Groups
David Gordon, solo
On either harpsichord or piano, or both, I play a wide variety of music in any given programme. On harpsichord, most of the pieces I play incorporate a large degree of improvisation, whether divisions, variations, improvised preludes, improvised fugues, or on suggestions from the audience. Piano recitals mix a few pieces from the classical canon with my own originals and a South American set – featuring the music of tango piano magician Horacio Salgán.
"An awesome jazz musician, composing dazzling melodies with extraordinary harmonies, and playing with exceptional swing, demonstrating a brilliant virtuoso technique. His world-class playing has the reach and breadth of continual inventiveness and sensitivity."
Jack Pine, Jazz Direct
see separate page
Zum
Extraordinary powerhouse world (chamber) music, classical-jazz-tango-gypsy-everything band. Visit Zum's website for more details.
Chris Garrick Quartet/Duo
A unique improviser, virtuoso violinist and entertainer, Chris Garrick is a diamond amongst the British jazz scene’s many gemstones. Whether playing in his high-octane electrified and partly electronic quartet, or the intimacy and intensity of the duo, all systems are go. Always. Visit Chris Garrick's website for more details.
Photo: Jonathan Slack
I’ve played on and off with Jacqui on various projects since 2002. A supreme vocalist who needs no introduction, Jacqui is an amazing communicator, and we’ve had some wonderful duo gigs.
Our quartet project, entitled 'Butterfly's Wing', features the two of us with Chris Garrick (violin) and Ben Davis (cello), creating a unique sound-world and meeting of minds. Visit Jacqui Dankworth's website for more details.
Kevin Flanagan’s Riprap Jazz/Poetry Collective
Another project without parallel, Riprap is the left-field brainchild of American sax magician Kevin Flanagan. This is real jazz, combined with a roster of real poets, that has to be heard to be believed. Visit the Riprap website for more details.
Lightning Thieves
New ultra-modern medieval worldfolk project with Adam Summerhayes on electric violin; I play harpsichord, with some effects pedals etc. Here's what we say about it:
The lightning skills of two virtuoso performers combine, as the
ultra-modern vibrancy of the electric fiddle sparks off the anciently funky sound of the harpsichord. An unlikely but inspired union across the ages.
The equivalent of putting a rocket engine into a Morris Minor, the
supercharged harpsichord mixes with the most contemporary of
electric fiddles in a soundscape where flangers, distortion and live looping blend seamlessly with sounds that have cast a spell over listeners for centuries.
Their all-original set is a mixture of celtic, rock, blues, klezmer, a bit of jazz, hints of Hendrix, medieval pop tunes with some searingly beautiful melodies thrown in.
This is not like anything anyone has heard before: both a connoisseur's synthesis and an instantly accessible, energy-filled toe-tapping evening.
