Solstice: Food for Thought (UBU0061)
Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of Solstice, featuring an array of exceptional British musicians--Brigitte Beraha (vocals), Tori Freestone (saxes & flute), Jez Franks (guitars), John Turville (piano & keys), Dave Mannington (double bass) and George hart (drums).
Solstice is a collaboration between these six like-minded bandleaders and composers who share a common love of contemporary jazz, fine food and wine, resulting in an eclectic palate of influences from all around the world.
After the success of their taster album, Alimentation, the long-awaited plat du jour album, Food for Thought, is a strong expression of the complex issues facing us at this time when many are pursuing various interests at home, such as baking, thinking and taking up a new creative hobby.
With a melange of contemporary jazz--infused with a dash of spicy Brazilian and a smattering of folky fusion--the result could conceivably be a recipe for disaster. Instead, this is a concoction that promises to take you on an incredible journey through time/space/heaven/hell…and even the contents of your fridge!
Brigitte Beraha (vocals) is an improvising vocalist and composer and is one of the leading talents on the UK Jazz scene. She teaches jazz vocals at the Guildhall School of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and the Royal Welsh College of Music, has recorded a number of critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively in the UK and beyond.
Her work embraces not only original contemporary jazz and the core jazz and Latin repertoires but, increasingly, cross-genre projects such as the recent recreation of Basil Kirchin's music as part of Hull City of Culture 2017 with the BBC Concert Orchestra and curated by Will Gregory, which are cementing her reputation as an expert with a wide range of experience and creative scope.
Tori Freestone (tenor & soprano sax, flute) features in many of the UK’s most exciting ensembles including Hermeto Pascoal, Yazz Ahmed, the Jensen Sisters and the Julian Siegel and Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestras, plus the London Jazz Orchestra for which she holds the tenor one chair. She co-leads a duo with pianist Alcyona Mick and leads her own trio with numerous releases to her name. She composed a commission for the 2014 EFG London Jazz Festival, was shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Award for Jazz Composition and the Parliamentary Jazz Award for Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year in 2017. She also received The Guardian's 'Jazz Album of the Month' in the Guardian Newspaper 2019. She has recently been awarded a PRS Foundation 'Sustaining Creativity' Award and a Help Musician's 'Transmission Fund' to study with artists and composers worldwide.
Jez Franks (guitars) is a jazz musician, educator and composer. He co-led the Quartet ‘Compassionate Dictatorship’ for many years with Tori Freestone and has toured and recorded with a variety of ensembles and artists, including Tom Arthur’s ‘Centripede’, Gerard Presencer, Ingrid Jensen, Rick Astley and Monday Murchuri. He has performed on the BBC ‘Jazz on 3’, at various festivals and toured all over the UK and Europe.
John Turville (piano, keys) is one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation and has won multiple awards for his two trio albums including MOJO’s #3 Jazz Album of the Year and ‘Best Album’ in the Parliamentary Awards 2011. He also won ‘Best Instrumentalist’ in the 2010 London Jazz Awards and the 2009 PRS Promoter’s Choice Award and was a semi-finalist in the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Concours in 2010. He has toured and recorded throughout Europe and the Middle East with many renowned jazz and tango groups, including the Dave Binney/Julian Arguelles Quintet, Tim Garland, the Tony Kofi/Alan Barnes Quintet, Karios 4tet, Asaf Sirkis Trio, Gilad Atzmon and Matt Ridley Quartet, John is also an experienced composer and arranger for strings, voices, jazz and tango ensembles, and an experienced educator. He is the principal jazz piano tutor at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Purcell School, and has coached and adjudicated ensembles at the Guildhall and Trinity College.
Dave Manington (double bass) has played with most of the top jazz musicians in the country…luminaries such as Yazz Ahmed, Mark Lockhart, Tim Garland, Iain Ballamy, Gwyneth Herbert, Michael Garrick, Julian Arguelles, Marius Neset, Pete Wareham, Gwilym Simcock, Pete King, Martin Speake, Alan Barnes, Tim Whitehead, Salena Jones, Roberto Pla, Tina May, Martin Shaw and John Etheridge amongst many others. He's also in demand for a broad range of different ensembles, playing with musicians from South America to the Balkans both as a performer and as a compositional collaborator. He has composed for and led his own septet, trios, and quartet, while also contributing music to many other artists’ projects. He is also a founder member of the much-respected Loop collective and the E17 Jazz Collective.
George Hart (drums) is a versatile and accomplished London-based drummer. He collaborates with many of the most talented jazz musicians of his generation and for the past 10 years has performed on countless live gigs and studio sessions. Currently, George enjoys working with the Matt Ridley Quartet, Emily Saunders Band (ESB), Eric Ranzoni, The Stowaways (featuring Mike Edmonds, Carl Orr and Josh Kemp), Colin McKenzie’s Intransit and Jazzbomb. George features on albums by Brigitte Beraha, Ivo Neame, Phil Donkin, Seb Pipe, Yazz Ahmed, Dave Lee, Eric Ranzoni and Matt Ridley. George has also shared the stage with numerous distinguished musicians and ensembles, including Swing Out Sister, Chris Laurence Quartet (featuring John Parricelli & Frank Ricotti), Iain Ballamy, Tim Garland, Gwilym Simcock, Geoff Gascoyne, Jasper Høiby, Ivo Neame, Phil Donkin, Yazz Ahmed, London Jazz Orchestra, Laurence Cottle and many more.
Solstice describes their latest project, Food for Thought, as follows:
“It's like a dream come true releasing our second album on Ubuntu Music, with their fantastic artist roster and the great care and attention they give to each release. The music on 'Food for Thought' began life during our previous 22 date UK tour. The project is unique in that each member of the band is a seasoned composer and bandleader in their own right, and each contributed new material as the tour went on.
“At first listen, ‘Food for Thought’ sounds more like a rock album than a jazz one. It soon becomes clear that here is a true contemporary jazz melting pot, with an eclectic list of influences from all around the world. The result is contemporary jazz with strong elements of prog-rock, with a dash of Brazilian, a smattering of world music, an infusion of folk and a pinch of classical music that veers from avant-garde ensemble passages to free-improv and back.”
Concerning their new relationship with Ubuntu Music, Brigitte and Tori commented:
" We're really excited about releasing this album on Ubuntu and working with Martin Hummel whom most of us have known for many years. The partnership with his exciting and diverse label is fitting for our second release alongside many highly respected artists from the UK and worldwide scene.
“The band is unusual in that it is co-led by its members, all of whom are well known bandleaders and composers in their own right. We all have similar influences and have worked together in varying formats for many, many years, resulting in a unique blend. The music on this album developed over a long period of time while touring our first album. We're all foodies and of course that had to come out in the titles and inspiration behind the music as it did on our first album, 'Alimentation'. This latest album also seemed to develop a psychological slant over time and the combination of both subjects has become even more relevant with the situation we all find ourselves in presently. We hope the listeners can find joy, pathos, humour and meaning in the compositions as we do when we're creating and performing the work.”
Consistent with their name, the Summer Solstice arrived on Saturday, 20th June, and the band had a bit of a treat during these restricted COVID-19 times:
“The album has been a long time in the making and is very dear to our hearts. Now seems to be the perfect time to be releasing a little preview morsel so that people can savour a taste of what's to come. We hope they find it delectable and that it will leave them hungry for additional helpings.”
Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, summed things up with the following: “What a wonderfully talented group of artists, all of whom are leaders in their own right, combining a smorgasbord of exotic musical strands which deliciously blend together to serve up a grand feast for the ears to savour. This project will surely make the listener hungrier for second servings. Listen with a voracious appetite!”
