where legendary bass player Dave Holland (he’s president of the organisation) was guest of honour, joining the band in the second set. All the musicians played brilliantly. It was not just their technical powers that impressed. Technique is an empty vessel if there is no “feel” to the music. Music is also pretty dull if it is played without conviction, joy and passion. Issie knows this and, because of her, the new generation of jazzers know it too.
On the Wednesday the young played with great “feel”, conviction, joy and passion. On the Saturday the more mature displayed the very same qualities – but tonight was different. This was Issie’s Show. All of the compositions and arrangements were hers (many of the lyrics too), the concert proving what a mighty writer she is. To call her a jazz composer is to diminish her boundless talent. Yes she has mastered the art of large ensemble jazz composition but her musical language is not limited by jazz. She is a polyglot who knows the benefits of melding many different musics to create a wondrous and harmonious whole. In Barratt’s work the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. We may hear echoes of Gil Evans, Maria Schneider, Mike Gibbs and Soft Machine but we might also be reminded of Stravinsky, Ligeti, Lutoslawski and Messiaen. The important thing is the musical journey, the telling of tales, the message behind the notes. Is it jazz? is it classical? is it fusion? – in a way, these are the wrong questions. The questions should be: “does the music connect with the audience? does it have a strong narrative? does it have the power to move the listener? In the case of Issie, the answer is a resounding YES
There is always a perfect balance between through-composition and spontaneous, free-flowing improvisation in Barratt’s works. To bring her compositions to life you need very special players, players who possess both a formidable technique and an ability to take the listener on a journey through the innate power of their imagination. The musicians on display fitted the bill perfectly. Unsurprisingly, they are all long-standing colleagues and friends who know her music and her musical philosophy inside out.
Barratt is an expert harmonist, contrapuntalist and is a master of rhythm. Daring harmonies are often conjured through the vertical collision of independent melodic lines. Many of her tunes are multi-metrical with an emphasis on asymmetry. You are just as likely to hear 15 and 11 as you are to bop along in 4 or 3. Of course, metrical complexity is the stock-in-trade of certain kinds of fusion ( think John McLaughin and Mahavishnu for example ). “The Dance” with words by Carol Grimes made us literally want to dance. And why not dance in 11? “Upptackt”, with Swedish lyrics by Dee Byrne, took us on a magical journey full of unexpected twists and turns. Beginning and ending in a state of quiet hypnosis, it contained an animated central section with wilder and wilder improvisations over a rock solid rhythmic groove. To me, the modus operandi of this number had echoes of Karl Jenkins’ Soft Machine (before the concert, I spotted Karl in the bar and we had a quite a long conversation – I hadn’t realised that Karl is Issie’s uncle!). “Largo Days”, which featured brilliant solos from Hewson, Ridley and Sutherland and words by the composer, reflected on nature and its many changing moods. It can be so effective when things are pared down to the bare minimum. “Windows of Life” was such a thing. It was a thing of immense beauty. Again, Barratt had penned the words. Subtle and tender, this immaculate conception dispensed with the band with the exception of piano, bass and the lovely vocals of Kerry Andrew. It moved me to the core. It was back to earth with a bang in “Foxy Lady” which contained exciting backings from Juice and some amazing soloing from piano, flute and bass.
And so the journey continued throughout the whole performance:“Brayard’s Road”is a dark menacing tale with blood’n guts grooves, take-no-prisoners trumpet soloing from the wonderful Laura Jurd and moments of frantic free improv.
Life can be hot, wild and frenzied but it can also be the opposite. In “Snow Scene” the heart is cold, the harmonies icily cool. The instrumentation is pared back to a quartet of alto flute, bass clarinet, baritone sax and piano. We hear the wind, we are transported to the frozen wastelands. It’s the turn of the rhythm section to strut their stuff in “Digali” with its South African vibe, Hewson setting up the groove from the innards of the piano. Instruments are eschewed completely in the a cappella setting of Kerry Andrew’s beautiful poem “Zoetropes”, Barratt’s harmonies somewhat redolent of the English pastoralism of Vaughan Williams, though she gives them much more spice and edge. This magical concert ended in a state of deep spirituality with “Unser Vater”, Issie’s holy words, celebrating the gift of music making and our constant quest for a gentler, kinder, more compassionate and beautiful world, intermingling with the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
It was more than just another fine concert. It was a marvellous spectacle. It was grand theatre. There were balloons, masks, exotic headgear and sunflowers. A lovely touch was the use of images projected onto a giant screen as a backdrop to the musical proceedings. Barratt’s music is very programmatic and so this made total sense. Chagall’s The Fiddler accompanied “The Dance”. There were photos by Karl-Dietrich Bühler and Matt Ridley. Much of Barratt’s work is inspired by the prolific Swiss portrait and landscape artist Meinrad Iten, her maternal great-grandfather. His charcoal sketch provided the backcloth to “Snowscene”, his beautiful oil painting Portrait of an Archbishop to “Unser Vater”.
Throughout the entire concert the musicians and singers had big smiles on their faces. But the biggest smile was always on Issie’s face. She was clearly over the moon. She had every right to be. It was a truly joyous occasion. What a way to celebrate your 50th birthday!
In the days between the concert and the writing of this review, I pondered on what makes Issie’s music so special. I came up with a few answers: it is often bold and dangerous. Other times it is tender and fragile. It has boundless energy. It is joyful and yet there are moments of intense sadness. There is an inner logic to the music’s construction, but this is meaningless if there isn’t an emotional undercurrent to it all. After all, what is music if it doesn’t stir the emotions ? Issie stirred my emotions at Kings Place. Let us all salute the majesty of this great Queen of Music.
For more information on Issie Barratt visit www.issiebarratt.com and www.fuzzymoonrecords.co.uk
Reviewed by Geoff Eales January 31st, 2015
Photo Credit: Rafa Marucci
And so the journey continued throughout the whole performance:“Brayard’s Road”is a dark menacing tale with blood’n guts grooves, take-no-prisoners trumpet soloing from the wonderful Laura Jurd and moments of frantic free improv.
Life can be hot, wild and frenzied but it can also be the opposite. In “Snow Scene” the heart is cold, the harmonies icily cool. The instrumentation is pared back to a quartet of alto flute, bass clarinet, baritone sax and piano. We hear the wind, we are transported to the frozen wastelands. It’s the turn of the rhythm section to strut their stuff in “Digali” with its South African vibe, Hewson setting up the groove from the innards of the piano. Instruments are eschewed completely in the a cappella setting of Kerry Andrew’s beautiful poem “Zoetropes”, Barratt’s harmonies somewhat redolent of the English pastoralism of Vaughan Williams, though she gives them much more spice and edge. This magical concert ended in a state of deep spirituality with “Unser Vater”, Issie’s holy words, celebrating the gift of music making and our constant quest for a gentler, kinder, more compassionate and beautiful world, intermingling with the words of the Lord’s Prayer.
It was more than just another fine concert. It was a marvellous spectacle. It was grand theatre. There were balloons, masks, exotic headgear and sunflowers. A lovely touch was the use of images projected onto a giant screen as a backdrop to the musical proceedings. Barratt’s music is very programmatic and so this made total sense. Chagall’s The Fiddler accompanied “The Dance”. There were photos by Karl-Dietrich Bühler and Matt Ridley. Much of Barratt’s work is inspired by the prolific Swiss portrait and landscape artist Meinrad Iten, her maternal great-grandfather. His charcoal sketch provided the backcloth to “Snowscene”, his beautiful oil painting Portrait of an Archbishop to “Unser Vater”.
Throughout the entire concert the musicians and singers had big smiles on their faces. But the biggest smile was always on Issie’s face. She was clearly over the moon. She had every right to be. It was a truly joyous occasion. What a way to celebrate your 50th birthday!
In the days between the concert and the writing of this review, I pondered on what makes Issie’s music so special. I came up with a few answers: it is often bold and dangerous. Other times it is tender and fragile. It has boundless energy. It is joyful and yet there are moments of intense sadness. There is an inner logic to the music’s construction, but this is meaningless if there isn’t an emotional undercurrent to it all. After all, what is music if it doesn’t stir the emotions ? Issie stirred my emotions at Kings Place. Let us all salute the majesty of this great Queen of Music.
For more information on Issie Barratt visit www.issiebarratt.com and www.fuzzymoonrecords.co.uk
Reviewed by Geoff Eales January 31st, 2015
Photo Credit: Rafa Marucci
