Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Refuge at B Flat Bangalore

Bflat is a wonderful club in Bangalore that we have performed at many times over the years.

Here is a clip from "Refuge" taken last year at the end of a tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN7DBnXIdF4

What I've been up to

These last months has seen large amounts of musical activity. The largest part was taken up by 'Millidacious' the second original musical to be written, directed an performed in Auroville. In all it's about a years work, starting with weekly meetings with a core group and ending with performances with almost a hundred people. 

I love composing and writing songs for people to sing on stage is very satisfying. Add to that working with a wonderful team that constantly gives you ideas and support, it was one of the richest experiences of my life. 

Some of the bands I play for have done very well in the last year. Refuge, lead by Aman Mahajan is a fabulous group. Jazz based, with the hint of Indian classical and folk, it is a show case for Aman's compositions and the improvisational talents of some exceptional musicians. Working with Aman, Jeoraj George, and Mishko M'ba has again been a great pleasure, as I've learnt a lot playing with them. We have been performing a lot around India and hope to do more this year. 

Add to this that I have recently bought an Alto sax. After 10 years I have rediscovered this beautiful instrument and have put myself fully into this. The combination of Soprano and Alto is not easy, and It it taking time to get the same quality of sound I have on the other instruments but it is something exciting to be working on. 

Lastly I am currently arranging the music for a series of concerts in Auroville for choir and orchestra. Another very interesting project featuring a lot of great musicians from around the area.  More to come on that later. 

Once again

Yet again I see that I haven't posted in quite sometime - yet I still have things on my mind I wish to share here. I'm also sorry for the people who read my blog, and are interested in new articles, as I do receive positive feedback for what I write. 

I will be looking in to more efficient ways of posting and doing it more regularly. 

As always please mail me with any feedback or suggestions at matt-jazz@hotmail.com

Matt