DISCOGRAPHY.
12 new compositions with banjo in the foreground
Each track has different tone combinations – banjo alongside flugelhorn, Wurlitzer piano, piccolo, Hammond organ, tenor sax and more. Rhythms are striking, with shifting tempos and time signatures alongside crazy syncopation. There are driving, riff driven tunes alongside dreamy ambience, with a mix of pungent and lush harmonies to match.
Exploring jazz idioms with a dream band
Eleven new compositions including four songs featuring Sara Harris. The album combines some of my favourite musicians; Mike Hall on tenor sax/soprano sax/bass clarinet, Steve Waterman, trumpet/flugelhorn, Andrew Godsall drums and Joe Limburn double bass.
in 2020 I released a new track each week. This album brings together 18 favourites from that project
My most eclectic album features 5 singers and 6 instrumentalists, plus lots of electronics. Songs include “Used to be a singer” and “More than jazz?” and more abstract pieces include “Edge of the wilderness” and “Fantasia on a theme of Ralph Vaughan Williams”
14 new compositions exploring different idioms and voices for improvised ukulele. I hope you'll enjoy the range of acoustic, electronic and percussion sounds conjured up by this amazingly expressive instrument.
Four speculations on what Jimi Hendrix might have done next. I wanted to hear more Jimi Hendrix and began by isolating guitar and voice from broadcast interviews and live performances, then cutting these into short phrases. Once again I was blown away by his vision and creativity. His speaking voice has a natural musical quality which really integrates into the tracks. I assembled drum parts, then added Jimi's voice and guitar, finally binding the whole thing together with bass guitar
My Christmas EP brings together arrangements of two carols and three new compositions. "Winter's child" is inspired by Angela McAllister story
"Hitting the slopes" begins with an evocation of mist on the mountains, then breaks out into sunlit snowfields of ski rock/jazz.
"Glamorous granny" insisted on being written, after a friend told me about his experiences on a dating website for older romantics
UKELELE
I bought the cheapest ukelele I could find for a backpacking trip. It records beautifully and this tune shows the range and tone colours and effects you can get from it. Composed and played by Stephen Godsall.
Mental
A song about confusion between mind and body, words and music by Stephen Godsall. Voices and vocal arrangement by Hazel Tratt, and a smoking sax solo by Ian Ellis. It's 5/4 time reggae so probably qualifies as a rare groove. The visuals feature op art, particularly the work of Bridget Riley; we're told the visual effects are mental rather than physical but my eyes certainly sting after an hour of editing these images!
Best time best place
Great to be working with Laura Taylor again for this new song; she has just the right voice and feel for this sort of music! Inventive saxophony from Ian Ellis and drums from Andrew Godsall - actually the drums were recorded for another tune then looped and sampled for this track. Words, music, guitar and organ by Stephen Godsall. A challenge for my film editing skills but I've almost cracked split screens....
Listen up.
Here are a selection of recordings including tracks from the “Atlantic Skies” album
