ISSIE BARRATT'S INTERCHANGE - Donna's Secret
Fuzzy Moon Records FUZ015
Issie Barratt: Artistic Director. Baritone saxophone (All 9 tracks). Cowbells on "Kulning"; Jessica Radcliffe: Lead vocals on all tracks apart from "Donna's Secret"; Brigitte Beraha: Lead vocals on "Donna's Secret"; Laura Jurd: Trumpet (All 9 tracks); Helena Kay: Alto saxophone (All 9 tracks). Clarinet on "Donna's Secret" & "Negomi"; Alyson Cawley: Flute on "Negomi" & "Kulning". Clarinet on "Palmyra". Soprano & tenor saxophones on all tracks apart from "Caliban"; Chelsea Carmichael: Tenor saxophone on "Caliban". Flute on "Negomi" & "Kulning"; Rosie Turton: Trombone (All 9 tracks); Shirley Smart: Cello (All 9 tracks); Karen Street: Accordion (All 9 tracks); Charlie Pyne: Acoustic/electric bass (All 9 tracks) plus 2nd vocals on "Donna's Secret" & "Kulning"; Katie Patterson: Drums on all track apart from "Caliban". Percussion on "Kulning" & "Caliban"; Jas Kayser: Drums on "Caliban". Percussion on "Kulning", "Palmyra" & "Spontaneous Symmetry"; Nikki Iles: Piano on "Negomi"; Zoe Rahman: Piano on "Samla Korna Med Kulning"; Carol Jarvis: Vocals on "Hope"
Recorded 7th & 8th January, 2019
Composer, arranger, conductor, baritone saxophonist, and educator, Issie Barratt has been an integral part of the international music industry for many years; and if that were not enough did I mention that she also runs her own record label Fuzzy Moon Records, too? She has received numerous commissions for her composing and arranging talents, and so given this somewhat hectic and busy career it is not surprising that we have had a bit of a wait for this latest recording from Barratt. It has been a number of years since her debut album Astral Pleasures was released, presenting a twenty strong cast of the cream of the UK jazz scene and new music written and arranged especially for the band, and as a follow up to this we now have Donna's Secret featuring Barratt's new ensemble Interchange.
Interchange (or In-to-change) features an all female line up of some of the most creative and adventuress players and composers, and presents superbly crafted compositions and arrangements from eight different composers that somehow coalesce into a into a unified ensemble sound moving seamlessly from one piece to the next; and it is this strong group identity that ensures the compositions take on a life beyond the notes on the page. Such is the sheer scope and ambition of the music that it will take many hearings to unravel the depth and hidden treasures in the scores, as new delights are discovered time the album is heard.
Each composition has a story to tell. Cellist, Shirley Smart's 'Palmyra' draws on her time spent in Jerusalem and is written as a suite in three parts. Her writing for cello is superb as is the orchestration for the entire ensemble, incorporating a dramatic segment and dialogue for percussion, and the use of the voice of Jessica Radcliffe and Alison Cawley's clarinet. Also featuring the wordless vocals of Radcliffe, and complete with bird calls is Issie Barratt's 'Samla Korna Med Kulning', whcih works through a series of melodies that alternate between brass, woodwind and flute sections taking us on a journey through the mountains and valleys of the Fennoscandian Penninsula. Karen Street dedicates 'Still Here' to her mother and her love to dance that features superb solos from trumpeter, Laura Jurd, and Street herself on accordion, and 'Negomi' inspired by Kenny Wheeler's word play, and written amidst the reports of the child refugees stranded in Calais that features the wonderful playing of its composer, Nikki Iles; and this is all just the tip of the iceberg.
In attempting to review this deeply complex and emotional music that is full of detail and writing that is sheerly beautiful and exquisite I can only hope to convey a mere hint at the joy and delights that the music has to offer, and urge that this ambitious and enterprising album should be heard and savoured and one's leisure.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Fuzzy Moon Records FUZ015
Issie Barratt: Artistic Director. Baritone saxophone (All 9 tracks). Cowbells on "Kulning"; Jessica Radcliffe: Lead vocals on all tracks apart from "Donna's Secret"; Brigitte Beraha: Lead vocals on "Donna's Secret"; Laura Jurd: Trumpet (All 9 tracks); Helena Kay: Alto saxophone (All 9 tracks). Clarinet on "Donna's Secret" & "Negomi"; Alyson Cawley: Flute on "Negomi" & "Kulning". Clarinet on "Palmyra". Soprano & tenor saxophones on all tracks apart from "Caliban"; Chelsea Carmichael: Tenor saxophone on "Caliban". Flute on "Negomi" & "Kulning"; Rosie Turton: Trombone (All 9 tracks); Shirley Smart: Cello (All 9 tracks); Karen Street: Accordion (All 9 tracks); Charlie Pyne: Acoustic/electric bass (All 9 tracks) plus 2nd vocals on "Donna's Secret" & "Kulning"; Katie Patterson: Drums on all track apart from "Caliban". Percussion on "Kulning" & "Caliban"; Jas Kayser: Drums on "Caliban". Percussion on "Kulning", "Palmyra" & "Spontaneous Symmetry"; Nikki Iles: Piano on "Negomi"; Zoe Rahman: Piano on "Samla Korna Med Kulning"; Carol Jarvis: Vocals on "Hope"
Recorded 7th & 8th January, 2019
Composer, arranger, conductor, baritone saxophonist, and educator, Issie Barratt has been an integral part of the international music industry for many years; and if that were not enough did I mention that she also runs her own record label Fuzzy Moon Records, too? She has received numerous commissions for her composing and arranging talents, and so given this somewhat hectic and busy career it is not surprising that we have had a bit of a wait for this latest recording from Barratt. It has been a number of years since her debut album Astral Pleasures was released, presenting a twenty strong cast of the cream of the UK jazz scene and new music written and arranged especially for the band, and as a follow up to this we now have Donna's Secret featuring Barratt's new ensemble Interchange.
Interchange (or In-to-change) features an all female line up of some of the most creative and adventuress players and composers, and presents superbly crafted compositions and arrangements from eight different composers that somehow coalesce into a into a unified ensemble sound moving seamlessly from one piece to the next; and it is this strong group identity that ensures the compositions take on a life beyond the notes on the page. Such is the sheer scope and ambition of the music that it will take many hearings to unravel the depth and hidden treasures in the scores, as new delights are discovered time the album is heard.
Each composition has a story to tell. Cellist, Shirley Smart's 'Palmyra' draws on her time spent in Jerusalem and is written as a suite in three parts. Her writing for cello is superb as is the orchestration for the entire ensemble, incorporating a dramatic segment and dialogue for percussion, and the use of the voice of Jessica Radcliffe and Alison Cawley's clarinet. Also featuring the wordless vocals of Radcliffe, and complete with bird calls is Issie Barratt's 'Samla Korna Med Kulning', whcih works through a series of melodies that alternate between brass, woodwind and flute sections taking us on a journey through the mountains and valleys of the Fennoscandian Penninsula. Karen Street dedicates 'Still Here' to her mother and her love to dance that features superb solos from trumpeter, Laura Jurd, and Street herself on accordion, and 'Negomi' inspired by Kenny Wheeler's word play, and written amidst the reports of the child refugees stranded in Calais that features the wonderful playing of its composer, Nikki Iles; and this is all just the tip of the iceberg.
In attempting to review this deeply complex and emotional music that is full of detail and writing that is sheerly beautiful and exquisite I can only hope to convey a mere hint at the joy and delights that the music has to offer, and urge that this ambitious and enterprising album should be heard and savoured and one's leisure.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
