Alice Zawadzki Photo Credit: Melody McLaren. All Rights Reserved

Preview: Songs From Around The World Valentines Day Special
(Green Note, NW1 7AN. Thursday 14th February)

ALICE ZAWADZKI WRITES:

Many places put on live music across London on Valentine’s Day. Our offering at one of London’s most supportive and genuinely friendly venues, Green Note, will be exploring love – through songs – in all its many guises: happiness, sadness, comedy, tragedy, thrill… and it’s ultimate greatness.

We’ve found songs from a huge range of sources: Donizetti, Westside Story, Foy Vance, Marlene Dietrich, Massive Attack, Nina Simone, Savinna Yannatou and much more, and brought them together in the warm, rootsy sound-world of voices, acoustic guitar, violin, cello and double bass.

Shirley Smart, jazz cellist and authority on middle-eastern music brings her unique musical language to the mix. One of the things I love about playing with Shirley is her awareness and intuition to create ‘moments’ – it’s hard to predict where a tune might go, but her confidence and commitment to that moment makes sure that everyone goes there together. As well as this spontaneity, she’s at home in several idioms which makes for freedom and possibility – perfect partners to her genuinely dazzling virtuosity, honed by years of Western and Arabic classical training.

I’ve played with Moss Freed for several years now, and he too has experience in different musical worlds. As well as a natural tendency for harmonic and rhythmic innovation he has a get-up-and-go that makes him a vital energy in the group. He has a great skill for eeking out possibilities from each piece and hears things with fresh ears every time. As a composer, he has created a huge variety of music, from choral to fusion – contributions to both his own group ‘The Moss Project’ and Ruth Goller/Chris Williams/Fin Panter collaboration ‘Let Spin’ have grand designs and great depth.

Danish bassist Andreas Lang, now resident in Berlin is a name comparatively new on the London jazz scene, but familiar and much celebrated on the continent. He has played with Tony Allen, Don Freidman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Gunter Hampel to name a few. Andreas brings his full, warm sound to our group as well as a breadth of experience, expertise and inspiration. Some of the best things about playing with him are his openness and imagination, his commitment to his artistic ideas and his absolute solidity.

A wonderful group dynamic has developed from our playing together over the years and I’m very excited to be doing it again. Everyone is welcome and invited to enjoy; whether in love, out of love or just in love with good times.
For more information see www.greennote.co.uk
Advance tickets can be purchased HERE