PAUL BOOTH - Take Five No: 62
Can you tell us about your new album and concert dates?
The story behind this album started a few years back when I decided to form a new quartet with the sole purpose of playing more jazz gigs. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world over the last 20 years playing all sorts of music with all kinds of amazing artists and shows, but my first love, my true passion and where I feel the most comfortable as a creative musician is jazz in a small group setting. That sound is the root of why I play music now, the inspiration behind why I decided to become a musician in the first place.
The guys in this quartet are some of my favourite musicians and even more importantly, favourite people. We are friends who make music together and I think you can hear this on the album. There’s an empathy when we play, unspoken directions that lead us to constantly re-interpret the music we are playing. I really wanted my compositions to feel as though they were written by the whole band and somehow, I think we achieved this.
The tunes were mostly written touring with various artists, although a large portion were written whilst on tour with Steve Winwood, with whom I’ve toured for 13 years. They were inspired by places I visited and had a direct influence on the composition, whether I realised it at the time or not. Quite often these tunes were written whilst trying to find solitude in a bustling theatre and coming across an old piano in a dressing room. Others were inspired by wilderness and beauty.
The last few albums I have released have been much bigger in sound, utilising strings, big band, vocals and taking influences from music across the globe. For this reason, I felt it was time to scale down and just be a tenor player. There were no overdubs and we recorded the album in a live playing situation with no chance of ‘fixes’. Each tune was recorded twice and for the most part the takes you hear on the album were first takes.
If you want to see us live then we have a string of dates over the coming months starting with the album launch, full details below.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
I’m currently freelance for the remainder of this year but in terms of my own projects I’m working on the second volume of my Patchwork Project and I’d also like to make another album with the Bansangu Orchestra. However the latter takes a lot of organising and it’s also a financial burden so I think I’ll be looking for help this time around.
I started an interesting project at the beginning of this year called Secret Sessions. It’s sole purpose is to play/record more original and improvised music with friends I don’t get to work with too much. I sent an email out to over 60 musicians, told them I had booked a day in a studio and asked who would like to be involved. The response was incredible. Basically, everyone brings something to the table, we rehearse it on the session and then press record. I had to whittle the band size down to a sextet and here’s the interesting bit…I didn’t tell the other members who was going to be on the session, only the instrumentation. It was a truly wonderful to see the surprise and delight on their faces.The first band ended up being Steve Fishwick, Trevor Mires, Tom Cawley, Oli Hayhurst, Dave Ingamells and yours truly. This music will be released, we are just working on the details. I’ve already booked the next session for the autumn but guess what? It’s a secret….well for now at least ;-)
The story behind this album started a few years back when I decided to form a new quartet with the sole purpose of playing more jazz gigs. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world over the last 20 years playing all sorts of music with all kinds of amazing artists and shows, but my first love, my true passion and where I feel the most comfortable as a creative musician is jazz in a small group setting. That sound is the root of why I play music now, the inspiration behind why I decided to become a musician in the first place.
The guys in this quartet are some of my favourite musicians and even more importantly, favourite people. We are friends who make music together and I think you can hear this on the album. There’s an empathy when we play, unspoken directions that lead us to constantly re-interpret the music we are playing. I really wanted my compositions to feel as though they were written by the whole band and somehow, I think we achieved this.
The tunes were mostly written touring with various artists, although a large portion were written whilst on tour with Steve Winwood, with whom I’ve toured for 13 years. They were inspired by places I visited and had a direct influence on the composition, whether I realised it at the time or not. Quite often these tunes were written whilst trying to find solitude in a bustling theatre and coming across an old piano in a dressing room. Others were inspired by wilderness and beauty.
The last few albums I have released have been much bigger in sound, utilising strings, big band, vocals and taking influences from music across the globe. For this reason, I felt it was time to scale down and just be a tenor player. There were no overdubs and we recorded the album in a live playing situation with no chance of ‘fixes’. Each tune was recorded twice and for the most part the takes you hear on the album were first takes.
If you want to see us live then we have a string of dates over the coming months starting with the album launch, full details below.
What other projects are you currently involved in?
I’m currently freelance for the remainder of this year but in terms of my own projects I’m working on the second volume of my Patchwork Project and I’d also like to make another album with the Bansangu Orchestra. However the latter takes a lot of organising and it’s also a financial burden so I think I’ll be looking for help this time around.
I started an interesting project at the beginning of this year called Secret Sessions. It’s sole purpose is to play/record more original and improvised music with friends I don’t get to work with too much. I sent an email out to over 60 musicians, told them I had booked a day in a studio and asked who would like to be involved. The response was incredible. Basically, everyone brings something to the table, we rehearse it on the session and then press record. I had to whittle the band size down to a sextet and here’s the interesting bit…I didn’t tell the other members who was going to be on the session, only the instrumentation. It was a truly wonderful to see the surprise and delight on their faces.The first band ended up being Steve Fishwick, Trevor Mires, Tom Cawley, Oli Hayhurst, Dave Ingamells and yours truly. This music will be released, we are just working on the details. I’ve already booked the next session for the autumn but guess what? It’s a secret….well for now at least ;-)
Click on the album cover to read our review
What are you currently listening to and what was the last CD or download you bought?
I’m currently listening to a lot of world music for obvious enjoyment but also research. I’m constantly looking for new ideas and grooves to help me shape my own music in a different way. The Bansangu Orchestra and Patchwork Project are ideal vehicles for this. Bansangu actually have a Sunday lunchtime gig at the 606 Club on the 15th September. We are using this gig to try out some new compositions so I’m spending some time writing and listening out for inspiration.
The last album I downloaded was only a few days ago after hearing a radio show on the music of Henry Mancini. They played a lush track called Something For Audrey from the film Two For The Road and I had to have it immediately. I love his writing and arranging and I’m currently working through his study book on orchestration, the timing was perfect.
What is your all time favourite album and why?
My all time favourite album is Miles Davis’ “My Funny Valentine + Four And More”. For me this is the pinnacle of interplay, melodic interpretation, mastery, spirit and demonstrates the incredible freedom of jazz music, all the while being based on the form of some of the classic standards. It’s simply a masterpiece in my opinion and has inspired me over and over again. Whenever I record a new jazz album, this is always in the back of my mind.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
There are some incredible young musicians emerging in all corners of the globe but I’d like to focus closer to home. There’s a trumpet player called James Copus who is really playing out of this world right now, watch out for his music when it hits because he deserves international recognition. A couple of tenor players who are playing out of their skin right now are Nadim Teimoori, Alex Hitchcock and Tom Barford, so watch out for them too.
I’m currently listening to a lot of world music for obvious enjoyment but also research. I’m constantly looking for new ideas and grooves to help me shape my own music in a different way. The Bansangu Orchestra and Patchwork Project are ideal vehicles for this. Bansangu actually have a Sunday lunchtime gig at the 606 Club on the 15th September. We are using this gig to try out some new compositions so I’m spending some time writing and listening out for inspiration.
The last album I downloaded was only a few days ago after hearing a radio show on the music of Henry Mancini. They played a lush track called Something For Audrey from the film Two For The Road and I had to have it immediately. I love his writing and arranging and I’m currently working through his study book on orchestration, the timing was perfect.
What is your all time favourite album and why?
My all time favourite album is Miles Davis’ “My Funny Valentine + Four And More”. For me this is the pinnacle of interplay, melodic interpretation, mastery, spirit and demonstrates the incredible freedom of jazz music, all the while being based on the form of some of the classic standards. It’s simply a masterpiece in my opinion and has inspired me over and over again. Whenever I record a new jazz album, this is always in the back of my mind.
Who has caught your attention recently that we should be listening out for?
There are some incredible young musicians emerging in all corners of the globe but I’d like to focus closer to home. There’s a trumpet player called James Copus who is really playing out of this world right now, watch out for his music when it hits because he deserves international recognition. A couple of tenor players who are playing out of their skin right now are Nadim Teimoori, Alex Hitchcock and Tom Barford, so watch out for them too.
Tour Dates 2019/2020
27th August - Pizza Express, London “Album Launch”
5th September - Soundcellar, Southsea
6th September - The Verdict, Brighton
16th October - The Flute & Tankard, Cardiff
24th October - Eastside jazz Club, Birmingham
25th October - Cork Jazz Festival, Ireland
2020 Dates:
27th March - International Study Centre, Canterbury (w/ Festival Chamber Orchestra & Dulcie May Moreno)
14th May - The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
27th May - Fougou Jazz, Torbay
27th August - Pizza Express, London “Album Launch”
5th September - Soundcellar, Southsea
6th September - The Verdict, Brighton
16th October - The Flute & Tankard, Cardiff
24th October - Eastside jazz Club, Birmingham
25th October - Cork Jazz Festival, Ireland
2020 Dates:
27th March - International Study Centre, Canterbury (w/ Festival Chamber Orchestra & Dulcie May Moreno)
14th May - The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
27th May - Fougou Jazz, Torbay
