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‘TAPAS’
AN UNEXPECTED (AND TASTY) ALBUM FROM
THE AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA
Released March 5
“What happens when you take 17th century music into a smoky dance hall?” says Paul Dyer artistic director of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. “You get something a little daring, sexy, and delicious. You get Tapas!”
“It’s our 21st, so we thought we’d take the Baroque out for a spin. We took baroque dance beats and love songs, and then we improvised till we found a new sound to stir up new emotions.
“Its old music on old instruments, made new. It’s all those gorgeous Brandenburg flavours in a spicy mix – dueling violins, a haunting lirone, spanish guitar, a divine soprano, bells, castanets, harpsichord, there’s even an old school wind machine. It’s ecstatic and highly intoxicating!”
ABC Classics releases the Tapas CD on 5 March and special Tapas performances will take place in Sydney and Melbourne later this month in a rare live concert performance of a Brandenburg recording.
“Our last disc won our 4th ARIA Award and has received rave reviews internationally, including an Editor’s Choice in the prestigious Gramophone magazine. But Tapas is going to take audiences on a whole new journey.”
“Tapas is also a tribute to the music-making of my parents – Mum, a pianist with a gift for improvisation, and Dad, who played the drums. Their influences of classical, swing, jazz and pop have led us to the rhythms of Tapas.”
“We’ve taken 21 years of historically informed performance practice and thrown it into the 21st century. Ladies and Gentlemen, Tapas is served!”
TAPAS concerts (featuring vocalist Mina Kanaridis)
SYDNEY - City Recital Hall, Angel Place
Wednesday 17 March @ 7pm
BOOKINGS:
City Recital Hall Box Office (02) 8256 2222
Brandenburg Box Office (02) 9328 7581
MELBOURNE - Melbourne Recital Centre
Tuesday 23 & Wednesday 24 March @ 7.30pm
BOOKINGS:
Melbourne Recital Centre (03) 9699 3333
Brandenburg Box Office 1300 782 856
SPIRIT of INDIA presents
The Killing of Dushasana
Kathakali Dance Drama 9 (Melb) & 11 (Syd) March 2010The epic and elaborate tale of war and succession, blood and lust - The Killing of Dushasana, reveals all the beauty and brutality of India’s alluring and elaborate history and culture. Catch the enthralling dance-drama for one night only at Sydney’s Seymour Centre on Thursday 11 March (7pm) and Melbourne’s Town Hall Tuesday 9 March (7pm).
Rarely seen outside of Kerela, Southern India’s stunning coastal state; this very special performance tells the story of two families - the Kauravas and the Pandavas, in traditional Kathakali dance style - one of India’s most elaborate and ancient forms of dance.
Performed by the world-renowned Kerala Kalamandalam Dance Company, The Killing of Dushasana is a central episode of the famous Sanskrit epic The Mahabhrata, one of India’s most significant cultural and religious tales. And tells of the great civil war in the kingdom of the Kurus, where modern Delhi now sits. With one hundred thousand verses, the poem is the longest in existence and a cornerstone of Hindu mythology and philosophical thought; the other being The Ramayana.
Brought to Australia by the Nataraj Cultural Centre for the 32nd SPIRIT of INDIA cultural tour, the powerfully artistic dance-drama comes direct from Womadelaide, and comprises 17 dancers, singers, actors, drummers, and make-up artists. Akin to and around as old as Japan’s Kabuki Theatre tradition, Kathakali developed over centuries in Kerala, with elaborate costumes and make up that can take up to four hours to prepare. The performance delivers an artistic impact that needs to be experienced to be fully understood.
The Killing of Dushasana begins with a dice-game - the Pandavas are lured to gamble with their cousins the Kauravas for succession to the throne they are supposed to be sharing. The stakes are high - the Kingdom, and then as a last desperate bid, Draupadi, wife of the five Pandava brothers (married to them all to avoid jealousies), are the ultimate prize. When the game is lost Draupadi is publicly disrobed. Exile for 13 years is punishment for the brothers. But when the Pandavas return the Kauravas refuse to give up a share of the Kingdom.
The centre-piece is the famed Bhagavadgita, containing Lord Krishna’s sermon on selfless action delivered to Arjuna (a Pandava), to urge him to fight when he begins to lose nerve. Considered one of the most important texts in the history of literature and philosophy, it sets out the Indian concept of Dharma, often described as a concise guide to Hindu theology, also considered a practical, self-contained guide to life.
The sermon leads to a great bloody war at Kurukshetra, near Delhi which rages until the Pandava brothers and Lord Krishna are the only contenders left. This is represented in the final scene where the angry Bhima (a Pandava) rips open Dushasana’s body (a Kaurava), drinking his blood.
A phenomenal display of music, culture and dance the performance lasts for two hours, with an interval; and is an Indian feast for the eyes and ears rarely seen at this level of authenticity in Australia. There are two performances at the Womadelaide Festival (6 and 7 March); one at Melbourne’s Town Hall (09 March) and Sydney’s Seymour Centre (11 March) 2010.
KEY INFORMATION:
SYDNEY CONCERT 11 March 2010 7PM
VENUE Seymour Centre, Everest Theatre
PRICE $25-70
BOOKINGS www.seymour.usyd.edu.au
P: 02 9352 7940
MELBOURNE CONCERT 09 March 2010 7PM
VENUE Melbourne Town Hall
PRICE $25-$70
BOOKINGS TICKETMASTER
P: 1300 136 166
The Nataraj Cultural Centre
The Centre, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2010 was set up in 1980 and incorporated as a non profit-making society in 1983. The Centre owes its inspiration to the magnificent India International Centre, New Delhi.
It aims to promote the study and performance of the classical music of India in order to create stronger cultural ties between Australia and New Zealand; and India; and to look after the cultural needs of settlers from South Asia and of other interested Australians and New Zealanders.
The Centre provides facilities for the study of both Hindustani and Carnatic music, by way of short-term courses and workshops by eminent visiting musicians. The Centre’s main arts activity is the SPIRIT of INDIA concerts, which presents India's classical music annually in Australia and New Zealand.
Indian music
Indian music, Hindustani and Carnatac, has been an integral part of the religious and cultural life of India for over two thousand years, with an elaborate musical theory and literature. It is purely melodic – it neither needs nor implies harmony. Unlike Western music, Indian music retains its roots in pure melody and rhythm. Indian classical music is based on the concepts of Raga – the melodic basis of composition and improvisation, and Tala – the rhythmic framework.
The rhythmic texture of this music is highly intricate and ornamented with grace notes. It is lyrical and sensual and aims at creating a definite mood. Since Indian music is not written down, every performance is virtually a new composition, but the musician has to improvise within a well-defined traditional Raga. “Perhaps the most moving and exciting quality of Indian music is the innocence of its rapture. However sophisticated the means… complex the structure... nothing is lost of the child's freshness of wonder.” Yehudi Menuhin
Kerala Kalamandalam
A major centre for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the southern state of Kerala, Kerala Kalamandalam is situated in the village of Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur district on the banks of the Bharathapuzha. The institution, now a deemed university, was founded in 1930 by poet Vallathol Narayana Menon and Manakkulam Mukunda Raja. Kalamandalam imparts training in classical dance and theatre forms like Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kudiyattam, Thullal, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, and Nangiar Koothu, besides the traditional orchestra called Panchavadyam. Training is also given in various percussion instruments like chenda, maddalam and mizhavu.
Kalamandalam follows the gurukula sampradayam, the ancient Indian education system based on residential tutelage. The inception of Kalamandalam gave a second life to three major classical performing arts of Kerala, as Kathakali, Kudiyattam and Mohiniyattam were, by the turn of 20th century, facing the threat of extinction under various regulations of the colonial authorities. It was at this juncture, in 1927, that Vallathol Narayana Menon and Mukunda Raja came forward and formed a society called Kerala Kalamandalam.
They solicited donations from the public and conducted a lottery in order to raise funds for this society. Kerala Kalamandalam was inaugurated in November 1930 at Kunnamkulam, and was later shifted to the village of Cheruthuruthy, just south of Shoranur in 1933.The Maharaja of Cochin donated land and a building. Subsequently, a dance department was started to revive Mohiniyattom.
Kalamandalam was conceived to provide training to its students in the Gurukula Sampradaya, an ancient tradition of residential schooling where students stayed with the teachers, sharing the same atmosphere and learning from them the nuances of the arts. Eminent masters were brought to Kalamandalam.
Al Di Meola with World Sinfonia
Touring Australia & New Zealand
from March 2010
Legendary guitarist, Al Di Meola is bringing his 6-piece Latin Jazz Fusion band World Sinfonia to our shores in March 2010. One of the most prominent virtuosos in the contemporary instrumental jazz field, Al Di Meola’s dazzling technique on both acoustic and electric guitars is unmatched, extending to fluid arpeggios flying at breakneck speed and beautiful, slow vibrato-laden melodies.
The tour commences in Perth and extends through NSW, Queensland, New Zealand, Tasmania, South Australia and ACT. Provocative and enchanting, Al Di Meola’s intriguing union of complex rhythms, lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmonies ensures an unforgettable aural sensation.
Known for his guitar mastery, Al Di Meola has twenty one recordings, three gold albums and has recorded and played with a number of illustrious names including Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Santana, Luciano Pavarotti, Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, Steve Winwood, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jaco Pastorius, Les Paul, Jean Luc Ponty, Steve Vai, Milton Naciemento, Egberto Gismonti, and many more.
Early in his career Al Di Meola was bestowed a Grammy, as part of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever. He has been voted World’s Best Guitarist several times by Guitar Player Magazine and has had sold out concerts across the world including Bulgaria and the United States.
Al Di Meola’s finds inspiration in music cultures across the world including sounds from Argentina, Brazil, Israel and the Mediterranean and in acoustic genres such as flamenco and the tango. The depth of his writing along with the soulfulness of his guitar expression have won this guitar virtuoso legions of fans worldwide, having played over many years to sell out shows across Europe, Canada and his native USA.
Of Di Meola, Guitar historian Robert Lynch said: “In the history of the electric guitar, no one figure has done more to advance the instrument in a purely technical manner than Al Di Meola. His total command of the various styles and scales is simply mind-boggling.”
Al Di Meola
with World Sinfonia
Australian & New Zealand Tour
MARCH & APRIL 2009
Perth Concert Hall
March 5
08 9231 9900
Sydney City Recital Hall Angel PlaceMarch 7
02 8256 2222
Bellingen Memorial Hall
March 9
02 6655 1522
Byron Bay High SchoolMarch 10
Enmore Theatre Sydney
March 12
02 9550 3666
The Basement, Sydney
March 13
02 9251 2797
Christchurch James Hay
BrisbaneMarch 15
136 246
Kuranda Amphitheatre
New ZealandMarch 16
1300 762 545
Auckland The Great Hall
March 18
0800 289 842
James Hay Theatre Christchurch
March 19
03366 8899
Wellington Opera House
March 22
04384 3840
Hobart City HallMarch 24
1300 762 545
Melbourne Hamer Hall
March 25
1300 182 183
Adelaide Her Majesty’s Theatre
March 26
08 8216 8600
Canberra Royal Theatre March 27
02 6243 5711
Newcastle Civic Theatre
March 29
02 4929 1977
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
March 30
02 8839 3399
INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED AND GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING GUITARIST MARTIN TAYLOR TO TOUR AUSTRALIA WITH UK'S FASTEST RISING JAZZ SINGER ALISON BURNS IN MARCH 2009
When Grammy award winning guitarist Martin Taylor (pictured), who has collaborated with great singers including Peggy Lee, Martin Carthy, Jamie Cullum, Dionne Warwick and Bryn Terfel, chose to record a special duo album with a vocalist he chose the UKs fastest rising jazz singer Alison Burns.
MARTIN TAYLOR MBE
Award winning guitarist MARTIN TAYLOR has established a unique musical career as an internationally acclaimed musician, and his inimitable style has seen him recognized as the world's foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing. Although completely self taught, he has enjoyed a remarkable musical career spanning across four decades, and during that time has invented and developed a way of playing the guitar that is admired, and often imitated, by guitarists all over the world.
As well as being a true guitar innovator, he is also a master concert performer, dazzling audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion, humor, with a strong stage presence. He spends much of the year traveling the world, playing in concert halls in Europe, North America, Japan, Asia, and Australasia. As well as his solo concerts and recordings, he has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genre including Stephane Grappelli, Chet Atkins, Bill Wyman, Dionne Warwick, Sacha Distel, Bryn Terfel and Jamie Cullum.
From 1979 to 1989 he toured the world and recorded over 20 albums with the French jazz violin legend STEPHANE GRAPPELLI. Monsieur Grappelli described him as Rich in talent and elegance, he's a great artist.
In 2002, he was appointed MBE For Services to Jazz Music, in The Queen's Birthday Honors List, which he received personally from Her Majesty the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.
In 2007 he recieved the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Heart of Jazz Award in recognition of his career in music, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Wales Jazz Guitar Festival for his Contribution to Jazz Guitar Worldwide and was voted Best Guitarist in the British Jazz Awards for a record eleventh time.
When not touring he divides his time between his homes in France and Scotland where he writes music for TV and film.
His autobiography MARTIN TAYLOR - AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A TRAVELLING MUSICIAN and his latest CD/DVD FRETERNITY are available worldwide.
ALISON BURNS
The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. Surrounded by the surfeit of little girl voices prevalent in jazz today, it's almost a relief to encounter a mature but flexible voice like ALISON BURNS. Beyond the vocal quality is imaginative delivery and interpretation that comes from experience in life as well as extensive touring in the US, UK, Italy and China. TV host Michael Parkinson has declared himself as a fan and her debut album 'Kissing Bug' featuring Guy Barker and David Newton and produced by guitarist MARTIN TAYLOR has received rave reviews. At home in any setting, from festival and theatre stages to small, intimate venues, Alison Burns never fails to touch the audience with her soul-stirring performances.
Born in Scotland, ALISON BURNS grew up drawing inspiration from the recordings of the jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. In demand as much abroad as in the UK she has performed concerts in Tokyo, Nashville, New York, Cannes, Capri and Shanghai.
French writer Emile Zola never met ALISON BURNS, and his perceptive quote may seem like an unusual introduction, but it's wholly appropriate for this rising star of the jazz world, and her rather unusual road to success. With the release of her second album 1:AM, a collaboration with world-renowned and multi award-winning jazz guitarist MARTIN TAYLOR, Alison brings her unique interpretation to a combination of traditional jazz standards, classic contemporary songwriting, and an original song which holds particular personal significance. It's a track listing which reflects the Dundee singer's lifetime love affair with music.
“My father was a guitarist and my mum would get into his gigs around Dundee for free by carrying the case...he still carried the guitar! He used to sing to me, numbers by Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Bessie Smith. That's what I heard around the house. I also used to watch old Hollywood movies and dream of being a singer and actress. We had linoleum flooring in the bathroom, so I used to sprinkle it with salt and try my hand at tap dancing! The first time I sang was trying to pick out harmonies in songs on the radio.”
No matter what else has happened in Alison's life, that involvement with music has run in parallel - only now is it being allowed to take the lead. Life has certainly provided inspiration. As the first female apprentice engineer in the famous Timex watch factory in Dundee, the 16-year-old refused to compromise glamour in the workplace and never forgot her lipstick. The experience showed that she was perfectly capable of holding her own in a man's world.
Other jobs followed (including being sacked from a bingo-calling job) but it was at the age of 21 that Alison realised that her childhood dreams would only be realised if she actually did something about it. The death of her brother Alan, who was serving in the Falklands brought home the reality of a life lived unfulfilled. Alan was very much the inspiration for the lyrics of the original song True on 1AM, which has music written by Martin Taylor.
Still based in Dundee, ALISON BURNS's acting, singing, and presenting career took off. As singer and songwriter in a band called The Rainmates, she tuned down two record deals which just “didn't feel right at the time”. Her first love was still the music she had heard in her childhood, however, and this led to the formation of a three-part female harmony group, The Penny Dainties. Not only did Alison get the group together, it was normal for her to be hanging over a sewing machine in the early hours, making the frocks!
Like every other performer, the days could be empty. However, never one to waste any time, Alison used the days productively and gained a law degree from Dundee University. She practised briefly, but the pull of music was too much and she found herself working in the music business, albeit behind the scenes. For a while, her own music career was put on the back burner, but it's telling that as soon as she turned her attention to jazz singing again, there was instant acclaim. The release of her debut album, Kissing Bug, in March 2007 was received with universal acclaim and became the first album by a Scottish jazz singer to reach the Jazz Top 10. She was lauded by the likes of jazz guru Michael Parkinson who invited ALISON BURNS to play at his hotel. The man himself was in the front row and threw his arms around her as she came off stage.
So far she has packed her bag to perform in far-flung destinations such as Tokyo, Nashville, New York, Cannes, Italy and Shanghai as well as exclusive events for the likes of Virgin Airlines and Sir Terence Conran. She has performed at jazz festivals and venues across the country, with her own group and guesting with Martin Taylor at a number of concerts. It was at these concerts that the idea for 1:AM came about. The recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass were the inspiration, stripping back the songs to vocal and guitar. Despite the smoky dark eyes and robust sense of humour, there's little of the jazz diva about Alison Burns. As a committed vegetarian, her greatest concern on the road is finding decent food as well as keeping in touch with her husband, family and friends. Venues will be shocked to find the only dressing room request is water and her only real superstition is “always wearing my granny's earrings”. For those who may think that Alison is where she has always wanted to be, that's true up to a point, but looking at her track record, this is obviously just the beginning. “I'd like to tour more and keep adding songs to my repertoire. It would be wonderful to sing with Tony Bennett and Michael Buble. It's also an ambition to sing with strings – I think it’s every singers ambition to sing with strings. I'd also like to write more songs.”
1:AM from ALISON BURNS and MARTIN TAYLOR is released on P3 Records. The album was inspired by the recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. On the album, produced by Tony Platt, Alison Burns and Martin Taylor capture the essence of the recordings with just voice and guitar.
In 2009 the duo will hit the road to tour and promote this new album which is produced by legendary record producer Tony Platt (Bob Marley, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Guy). The tour and album take its inspiration from the Grammy award winning collaboration between Joe Pass & Ella Fitzgerald, mixing repertoire from The Great American Songbook and contemporary material.
Europe's finest guitarist Jazz Times, New York
Martin Taylor was the Head-line act at the last International Guitar Festival in Adelaide.
28 Feb 2009 20:00
Theatre of the Thailand Cultural Centre Bangkok, Thailand
3 Mar 2009 20:00
The Basement Sydney, Australia | Bookings: 02 9251 2791
4 Mar 2009 20:00
Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre Nowra, NSW, Australia | Bookings: 1300 788 503 with Special Guest George Golla
5 Mar 2009 20:00
Dizzy's Melbourne, Australia | Bookings: 03 9428 1233
6 Mar 2009 20:00
Dizzy's Melbourne, Australia | Bookings: 03 9428 1233
7 Mar 2009 20:00
Dizzy's Melbourne, Australia | Bookings: 03 9428 1233
8 Mar 2009 20:00
Gold Coast Arts & Cultural Centre Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | Bookings: 05 5588 4000
9 Mar 2009 20:00
The Basement Sydney, Australia | Bookings: 02 9251 2791
11 Mar 2009 20:00
Avalon RSL Avalon, NSW, Australia | Bookings: 02 9918 2201
12 Mar 2009 20:00
Governor Hindmarsh Hotel Adelaide, Australia | Bookings: 08 8340 0744
13 Mar 2009 20:00
Ellington's Jazz Club Perth, Australia |
14 Mar 2009 20:00
Ellington's Jazz Club Perth, Australia
15 Mar 2009 20:00
Jazz Freemantle, Navy Club, High Street Freemantle, Australia | Bookings: 08 9384 4835
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TAPAS concerts (featuring vocalist Mina Kanaridis) 
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