Catching the dulcet tones of jazz piano as they seep into my mobile phone handset and dance unsuspectingly into my ear, Magdalena Reising has my instant attention; calm and appreciative she tells me about what she has planned for the coming months.

With plasters littering her fingers, it is clear Queen Gabriella is not making learning new jazz melodies easy. Bought in Wales in January 2011, Reising’s new magnificent harp, which she lovingly carried home for her mother to inspect like a new partner, was the very symbol of hope in this musical journey. Named after the Angel Gabriel, Reising details how she truly fell in love with the instrument, initially dubbed ‘Princess’ but avidly declared ‘Queen’ by her mother, for it is “a far too noble and stately piece and deserved the royal recognition”.

Originally starting out on the piano and guitar, Reising has a true history in music. The juxtaposition of Polish and Scottish influences, combined with the lingering instrumental arrangements of Steve Thomson and influence of Christopher Page, the fusion of musical ideologies makes for entrancing listening. “I am blessed,” she tells me, “I am working with wonderful people”. A true credit to musicians like Terry Seabrook and Louise Durra with whom she has created moving works, such as Blue Cafe Jazz which received a 5* rating at Three Weeks.

Such honeyed inspiration comes from quiet observations and a lot of people watching, she tells me. Since childhood she has always maintained a reserved nature, which is perhaps why so much honesty comes through in her music.  Starting out as a cocktail pianist, Reising recalls how she’d keep her emotions composed throughout the long afternoons, and express her soul on the piano keys come evening.

“I like to sing my truths,” Reising mutters.

“But you are only as good as you’re last performance”.

From her two jazz albums, she tells me her current favourites are Blue Cafe from the album of the same name, a poetic but political piece that she, sadly, doesn’t often play now, due to the developments in her newer music. On Coming Home, she describes her love for Angels, a slow medley, co-written with Steve Thomson.  “I like the idea that angels are coming and soothing and protecting,” an image that is clearly resonant throughout her life, be it in the very naming of Queen Gabriella.

Wholly ignorantly I asked Reising what songs had the biggest influence on her musical life, and although she initially could’t really name any, Reising mentioned how Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me has always stayed with her after a time travelling in Oman and Thailand. Everywhere she went Reising says she heard the unique sounds of Jones’ voice and goes as far as to say that it aided her transition from folk music to jazz. The more she listened (even if it was just echoes in the background), the more it became her passion.

“In every journey there are signposts, and although everyone make wrong turnings sometimes you will end up on the right path.”

Listening to the likes of Madeleine Peyroux and Billie Holiday, something in Reising told her that she needed to be immersed in her love for music on a daily basis… why, even earn a living from it. And what a credit to the jazz scene she is becoming.

You can catch Magdalena Reising in Brighton over the next few months.

22 October Iambic Arts Theatre

10 December Iambic Arts Theatre

17 December Shoreham Airport Restaurant

And please do keep an eye out on her website for the hotly anticipated Jazz Burns Nights come January.

And if you’re stuck for cash? Just make sure you book tickets to see her at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012. With 10 set dates already booked, we’ll hopefully see you there!

Post by Hannah Van Den Bergh

]]> http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/10846/magdalena-reising-st/feed/ 0 http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/10835/10835/ http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/10835/10835/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:43:15 +0000 Festival Previews http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/10835/10835/ The irritatingly erudite Lynn Ruth Miller is back on tour, hardly stopping to breathe from her stint at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Hitting Glasgow, London and Brighton over the course of October, she brings with her three, laugh-filled shows:

Granny’s Gone Wild

Aging is Amazing… A Cabaret

Eat Your Heart Out, Joan Rivers

Recently turning 78, we’d like to wish the rising (but in no means aged) star a Happy Birthday.

Keep up to date with the details at www.lynnruthmiller.com or contact on 0790 6688 560

Post by Hannah Van Den Bergh

Claudia Aurora

Silêncio

I love this album by Claudia Aurora. Exquisitely simple and uniquely traditional – unadorned music at its best.  Silêncio is mood music personified embracing the classical fado themes of loss and yearning.  Her deeply expressive voice is joy to listen to. I just had to ask Claudia for an interview….

1.   Describe yourself?

I’m just a normal girl from a small town in Gaia-Porto. I grew up on a farm and always ran free in the fields and ate fresh fruit from the trees, a rare thing in our days. My parents owned a great collection of Rock and Blues records which I indulged in from a very early age. From the age of 8 I knew I wanted to be a singer but I only started exploring my voice when I was 18, opening myself totally to a world of Brazilian music in the styles of Bossa Nova, MPB and also traditional Portuguese music including Fado. I came to live in Bristol in the UK in 2003 and shortly after I started singing Fado.

2.   You have built a solid reputation as a new Fado singer/songwriter; tell us about your debut album Silêncio?

Silêncio is an album consisting of original and traditional Fado songs. I write my songs with Spanish guitarist Javier Moreno. Silêncio was recorded in Bristol and all the songs were written in Bristol too. “Silêncio” was recorded by Sebastian Pecchia (who has worked with Hector Zazou, Susheela Raman, Peter Gabriel, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Rodrigo y Gabriela, etc) at Riverside Studios, in Bath, in July 2011. It was produced by Ricardo Cruz (Antonio Zambujo, Mariza, Dulce Pontes, Camané, Mafalda Arnauth…) and has Bernardo Couto (Mariza, Camané, Cristina Branco, Ana Moura…) as a special guest, on Portuguese guitar. Silêncio is very varied, ranges from more upbeat songs to the super dramatic ones and also adding all my other influences. At Riverside studios it turned out that we used a very old vintage microphone from 1942 which I feel gives my voice a beautiful warm sound.

3.   Fado captures what it is to be Portuguese, how are you able to express this beautiful genre within the culture of another country?

Music is universal, and everyone shares the same feelings in life in one  way or another. In my performances I like to explain what the songs are about and let the audiences make their own story. Fado is about emotional release, transformation and healing. It’s interesting to see at the end of my performances people looking revitalized and touched in a positive way even though Fado can be deeply dramatic sometimes. But then I also perform more upbeat songs. I find that a very special experience. People connect with Fado whatever country they come from or language they speak. England has been extremely supportive of my career and they were the ones who pushed and insisted for me to take it further. I’m very grateful for this encouragement and I’m proud to represent Fado in this lovely country.

4.   What inspires your song writing?

My own experiences and of others in life and my will to share these experiences. Tragedy in love, been raised by the sea and the theme of “saudade” has been present in all my life, so that gives me depth of compassion towards loss and the transcended embrace of release. Which is Fado in itself. The words and rhymes flow out of me, I love to write poetry and I have been writing since I was 16 years old. I also love to write stories for children.

5.   What do you feel are the true origins of Fado music?

The true origins of Fado remains a mystery, a blend of Arabian, Afro-Brazilian and marine/sailors. Fado definitely carries all this elements. I also feel it has a strong gypsy influence. But I think it is the expression of the Portuguese character. My mother for instance, if she had a singing voice she would definitely be a Fado singer and a good one. Even to wash the dishes is a drama, and the Portuguese share this feature in one way or another… Always a feeling of nostalgia and longing towards loved ones who are no more present or the good times long gone.

6.   Since 2006 you have successfully organised Fado events adding live Portuguese poetry to great cultural celebrations.  How have the international public responded to your work?

The public has been responding amazingly well and that was the fuel to become a professional Fado singer. Bristol and the UK in general was and is a big inspiration.

7.   If you had a chance to work with anyone of your choosing, who would it be?

Antonio Zambujo, my favourite Fado singer at the moment. And Robert Plant, my Led Zeppelin hero.

8.   Tell us 5 interesting and unknown facts about yourself?

I do great voice impressions of Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin.
I love classic vintage cars and bikes.
I’m a Samba dancer.
I love and have studied astrology for 6 years.
Some of my ancestors were originally from Brazil.

9.   Which three famous people would you invite to dinner and why (dead celebrities included)?

Amalia Rodrigues – The Fado Queen at my dining table, Oh My God!!
Vinicius De Morais – Greatest Brazilian Poet and drinker.
Johnny Depp – I find him a very mysterious personality and would be amazing to get to know him better. I know I’m not the only one with this fantasy.

10.   What’s next on the agenda?

6 Dates UK Album Launch Tour in November 2011:

• Wed, Nov 2, 7:30 pm Kings Place, London

• Sat, Nov 5, 7:30 pm Musicport World Music Festival, Bridlington

• Sat, Nov 12, 8:00 pm Hawth Theatre, Crawley

• Fri, Nov 18, 7:30 pm Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester

• Sat, Nov 19, 7:30 pm Diss Corn Hall, Norfolk

• Fri, Nov 25, 7:30 pm Folk House, Bristol

Claudia Aurora

You Tube

Amazon

Twitter

Red Orange Arts Agency

Sound Cloud

MySpace

www.facebook.com/Claudia.Aurora.Fado

The Truth Behind The Music Demo

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After making his name writing and producing music, David Courtney turns to the written word once again, although this time with a new concept: fusing audiobook and album to create a more telling form of autobiography. An idea he mulled over for months, Courtney wanted to make his life’s journey as entertaining as when he lived it, letting the words truly jump off the paper and embracing technology to intersperse his story with the music that shaped it.

Celebrity in his own right after working and writing with Leo Sayer, and innumerable others from Roger Daltrey to David Gilmore, Eric Clapton to Sir Paul McCartney, Courtney’s work features tracks that you will no doubt recognise, (and catch yourself subliminally humming along to), and others that will sing you into amniotic slumber.

Courtney mentions how daunting the experience of writing the piece was, sitting there with a blank piece of paper right at the very beginning. Although, very quickly finding complete enjoyment in trying on childhood memories and tracking the music that marked the event. The music, what Courtney calls his “time machine,” made it very easy to create structure chronologically, finding dusty tracks kept in boxes from the early rock bands of his youth.

Disbanding his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle for early mornings putting pen to paper, Courtney totally immersed himself. Inspired by all-time classic, and favourite record, Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran recorded in a garage in the 1950s but sounding as good today as the day it was made, Courtney truly gives this auto (or more fittingly, ‘audio’) -biography his own personal stamp.

With such a unique format, Courtney hopes to diversify and make the piece a business venture offered to other musicians to create their own stories within the same model. Or perhaps, take it on the road, hire out theatres and have a one-to-one with the audience. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see him at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, come 2012?

Listen back to the 14 September 2012 BBC Breakfast radio show to hear more about this fantastic new piece of writing.  Or purchase the audiobook now for only $12.00 (also available on iTunes).

Post written by Hannah Van Den Bergh

Being in the company of Lynn Ruth Miller for only five minutes is in itself a sheer delight, let alone half an hour with the woman. The 78 year old comedian, compère and cabaret singer has been dubbed the oldest female performer at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but one thing’s for certain, she shows no sign of slowing down, mentioning her most recent venture, of sorts pole dancing. Although, her main challenge is just wrapping her legs around the pole, let alone getting up it.

Miller’s achievements make her a veritable pioneer of the great debate, returning to Britain again in October to begin work on a television pilot in Brighton, pursuing her mantra: “When I die I refuse to let it be ‘I wish I had… ,’ but rather ‘I’m glad I did…’. This is the best time of my life!”.

Her typically American optimism resonates throughout her comedy, where Miller frequently approaches subjects seen as too risqué to grace the lips of a senior citizen. Miller however denies the ‘dirty old lady’ image crafted of her by Steve Bennett in a 2010 review for Chortle. She questions how the same material would be received if spoken by a woman half her age.  And with a fantastic 4* review from ThreeWeeks at this years Fringe, it seems that the masses are beginning to understand a little more of what Miller is trying to achieve through her work.

“I don’t like very many women in comedy,” Miller begins, “all they talk about is menstruation and having sex inadequately with inadequate men. There’s much more to life than that, I mean there are some adequate men.”

“You have to have a sense of funny, and many women just don’t have that. They have a sense of ridiculous, like the rants I perform, but ‘funny’ is really my one liners!”

“Women do however laugh at themselves. It just isn’t funny what they’re laughing about. They’re just too busy bringing up children to notice, and that isn’t a joke. My darling friend was just saying about how homely she is. But she’s not homely and I don’t like her talking about it! She thinks it’s a joke and it isn’t… it’s just a bad self image!”

Regardless of this distaste, Miller acknowledges that female comedy is improving – Zoe Lyons being one of her favourites on the scene at the moment.

“Funny women stand out,” she continues, “but they still have a hell of a time getting booked compared to men.” All the same, Miller always has her ear to the ground in search of new talent. Despite the slack she gets for her youth, Miller concludes: “I’m hoping that I’m making it so that people don’t look at age and sex as important, but watch the YouTube clip you send them without preconception.”

See where the great debate began at: http://www.festivalpreviews.com/blog/10186/that’s-what-she-said…-by-hannah-van-den-bergh/

Post by Hannah Van Den Bergh