Jazz breaking news: Zoe Rahman Gets Spiritual On New Album And Tour
Friday, October 28, 2011
Popular and highly acclaimed pianist Zoe Rahman (pictured), who shot to wider public awareness when her luminous album Melting Pot was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, is set to return early next year with her fifth album Kindred Spirits and an extensive UK tour.
Released on 23 January on her own Manushi label the music continues her vibrant exploration her English, Irish and Bengali heritage combined with her sparkling contemporary piano work and framed by her strong melodic composing style. Her brother Idris (best known for his own groove-heavy band Soothsayers) joins her on clarinet alongside her fine regular rhythm section of London-based US drummer Gene Calderazzo and bassist Oli Hayhurst.
Rahman has been busy touring with her own band as well as appearing on several other high profile projects that include international tours with Courtney Pine’s stunning Europa band (Pine also guests on her new album), as well as being a member of the expansive Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Orchestra, and the Way to Blue: the Songs of Nick Drake project that featured the likes of Danny Thompson and Vashti Bunyan.
Commenting on the album Rahman said: “We recorded this album after touring Ireland in 2011, a year that happened to coincide with the 150th birth anniversary of Bengali writer, musician, artist and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. These two events account, in part, for my choice of music. Mostly though, it’s a collection of my own compositions from the past couple of years and tunes that I love playing.”
The touring band will feature Idris Rahman on clarinet and bass clarinet, drummer Calderazzo and two bassists, Alec Dankworth who appears throughout January, and Davide Mantovani who will be playing the remaining tour dates, which are as follows: Watermill Jazz, Dorking (19 Jan); Wakefield Jazz Club, Wakefield (20 Jan); Minerva Theatre, Chichester (27 Jan); The Edge Arts Centre, Much Wenlock (28 Jan); Seven Arts, Leeds (2 February); Millennium Hall, Sheffield (3 Feb); The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool (4 Feb); Pizza Express Jazz Club, London (6 and 7 Feb); Music Centre, Bradford on Avon Wiltshire (3 March); Western Hotel, St Ives (6 Mar); Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple (7 Mar); Forest Theatre, Hampshire (10 Mar); and The Sage, Gateshead (25 Mar).
– Mike Flynn