KIM CYPHER - Take Five No: 61
Can you tell us about your new album?
‘Love Kim x’ is my second album, following on from my debut album ‘Make Believe’ which was released end of 2016. It is an album that came about purely by chance…a chance meeting with a stranger! It’s funny how life takes you along different paths and how fate often leads the way. I met a lady called Karen Jackson at one of my gigs and we had an instant connection. It was as if we had known each other forever. We chatted and she expressed how much she had enjoyed my music. This lady was like a shining light. She sparkled and radiated incredible positive energy. So, it came as a massive blow to find out about Karen’s struggle with grade 4 breast cancer and the horrific battle she has been fighting and still endures. It had an effect on me. This amazing lady who is so brave, who loves my music and is so full of life. I wanted to do something special for her. She had mentioned her favourite song from the evening was an Etta James song I had performed called ‘At Last’. So, I decided I would take my band into the studio and record ‘At Last’ especially for Karen, which I did. In the meantime, I couldn’t get her out of my head and before I knew it I had a melody and lyrics coming together in a song inspired by Karen. It’s a song of hope for anyone who needs a little bit of hope in their lives. The song is ‘Maybe…’ and this song was basically the catalyst that sparked ‘Love Kim x’.
Having made the decision to embark on a second album, I decided to create an album of inspired original music together with a selection of favourite classics, arranged with a quirky, jazzy twist and dedicated to everyone who supports me on my musical journey - my friends, my loyal supporters, everyone who keeps me going…and so the title ‘Love Kim x’ was born. Basically, an album from me to you with love.
I brought in some of the finest musicians to bring my music to life and to create a diverse mix of styles and genres. This is basically what I’m all about. It’s just ‘good music’. There is an element of jazz that runs through all my music but my style is very varied and I really wanted to capture this. I also wanted to showcase my all-round musicianship as a composer, arranger, saxophonist and vocalist. The project also gave me a great opportunity to express myself artistically and creatively with a carefully planned theme and a selection of photographs by Ron Milsom. It has been such a great project to work on, producing the album together with my husband (and drummer) Mike and working with such great musicians from the UK and US. I am very proud of this work and of all the musicians featured.
‘Love Kim x’ takes the listener on a journey through many musical styles, running in a similar way to our ‘live’ performances. It starts with a chilled, laid back, smooth jazz vibe and builds to a high-energy, frenetic finale. Hopefully the diverse selection of music on offer will ensure ‘Love Kim x’ can be enjoyed by jazz aficionado’s and discerning music lovers alike.
‘Love Kim x’ is my second album, following on from my debut album ‘Make Believe’ which was released end of 2016. It is an album that came about purely by chance…a chance meeting with a stranger! It’s funny how life takes you along different paths and how fate often leads the way. I met a lady called Karen Jackson at one of my gigs and we had an instant connection. It was as if we had known each other forever. We chatted and she expressed how much she had enjoyed my music. This lady was like a shining light. She sparkled and radiated incredible positive energy. So, it came as a massive blow to find out about Karen’s struggle with grade 4 breast cancer and the horrific battle she has been fighting and still endures. It had an effect on me. This amazing lady who is so brave, who loves my music and is so full of life. I wanted to do something special for her. She had mentioned her favourite song from the evening was an Etta James song I had performed called ‘At Last’. So, I decided I would take my band into the studio and record ‘At Last’ especially for Karen, which I did. In the meantime, I couldn’t get her out of my head and before I knew it I had a melody and lyrics coming together in a song inspired by Karen. It’s a song of hope for anyone who needs a little bit of hope in their lives. The song is ‘Maybe…’ and this song was basically the catalyst that sparked ‘Love Kim x’.
Having made the decision to embark on a second album, I decided to create an album of inspired original music together with a selection of favourite classics, arranged with a quirky, jazzy twist and dedicated to everyone who supports me on my musical journey - my friends, my loyal supporters, everyone who keeps me going…and so the title ‘Love Kim x’ was born. Basically, an album from me to you with love.
I brought in some of the finest musicians to bring my music to life and to create a diverse mix of styles and genres. This is basically what I’m all about. It’s just ‘good music’. There is an element of jazz that runs through all my music but my style is very varied and I really wanted to capture this. I also wanted to showcase my all-round musicianship as a composer, arranger, saxophonist and vocalist. The project also gave me a great opportunity to express myself artistically and creatively with a carefully planned theme and a selection of photographs by Ron Milsom. It has been such a great project to work on, producing the album together with my husband (and drummer) Mike and working with such great musicians from the UK and US. I am very proud of this work and of all the musicians featured.
‘Love Kim x’ takes the listener on a journey through many musical styles, running in a similar way to our ‘live’ performances. It starts with a chilled, laid back, smooth jazz vibe and builds to a high-energy, frenetic finale. Hopefully the diverse selection of music on offer will ensure ‘Love Kim x’ can be enjoyed by jazz aficionado’s and discerning music lovers alike.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
There are always lots of projects ‘on the go’ and I’m very lucky to work with lots of great musicians in all the bands I run together with my husband. The album tour is taking us to some great venues across the UK and we’re building on this all the time. We’re keen to take the tour to more festivals (maybe even overseas) as the energetic music goes down an absolute storm and I love the whole festival vibe.
Hot off the press is a very special event at one of my favourite London Jazz venues – Monday 2nd March at Pizza Express Soho. I can’t say too much about it just yet but I’d love everyone to save the date for what will be a very special night indeed.
I’m also always very busy with my Jazz Quartet. The Kim Cypher Quartet is now the resident jazz band at the prestigious Ivy restaurant in Cheltenham and so we get lots of opportunity to play lovely, laid back dinner jazz. Once a month I put in a brand new project which is my 6 piece Swing Band. I am absolutely loving this as it’s great to perform as part of a brass section with great musicians.
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
My musical taste is very eclectic and my mood will dictate whether I need to listen to some full-on funk from some of my favourite sax players (Maceo Parker, Gerald Albright, Pee Wee Ellis) or something a bit more chilled. I do love a bit of high-energy funk to blow the cobwebs away…it’s a bit like therapy for me! Some of my other ‘go to’ music is Annie Lennox (I have always loved her style and her music takes me back to my teens) and Liane Carroll who I absolutely ADORE! Her music can make me laugh or cry, but it always absorbs me and I admire her absolute brilliance. There just is no better voice!
So, the last CD I downloaded was by my good friend and incredible guitarist B.D. Lenz. I have to say that I had already bought the physical album ‘Five & Live’ (as I like to support musicians by purchasing their albums), but before a recent flight I wanted to make sure I had some great music to listen to so I downloaded the ‘Five & Live’ album to listen to on Spotify. B.D. Lenz is a musical genius and I cannot recommend his music highly enough. It’s awesome he’s on my album too!
There are always lots of projects ‘on the go’ and I’m very lucky to work with lots of great musicians in all the bands I run together with my husband. The album tour is taking us to some great venues across the UK and we’re building on this all the time. We’re keen to take the tour to more festivals (maybe even overseas) as the energetic music goes down an absolute storm and I love the whole festival vibe.
Hot off the press is a very special event at one of my favourite London Jazz venues – Monday 2nd March at Pizza Express Soho. I can’t say too much about it just yet but I’d love everyone to save the date for what will be a very special night indeed.
I’m also always very busy with my Jazz Quartet. The Kim Cypher Quartet is now the resident jazz band at the prestigious Ivy restaurant in Cheltenham and so we get lots of opportunity to play lovely, laid back dinner jazz. Once a month I put in a brand new project which is my 6 piece Swing Band. I am absolutely loving this as it’s great to perform as part of a brass section with great musicians.
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
My musical taste is very eclectic and my mood will dictate whether I need to listen to some full-on funk from some of my favourite sax players (Maceo Parker, Gerald Albright, Pee Wee Ellis) or something a bit more chilled. I do love a bit of high-energy funk to blow the cobwebs away…it’s a bit like therapy for me! Some of my other ‘go to’ music is Annie Lennox (I have always loved her style and her music takes me back to my teens) and Liane Carroll who I absolutely ADORE! Her music can make me laugh or cry, but it always absorbs me and I admire her absolute brilliance. There just is no better voice!
So, the last CD I downloaded was by my good friend and incredible guitarist B.D. Lenz. I have to say that I had already bought the physical album ‘Five & Live’ (as I like to support musicians by purchasing their albums), but before a recent flight I wanted to make sure I had some great music to listen to so I downloaded the ‘Five & Live’ album to listen to on Spotify. B.D. Lenz is a musical genius and I cannot recommend his music highly enough. It’s awesome he’s on my album too!
Click on the album cover to read our review
What is your all-time favourite album and why?
Wow, that’s some question to answer. I’m happy to pin it down to an all-time favourite, but I have to mention some others along the way. So, I love Pee Wee Ellis and his album ‘Tenoration’ is awesome. I also love all of Liane Carroll’s music and her album ‘Standard Issue’ gets LOTS of play in our house. There are also lots of other albums that are favourites by artists such as Andy Sheppard, B.D. Lenz, Gerald Albright, Grover Washington Jnr, Maceo Parker, Dean Fraser and Courtney Pine. But, if I have to pin it down to just one, I have gone for a fairly recent album (released 2014) which, for me, has to be the coolest, grooviest album ever…drum roll please…it’s ‘Blicher Hemmer Gadd’ featuring Michael Blicher on sax and flute, Dan Hemmer on Hammond organ and Steve Gadd on drums. I will never tire of listening to these cool grooves and I’m also very excited to be catching the band in action at Pizza Express ‘live’ Soho in November!
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
This is easy for me as I am incredibly proud of an up and coming, incredible musician and multi-instrumentalist who was one of my pupils in primary school. It is a lovely feeling when ex-pupils follow their musical dreams and this young lady is most definitely one to listen out for. She’s already making a name for herself. I am flying the flag as high as I can for the incredible Roella Oloro!
Wow, that’s some question to answer. I’m happy to pin it down to an all-time favourite, but I have to mention some others along the way. So, I love Pee Wee Ellis and his album ‘Tenoration’ is awesome. I also love all of Liane Carroll’s music and her album ‘Standard Issue’ gets LOTS of play in our house. There are also lots of other albums that are favourites by artists such as Andy Sheppard, B.D. Lenz, Gerald Albright, Grover Washington Jnr, Maceo Parker, Dean Fraser and Courtney Pine. But, if I have to pin it down to just one, I have gone for a fairly recent album (released 2014) which, for me, has to be the coolest, grooviest album ever…drum roll please…it’s ‘Blicher Hemmer Gadd’ featuring Michael Blicher on sax and flute, Dan Hemmer on Hammond organ and Steve Gadd on drums. I will never tire of listening to these cool grooves and I’m also very excited to be catching the band in action at Pizza Express ‘live’ Soho in November!
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
This is easy for me as I am incredibly proud of an up and coming, incredible musician and multi-instrumentalist who was one of my pupils in primary school. It is a lovely feeling when ex-pupils follow their musical dreams and this young lady is most definitely one to listen out for. She’s already making a name for herself. I am flying the flag as high as I can for the incredible Roella Oloro!
