 |
| The SONGBOOK Quartet L-R: Alan Broadbent, Georgia Mancio, Oli Hayhurst, Dave Ohm |
New Zealand-born, American-based pianist and composer/arranger ALAN BROADBENT has won Grammys for his work with Shirley Horn and Natalie Cole, was a fixture in Charlie Haden’s Quartet West, and has been Grammy-nominated three times for his own albums.
For the past two years he has been in a songwriting partnership with Georgia Mancio. They have recorded an ALBUM together, entitled “Songbook”. It won’t be out until next spring, but two of the tracks (detailed below) are available for a limited period to preview on Soundcloud.
They also embark on a four date UK tour. Georgia Mancio explains how her lyric-writing led to the partnership with Alan Broadbent. She writes:
The first lyric I wrote was for pianist and composer, Tim Lapthorn – the title track of my first album Peaceful Place in 2003. We co-wrote a good part of Silhouette in 2010 with the title track by myself and Kate Williams and also an approved lyric to Pat Metheny’s Question and Answer. I’ve written lyrics and vocalese to songs by Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Jon Hendricks, Joe Zawinul, Osvaldo Farres (translating from the original Spanish) and Frank Griffith but the balance of my repertoire has always been weighted in favour of standards or covers.
I started writing with Alan in Summer 2014 and we are now on our 18th tune. I’ve never written so prolifically either alone or with someone else and the process, the craft and his music increasingly fascinates me. When we first previewed our songs last year, I really enjoyed focussing on the storytelling aspect – both with the actual lyrics and putting them in context for an audience who had never heard them before. I appreciate that it’s asking more of the listener but I actually found that drew them in deeper. We found after performances people were always keen not just to show their appreciation but to ask more, share their own interpretations or stories.
I’ve lived with our songs a little longer now, we’ve recorded them all (set for release next Spring) and I’ve played them with other people so they are starting to take on their own identities. So here’s to these live dates and the next 18 songs!
ALBUM TRACKS PREVIEW:
LINK: Soundcloud track link
The tracks are:
One For Bud – a witty, wordy tune about an insomniac obsessed with jazz pianist Bud Powell and all things bebop. How many Bud Powell song titles can you spot?
The Last Goodbye – the very first lyric I wrote for Alan at the start of our writing collaboration in 2014. It was originally conceived as ‘The Long Goodbye’ for Charlie Haden’s Quartet West.
TOUR DATES
2 September 2016 – Norwich Jazz Weekender
EPIC TV Studios, 112-114 Magdalen Street, Norwich, 7pm
£15 advance (or £35 2-show deal with James Tormé Big Band)
7 September – Pizza Express Jazz Club, London, 8.30pm (doors 7pm)
15 September – Hightide Festival, Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall, 9.30pm
23 September – Scarborough Jazz Festival 8.45pm
Categories: miscellaneous
Recent Comments