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Musician

The Beatnik Preachers

Active since:

Musically Exquisite, Lyrically Explicit - Artistically Evocative, Socially Provocative -  the Beatnik Preachers meld a blistering style of jazz with original beat-poetry to form a unique ensemble that provides a palette for both the ears and the mind.

Anthony Norris (trumpet and spoken word) joined by Rob Burke (sax) gather the funky drumming of  Miles Henry and the groove of bassist Nick Haywood to drive a quintet allowing the sublime piano of Joel Louis to evoke and provoke both melody and harmony. Norris and Burke are melodically divine yet technically elaborate, thereby adding a unique interplay of risk and trust within the ensemble that is joyous and raucous. Firmly in the spirit of jazz whilst celebrating the human condition and investigating issues that currently face each and every one of us.

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Daphna Sadeh

Daphna Sadeh is an Israeli born double bassist and composer now based in the UK. Sadeh studied classical music at the Manhattan School of Music in New York before joining the Israeli based East West Ensemble with whom she toured extensively while immersing herself in Middle Eastern and Arabic music. She was later the co-leader of the all female group Eve’s Women playing a blend of jazz, klezmer and rock while again touring extensively and internationally. Following a move to London 2002 saw the release of Sadeh’s first solo album “Out Of Border”. Its success led to the formation of the Voyagers group in 2003

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Marc Beaudin, poet

Born:

Marc Beaudin’s latest project is the album From Coltrane to Coal Train: An Eco-Jazz Suite, featuring music by members of the bands Morphine and Orchestra Morphine, Dana Colley, Billy Conway and Laurie Sargent. He has performed and recorded with numerous jazz, rock and blues musicians including Bill Payne of Little Feat and the highly acclaimed, experimental jazz collective, The Northwoods Improvisers. He is the author of the Montana Book Award honor book winner, Life List: Poems and the hitchhiking memoir Vagabond Song: Neo-haibun from the Peregrine Journals

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Virginia Schenck

Born:

Virginia Schenck, known by the stage name VA, is an accomplished international vocal artist and jazz performer, utilizing both straight-ahead, spoken word, and free improvisation. VA is an imaginative vocalist with a broad stylistic reach. She can soothe her audience with a beautiful ballad, invigorate them with a re-imagined standard and challenge them with a powerful blast of free improvisation. Yet all of these aspects exist within one singular and unique voice. VA often spices up her shows with world music influences from her own vocal exploration and CircleSinging, which she studied under the legendary Bobby McFerrin

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Vanessa Daou

Vanessa Daou (born October 4, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, visual artist and dancer. Most notably a musician, her work is known among electronica, nu jazz and trip hop circles for her trademark spoken word and aspirated singing style as well as its erotic and literary subtexts. Formative years Daou was born and spent her early childhood in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, relocating in 1984 to attend boarding school in Massachusetts. As a young adult, she attended Vassar College for two years and spent several years in New York City's Hell's Kitchen area before earning a scholarship to study dance at Columbia University

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Claire McAllister

After spending 13 years performing in function bands, jazz bands and duos in a huge range of venues both private and public and singing material from pop through jazz standards to contemporary jazz I am delighted to welcome you to my own compositions with my debut album. I am influenced by classical and jazz music but am very drawn to contemporary jazz/folk such as Lauren Kinsella; singer-songwriters such as David Sylvian, Kate Bush and Laura Mvula and spoken word poets performing sometimes to music such as Kate Tempest and Selena Godden. The themes of this album are Belonging/Not Belonging; Finding your voice and Not having a Voice

Results for pages tagged "spoken word"...

Musician

Billie Davies

Born:

“Billie Davies is an accomplished free-jazz drummer. There is a vitality and fluidity in the way that she plays the drum kit and this is what I mean by the idea that her stories explain her drumming; she speaks through the drums to the other players, asking questions of them and replying with the fusion of styles that she has built up over her travels” —Chris Baber, Jazz Views (Jun 30, 2016)

By 1977 Billie was working in the Private Night Club sector as a DJ in Cologne, Germany. That set the stage for a successful DJ career in Belgium a few years later, she remembers "Les Cinq Anneaux" where she packed the house every weekend. She became one of the top DJs in demand in Private Night Clubs, Disco Clubs and Bars.

Aged 25 Davies started the transition to become a professional musician.

She played and performed all over Europe, in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece for the next 7 years.

At a crossroads in her musical career, in 1984, while living and performing in the South of France (Montpellier, Toulouse, Biarritz, La Rochelle), Billie ended up receiving a grant from Max Roach to come study at Berklee College of Music, this was after he heard one of her tapes she laid down with a bass player in Montpellier, France. Billie was however having too much fun in the south of France, living the life of a gypsy jazz musician and therefore decided not to take the offer. In his words: "Hearing from your tape, you could learn more fundamental drumming techniques, but I also hear the natural drummer, so my advice is for you not to worry too much about your technical skill, you will develop your own, I can definitely hear that, but just in case that you might want to study in a good program, please accept my invitation in the form of a talent grant to come study at the Berklee College of Music, all you need to worry about is finding a place to live and some money to survive".

A move to the United States at 32 gave her an opportunity to play all over the west coast. In 1987 in Oregon, she met and played a few times with Leroy Vinegar, and then later in early 1988 she moved to California, San Francisco where she was mostly active in North Beach and in the Lower-Haight district, where she met and ended up playing a few times with John Handy and played frequently with local jazz notables at their unforgiving jams, in her words: the best learning school she ever had.

In the mid-nineties she recorded "Cobra Basemento", that included "The Man From Tollund", and "Dreams", the infamous boombox recordings, in the Bay Area. They were never commercially released but preserved for the future.

In 2009, she moved to Hollywood, California and released "all about Love." with Tom Bone Ralls and Oliver Steinberg and "12 VOLT" with Daniel Coffeng and Adam Levy and was awarded best Jazz Artist in 2013 by LAMA.

In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans where she has released "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon", with Evan Oberla, Alex Blaine, Branden Lewis and Ed Strohsahl, "On Hollywood Boulevard" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson and Iris P and "PERSPECTIVES II" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson, Ari Kohn, Iris P and Allie Porter and was nominated "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" by 2017 Best Of The Beat Awards and OffBeat Magazine and "Best Drummer" by 2019 Best Of The Beat Awards.

Highlights

Billie Davies is an American, self-taught, natural, drummer and composer best known for her free, instinctively avant-garde compositions since the mid nineties, and her improvisational drumming techniques she has performed in Europe and in the US. All of her music is improvisational ... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community. Billie Davies hails originally from Brugge, Belgium. She played and performed all over Europe until immigrating to the United States at 32, where she has been active as a musician ever since.

While living and playing in the South of France in the early 1980's, Billie received a talent grant from Max Roach to study at Berklee College of Music.

Her 2012 release of “all about Love” solidified her position as a professional jazz musician. This recording of standards and original music, charted #1 in CMJ Jazz College Radio Charts for ‘top jazz add’ in new albums and went on to stay in the top 20 for 4 weeks. Also well received in Canada, the album ended up in the Top 10 on three different !Earshot Jazz charts.

In October, 2013 Billie released “12 VOLT” which garnered national and international attention. CJ Bond, JAZZ MUSIC, wrote, “12 VOLT” features exclusively original compositions of Billie Davies, and adds the crucial tyne of 'composer/arranger' to her sterling artistic fork, augmenting fearless innovation. Jan Hocek of His Voice in Prague wrote:”Without hesitation - HIGH VOLTAGE avant-garde JAZZ - one of the most remarkable trio albums of the year!"

In 2013 Billie Davies received the "Jazz Artist of the Year" Award by the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards.

In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans where she has graced stages ever since and recorded 3 albums.

She received more attention due to a player feature in Downbeat Magazine May 2016 edition, "BILLIE DAVIES '20 Years Stronger'".

"On Hollywood Boulevard", her CD released in 12/10/2016 became a January 2017 Editor's Pick on DownBeat.com.

December 2017 Billie Davies was nominated for "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" in New Orleans by 2017 Best Of The Beat Awards.

September 2018 She released "PERSPECTIVES II" by BILLIE DAVIES trio Featuring Ari Kohn, woodwinds, Iris P, vocals and Allie Porter, vocals.

December 2019 Billie Davies was nominated "Best Drummer" in New Orleans by 2019 Best Of The Beat Awards.

Late 2019 she started contributing with Damani Butler, an electronic artist and Maude Caillat a woodwind player, and they ended up recording "Whadeva" live at Dangerous Art Studios in New Orleans on Feb 13, 2020.


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