The University Chorus and Symphony Orchestra brought their term to a rousing conclusion on Saturday night in the Colyer-Fergusson hall.
But the music doesn’t end there; this Wednesday, there’s a seasonal ‘Watch This Space‘ on the foyer-stage, with festive contributions from the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs, the Lost Consort, Tutti Flutties, The Canterberries and the Dance Band starting at 1.10pm; then there’s live jazz from 2-3pm.
Then at 5.15pm, the University Big Band invites us to Swing-along-a-Santa, including communal carols with the Brass Ensemble. Sadly, all the tickets for the event have now gone – it promises to be a packed and festival finale to the term.
Photos from the first Watch This Space gig last month, with Dan Harding (piano), Gordon Wood (bass), Cory Adams (drums), Tim Pickering (sax) and special guest, the funky Chris Gray (tuba).
From the opening, hypnotic circling of Atlas to the final, concise and vibrant rendition of Master & Margarita, jazz afficionados should grab the chance to hear Trish Clowes’ recent gig at King’s Place, broadcast on Jazz Line Up on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday. Regular readers (yes, both of you…) will have seen I’ve written about Trish before here, and a couple of features over on the Big Band blog here, since hearing her burst onto the scene at the ‘BBC Presents’ stage at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival back in 2011.
Trish is currently enjoying the status of this year’s Radio 3 New Generation Jazz Artist, and the gig showcases both familiar tracks and some new pieces. Her ear for sinuous, lyrical improvisation is always apparent, whilst the new Chorale is an understated exploration of the ballad form.
The quintet features the superlative drumming of James Maddren, and the dextrous pianistic skills of Gwilym Simcock (himself a former Radio 3 New Generation Jazz Artist), who delivers a scintillating solo-for-the-age in the final piece.
Here’s a live version of Atlas from last year:
Catch the King’s Place gig on iPlayer until next Monday online here.
The ‘Watch This Space’ series of live gigs continued yesterday, with the Colosuss Quartet celebrating the music of (and played by) Dexter Gordon, on the occasion of what would have been the great man’s ninetieth birthday.
Drumming up business: Cory Adams
Just published over on ‘Storify‘ is a look at the development of the series, from early sessions through to the gigs across this term.
Continuing the series profiling some of this year’s Music Scholars. This week, percussionist Cory Adams.
I was 3 when I got my first drum kit. It was a toy of course, yet I think it did spark my passion for percussion and music. I started taking snare drum lessons when I was 8 years old at primary school; we weren’t fortunate enough to have a drum kit, so kit lessons would have to wait until I started high school.
Kit and caboodle: Cory Adams
Kit playing seemed to come naturally to me, and as my teacher saw potential in me, he asked me (when I was 12) to start playing with ‘Saxation’. This was a saxophone ensemble (with rhythm section of course) that was run by members of staff from the Wakefield Music Services. This environment enhanced my playing dramatically, so I immediately started playing with the music department at school. I joined the swing band, concert band, orchestra, guitar group and choir- to drum of course! I even joined the folk group to play djembe.
Progressing through the drum kit grades quickly, in year 10 I decided I wanted to become an all round percussionist. Therefore my teacher introduced me to the glorious instruments that are the timpani drums, xylophone, glockenspiel and vibraphone. This did however mean I now had to learn how to read treble and bass clef- it’s so much harder than drum kit music!
At this age (15), when I was preparing for my grade 7 and being the principal percussionist at school and at music centre, I was asked to be the principal percussionist for the Wakefield Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Wakefield Youth Jazz Orchestra. This was a real eye opener. The standard of playing in these ensembles was incredible, and being a ‘newbie’ I was petrified. It didn’t help either when I had to play Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony and the intro to Also Sprach Zarathustra on timpani in my first concert.
It was also at this age when my theatre/show playing was tested. I was asked to play for an amateur dramatics group’s performance of Annie. I had such a great time, however it was disappointing that I couldn’t actually see the performance as I was stuck in the orchestra pit. I must have done a good job, because a year later I was asked to play again, this time for their medley/compilation of various musicals.
I was 16 when my teacher asked me to play with him for the Wakefield Metropolitan Brass Band. My initial reaction was, “you mean the youth band?” His response was, “No, I mean the proper one”. I could not have been more ecstatic- the band are a Championship Section band, which play against the likes of Black Dyke, Brighouse and Rastrick and Grimethorpe- the band that play in the film ‘Brassed Off’. This was the start of my dramatic improvement in all forms of percussion. I soon later (in 2011) completed my grade 8 with distinction.
From loud and raucous music to the soft tranquil haven that is Jazz. I have been playing jazz for 3 years now in a trio back home, and I have to tell you- it is a real money earner! And everyone knows we all need a bit of money now and then. I was quite sad to be leaving my trio when I came to university; however I didn’t know I’d be meeting three awesome jazz musicians. I now play with these guys and we are The Colossus Quartet- we are taking bookings so please get in touch!
I should now probably talk about what I actually do at University. Aside from the jazz quartet I play with the University Concert Band, Big Band and Orchestra. I love playing with these bands as I get to play so much tuned percussion; my tuned ability really has improved because of this. I look forward to my years at Kent being involved with the music department, I’ve already made many great friends and I’m sure I will make many more.
And as I type, the new Watch This Space series of informal gigs on the foyer stage is in full swing, with live jazz from the Colossus Quartet, including some if the Music Scholars.
Giant steps: the Colossus Quartet
We’ve been treated to a rich mix of Sonny Rollins, Coltrane, Gillespie and styles from swing to bossa.
There’ll be more in the series throughout the term: keep an eye on the website and Twitter for details.
Ahead of their Lunchtime Concert in the Gulbenkian Theatre on Monday 3 December, I caught up with Sarah Ellen Hughes, singer with the group, and asked her about what we can look forward to.
DH: Tell us a little about the group.
SEH: Sector7 originated as a jazz group, but now plays a selection of gospel, folk, jazz and soul, that has been brought to the table by the diversity of the members. We have 4 singers in the group and a rhythm section, allowing us to explore some a cappella work, but also some groove-based music with the band too.
DH: And what excites you about the music you perform ?
SEH: Vocal harmony is always exciting, and having four strong voices performing things in sometimes incredibly difficult and intricate harmonies is great to be a part of. We also have a new member at the moment, who is a beatboxer, so we’ve been able to incorporate that into a few tunes which is brilliant!
DH: So, what can we look forward to in your gig in a few weeks’ time ?
We’re going to be playing a selection of Christmas music and some Sector7 originals. There are plenty of great Christmas standards out there that we’re going to put a twist on and arrange in our own way. But we don’t want to do a Christmas overload as it’s only the first week of December, so we’ll also be playing some songs from our EP:
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Thanks to Sarah for her time; find out more about the concert on our online diary here.
Because it does. Doesn't it ? Blogging about extra-curricular musical life at the University of Kent.
Trish is currently enjoying the status of this year’s Radio 3 New Generation Jazz Artist, and the gig showcases both familiar tracks and some new pieces. Her ear for sinuous, lyrical improvisation is always apparent, whilst the new Chorale is an understated exploration of the ballad form.
