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Oriole,
Song for the Sleeping
 (F-ire)
John
Fordham
Friday August 5, 2005
The
Guardian
F-ire Collective
musicians have started turning up all over the mainstream
polls (notably the BBC Jazz Awards in 2004 and 2005) and
the input of the gifted drummer/composer and F-ire stalwart
Seb Rochford has been at the heart of recent UK
jazz success stories like Acoustic Ladyland, Polar Bear
- and this unique creation from guitarist Jonny Phillips.
Like many F-ire artists, Phillips favours Latin rhythms,
the close integration of music and dance, and the evolution
of new sounds through a world-music view sharpened by jazz
spontaneity.
Song
for the Sleeping features few jazz solos in the usual sense,
and is like a soundtrack for an imaginary movie.
Guitarist Phillips hardly ever steps out of an
ensemble role (though there are telling contributions from
that fine improvising cellist Ben Davis, tenor saxist Rob
Leak and keyboardist Nick Ramm among others) and the material
draws on South American, African, romantic-classical and
post-Coltrane jazz music, with a little Eric Satie on the
side. The opening Lament is a gentle splicing of Venezuelan
rhythms and haunting Vaughan Williams harmonies, with Rob
Leak's tenor sax weaving through them, Meme is a soft tango
subtly coloured by a bass clarinet, and Larks has a Celtic
folk feel that's progressively invaded by Seb Rochford's
implacable hip-hop groove.
Singer
Julia Biel's wordless vocals and Nick Ramm's sparing keyboard
figures shape the Brazilian-driven Remedius, Biel resembles
a female Robert Wyatt on her own lyrics (coupled with cellist
Davis's inventiveness) on Deep Snow, and West African music,
tango and a lullaby complete the set. A typically open and
collective-minded F-ire enterprise, but Jonny Phillips is
a big new composing presence if this calmly eloquent music
is anything to go by.
Humphrey
Littleton - Radio Two Live - Aug 2005
Talking about
"Meme" from "song for the sleeping"
"A beautiful
sound by a group called Oriole. In recent times they have
recieved enthusiastic critical attention for for the originality
and texture of there sound. I've left behind aspecial mention
for Sarah Homer who made such a glorious contribution to
that track."
www.classicalsource.com
- Aug 2005
Live review
from the Rhythm Sticks Festival, Purcell Room, The Royal
Festival Hall, London.
In
what amounted to a mini-festival within the "Rhythm Sticks"
season, the London-based F-IRE Collective presented an evening
of wildly contrasting music, emphasising the organisation's
friendly eclecticism. F-IRE was described by the pianist
Robert Mitchell as "an ever-growing party", and despite
an atmosphere muted by the day's terrorism events, an attractively
informal and inclusive spirit prevailed.
After
such precisely-formed intensity(Robert Mitchels' solo Piano
concert), the world-jazz of Oriole came as welcome contrast.
Jonny Phillips's band offered a musical utopia planted somewhere
between the Americas
,
West
Africa
and Europe,
whose unorthodox line-up produced a beautiful blended sound-world
all its own. The predominant rhythms were Latin, an impression
heightened by Adriano Adewale Itauna's sonorous cahon and
frisky triangle, over which Ben Davis's cello and Ingrid
Laubrock's silvery tenor floated wistful melodies. Nick
Ramm was a decisive presence on keyboards, and Seb Rochford's
loose-limbed, sardonic polyrhythms kept things from getting
too tasteful. There was a lot of obvious give-and-take between
the musicians; even when one took a solo, it was clear that
this was just the top-note of a complex, shifting web of
sound. Only a mid-tempo number introduced as "a song about
a train" never left the station, but guest vocalist Julia
Biel's soulful rendition of "Song for the Sleeping" sent
shivers.
The Herald
-
Review - Rob Adams - 4/5
The F-IRE collective represents
some of the London jazz scene's most energetic and imaginative
young musicians, and it's the imaginative aspect that features
strongly on its latest release. Led by guitarist and composer
Jonny Phillips, Oriole is a nonet, including cello, tenor
saxophone, bass clarinet and keyboards, with inf luences
straddling tango, choro, Erik Satie, African rhythms and
the melodic end of art rock.Indeed, the gorgeous
Remedius could have been written for Robert Wyatt. Julia
Biel, however, handles its aching, wordless contours beautifully
and Deep Snow, is beguiling. Elsewhere, the instrumentalists,
underpinned by Aberdonian Seb Rochford's superbly fluent
drumming, combine to make creative, compact and affectingly
understated music.
21/05/2005
Time
Out - Kerstan Macknes
Pan-global jazz from the brilliant f-ire collective
guitarist Jonny Phillips.(Oriole/Julia Biel)He's
an exellent arranger drawing on gentle folk and world influences
and has assembled a top notch line up with saxophonist Ingrid
Laubrock and drummer Sebastian Rochford.
The Independent
- Album of the week
Oriole
"song for the sleeping" (f-ire, via proper music)
led by Jonny Phillips, Oriole are a group that are part
of the f-ire collective, a group of musicians that focus
on improvisation evocing Phillips' travels in such areas
as Eygpt, Brazil and Spain, the album blends various middle
eastern sounds with those of classical music. - Some impressive
musicianship from phillips and his players as well
as some eerie singing from Julia Biel.
21/05/2005
Straight
No Chaser
Review
- Max Cole
This album is the latest broadside from
the F-ire collective, and Oriole are one of those groups
that avoid the obvious choices of instrumentation, coming
instead with the colours of the bass clarinet and cello
in the mix- reminiscent of a modern day Chico Hamilton.
The combination of Seb Rochford's grasp of African rhythms
and Jonny Phillips' songwriting brings exotic vibes on the
tracks of Meme and Themes Des Tangos Celabres,
while the title track, featuring the sultry
tones of singer Julia Biel, is an off kilt lullaby from
the stars, refracted through 'Somewhere over the rainbow'
and 'Come Sunday'. Keeping the f-ire reputation for innovation
and creativity on track.
Jazzwise
Review
-Tom Barlow
More downtown New York than south east London
, Oriole proves how open minded young British based
improvisers are these days. As you'd expect from
members of the fire collective, guitarist Jonny Phillips
outfit includes artistry and adventurism in there vision
of jazz, yet Oriole ultimately displays more lyrical and
worldly traits than its contemporaries.
Indeed, Song for the Sleeping feels more rooted
in folk than jazz. It explores the musical connections established
by the slave triad, veering from the mellow Lament,
a meeting between Venezuelan rhythms and English impressionism,
to the West African soaked Eyes of a Blue Dog and
other melodic dedications to tango, bolero, and Gabriel
Garcia Marques. Rather than blazing guitar solos, Phillips
prefers to contribute down-tempo almost filmic compositions
marked by strong soloing from saxophonist Rob Leak and guest
such as keyboard player Nick Ramm and Idris Rahman on clarinet.
Songs count more than solos, yet the musical contributions
of Seb Rochford and cellist Ben Davis are hard to ignore.
Likewise the plaintive singing of Julia Biel which
fits perfectly into Phillips' beguiling world.
BBC
Online -
Oriole
features guitarist Jonny Phillips and singer Julia Biel,
with their "Song for the Sleeping" providing a
remarkable showcase for the latter's uncategorisable stylings.
Not quite jazz, not quite pop.
Jazz
Wise -
Song 4 the Sleeping a gorgeous
lullaby performed by guitarist Jonny Phillips' Oriole
Straight
No Chaser
The Beautiful Song 4 the sleeping.
Time
Out -Kerstan Macknes
Cinematic folkish
lullabies exploring the cultural pathways between West Africa
, Brazil and Europe. Gentle beautiful music that
is surprisingly affecting.
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