“In reimagining this music we are able to uncover hidden depths and mine for musical gold. But importantly, and I think most importantly, the music is very, very fun.”
Category: Diaspora
Danica Hobden’s music is a river. Its headwater is crystal clear and fresh, inviting you to dip your toes in and feel the invigorating coolness, as it flows from its rocky source to the main stem, each chord, each note, each melodic idea a different affluent, constantly moving, collecting leaves and twigs and rocks and sediment, as it flows, hosting new life as it grows deeper.
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“Under Paris Skies is a little different from traditional voice / guitar / bass trio albums. For some of the songs James Sherlock plays both rhythm and lead guitar, and for others Ben Hanlon overdubbed multiple bass parts. For the rest we play as a trio. I love hearing a jazz musician improvise and create with themselves. I find it really beautiful to discover their voices in this setting, and that curiosity inspired me.”
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“I think a lot about balancing opposing elements in my pieces: planning/spontaneity, complexity/simplicity, density/openness, intellect/emotion. Music has a lot of scope for self-expression (emotions) and experimentation with ideas (intellect). This might be especially true of creative jazz. I think the dilemma over how much weight to give these potentially competing tendencies is an interesting aspect of writing and playing music. For me the ideal is both: music involving sophisticated ideas and a high level of craft that moves me.”
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“Living in America is what drew my personality out completely. In the United States, they really celebrate the individual. It was an environment where I found myself unafraid to try things and really develop the music I was hearing in my head.”
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“Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to Peggy Glanville-Hicks and the Trust because it’s just so difficult to find a block of time to dedicate to music and this residency honors music and its great importance.” – Barney McAll
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The unassailable advantage New York has over anywhere else in the jazz world is its concentration of highly skilled musicians playing together and pushing each other all the time.
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Gemma Farrell is an Australian jazz saxophonist currently based in the Netherlands. From Perth, she studied at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), […] Read More
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Willow’s latest release Lightbulb Life has been in my headphones for the last few days. It’s a sound window into an exotic location, an insight into a city and its people through Willow’s ears.
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“I feel like I have to get the song mapped out before I can give it that final brush stroke of the lyric… complete the panoramic vista.”
