Happy to announce the official release today, 07/24/2020, of "Whadeva" by Damani Butler, Maude Caillat and Billie Davies.
Available on BandCamp: https://billiedavies.bandcamp.com/album/whadeva
Available at Billie Davies Music: https://billie42.wixsite.com/billiedavies
View and listen on YouTube!
Showing posts with label Nu Jazz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nu Jazz. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2020
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
"Whadeva", an album with Damani Butler, Maude Caillat, Billie Davies and produced by Billie & Mike Davies, release date set for July 24, 2020.
"Whadeva"
They had been prepping these recordings since late December, early January. Damani Butler contacted Billie Davies and Maude Caillat asking them whether they would be interested in doing a project with him. He also mentioned he had contacted female artists for this project. Both Billie Davies, an american drummer from California, and Maude Caillat, a sax player from Switzerland, were currently working and residing in New Orleans. Damani had rented a house in the Lower Ninth Ward, which became Dangerous Art Studios, and was busy transforming it into the whole house and whatever sounds in it, showed in it and whomever entered it, being part of a work of art he was creating.
The project would be experimental, completely improvisational audio art. Intuitive, instinctive in nature Damani would be doing his electronic loops, beats and waves while Caillat and Davies played whatever they played. Billie decided to use her electronic drumset and Maude would bring her sax and flute to the project. Mike Davies would be recording the project, and be responsible for mixing and mastering the music that was recorded live on 02/13/2020 for a later unedited release of what was played that evening.
This was definitely so very much a Billie Davies project, always wanting to create, no preconceived ideas for the music, no notes written, no words written, no concept conceived but what you’re surrounded by, play what you feel at this moment, express your feelings as the now keeps moving forward in the now, whatever happens, a direct connection from the brain to the sound, whatever comes up, whatever makes you move in whatever direction.
Damani Butler was in his room, surrounded by a hundred pieces of all kinds of audio equipment, from keyboards to synthesizers, to percussion, to whatever. Maude Caillat was in her room, with her woodwinds and a microphone to record it surrounded by several pieces of Damani’s electronic art. Billie Davies was in her room, her electronic drums that can produce what she calls whatever a drum or percussion sound with sometimes even an organ or bass or guitar sound, and a light show for the mood. All the rooms throughout the house had serious wattage stereo speakers so everyone would hear what everyone else played and wherever the people that attended the recording were they could hear all of it come through speakers. Several people showed up, gathering in the kitchen where there was wine, beer, whiskey and coffee and whatever they brought.
The project will be having different iterations, the first iteration, this current release of 6 parts being the album “ Whadeva ” and 1 single release called “ The Ninja ” has been produced by Mike Davies and Billie Davies.
A Damani Butler project. Recorded at Dangerous Art Studios on 02/13/2020 in New Orleans. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mike Davies at Cobra Basement. Produced by Mike and Billie Davies at Cobra Basement. Copyright 2020, Dangerous Art Studios, Cobra Basement, Damani Butler, Maude Caillat, Billie Davies, Mike Davies.
The Musicians
Damani Butler Electronics, loops, beats, waves.
Damani is an experimental, multi/mixed media artist, lyricist and music producer from Oakland, California now living in New Orleans, Louisiana, specializing in interactive audio, visual and physical object art with a focus on up-cycled electronics and unique furniture. He has spent the last 25 + years informally training and educating himself in all areas of creative and technical interest, developing and evolving his skill-set by way of volunteering for skilled professionals in exchange for knowledge and guidance, watching instructional videos, attending workshops and training programs, reading and studying books, manuals, instructions and other literature on all subjects relative, watching and asking questions as well as good, old fashioned DIY practice, trial and error. He has independently completed a library of works in the fields of art, experimental music and lyricism often combining the three as he feels.
His accomplishments include audio productions in the genres of underground hip hop, experimental electronic music, audio art, sound experimentation projects and even coining and naming his own genre, "Crack Rock". Short and medium length video productions in the categories of music video, installation and project documentation/presentation, video art and he’s presently working on a documentary called "Adventures in Art and Music"
Maude Caillat Woodwinds, alto sax, flute
Maude Caillat grew up in Switzerland where her dad taught her to read music and play wood flute transmitting his passion for music to her when she was 5 years old. At 18, the call for different sonorities and rhythms became so strong that she decided to take a backpack and her saxophone in the direction of Senegal. After 6 years living in Dakar she developed a special sensibility and true love for traditional Senegalese and Mandingo music playing with pretty much everybody in town. In 2010 Maude was part of the band who won the RFI award for the best emerging African band. After a 3 month tour around Africa, Maude, her backpack and her saxophone ended up in Paris. While playing and recording there with several African musicians based in France, it's with Tarace Boulba, a gigantic funk and Gogo brass band touring all around Europe and the USA, that Maude discovered the music and the culture from New Orleans. After 6 years in France, once again the call of the “riddim” became too strong and she decided to take a plane to Louisiana. In New Orleans, Maude formed 2 bands, The Afrodiziac's Jazz (Ethiopian Jazz ) and SingleMaltPlease (hip hop jazz). She had the chance to collaborate with a lot of extremely talented local musicians and even played 2 times at the Jazz Fest with Seguenon Kone, a master percussionist and choreographer from the Ivory Coast. Through the years she discovered a huge interest in playing free jazz, experimental and improvisational music, an interest which grew more and more and brought her to meet Billie Davies who's the perfect "partner in crime" with her magic influences and rhythms to make it sound whatever... Whadeva ...
Billie Davies Electronic drums
Billie Davies is an American, self-taught, natural, drummer and composer best known for her free, instinctively avant-garde compositions since the mid nineties, and her improvisational drumming techniques she has performed in Europe and in the US. All of her music is improvisational ... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community.
Billie Davies was born in Brugge, Belgium. She played and performed all over Europe until immigrating to the United States at 32 and becoming a US citizen while living in California. While living and playing in the South of France, in Perpignan, Montpellier, Toulouse and Biarritz, in the early 1980's, Billie received a talent grant from Max Roach to study at Berklee College of Music. While living in Hollywood on the infamous Hollywood Boulevard in 2013, Billie Davies received the "Jazz Artist of the Year" Award by the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards. In March of 2014, after 25 years in California where she released 2 albums, in 2012 “ all about Love. ” and in 2013 “ 12 VOLT ”, she moved to New Orleans where she has graced stages ever since and in 2015 she released “ Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon ”, after a while she formed a solid foundation line-up with Evan Oberla and Oliver Watkinson and released 2 albums with them, in 2016 “ On Hollywood Boulevard ” and in 2018 “ Perspectives II ”. She received more attention due to a player feature in Downbeat Magazine May 2016 edition, "BILLIE DAVIES '20 Years Stronger'". " On Hollywood Boulevard ", the album she released on 12/10/2016, became a January 2017 Editor's Pick on DownBeat.com. December 2017 Billie Davies was nominated for "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" in New Orleans by 2017 Best Of The Beat Awards. December 2019 Billie Davies was nominated "Best Drummer" in New Orleans by 2019 Best Of The Beat Awards.
Damani Butler, Maude Caillat, Billie Davies
By Billie Davies PR
06/17/2020
#dangerousartstudios #cobrabasement #damanibutler #maudecaillat #billiedavies #mikedavies #neworleans #newmusic #newmusicalert #whadeva
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Billie Davies - A Nu Experience at Music At The Mint, May 19
Billie Davies - A Nu Experience at Music At The Mint, May 19:
Billie Davies - A Nu Experience at Music At The Mint, May 19. Musicians: Billie Davies, Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson, Iris Poree, - order tickets, find location and other info. Never miss another jazz concert in New Orleans again!
Billie Davies - A Nu Experience at Music At The Mint, May 19. Musicians: Billie Davies, Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson, Iris Poree, - order tickets, find location and other info. Never miss another jazz concert in New Orleans again!
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Billie Davies | On Hollywood Boulevard | CD Baby Music Store
"As a bandleader, Davies delivers an ambitious program that incorporates r&b-flavored vocals, propulsive bass lines, drum patterns with a swing feel, occasionally blues-tinged keyboard work, growling trombone, epic prog-rock synthesizer washes and brief bouts of hip-hop turntableism,
all tied together with an improviser's approach." Bobby Reed - DownBeat Magazine
all tied together with an improviser's approach." Bobby Reed - DownBeat Magazine
"Clearly Billie Davies and A Nu Experience are a class act, one full of bold inventive and inspired interplay. Let us hope "On Hollywood Boulevard" won't be their only project together, and that there will be more adventurous music to come."
Sacha O'Grady - All About Jazz
Sacha O'Grady - All About Jazz
Preview & Get the new album by Billie Davies below:
Billie Davies | On Hollywood Boulevard | CD Baby Music Store
Thursday, February 9, 2017
BILLIE DAVIES - A NU EXPERIENCE -On Hollywood Boulevard - Jazz Views
Corrected link to a beautiful review of #OnHollywoodBoulevard on Jazz Views.
#JazzBuzz #Jazz
http://www.jazzviews.net/billie-davies---a-nu-experience--on-hollywood-boulevard.html
BILLIE DAVIES - A NU EXPERIENCE -On Hollywood Boulevard - Jazz Views
#JazzBuzz #Jazz
http://www.jazzviews.net/billie-davies---a-nu-experience--on-hollywood-boulevard.html
BILLIE DAVIES - A NU EXPERIENCE -On Hollywood Boulevard
Self Release
Billie Davies: electronic drums; IRIS P: vocals; Oliver Watkinson: electric bass; Evan Oberla: keyboards, synth, trombone.
Recorded New Orleans, September 26, 2016
On the one hand this set represents a very new direction for Billie Davies, working in Nu Jazz, which bridges jazz and contemporary R&B and hip hop. Her choice of an electronic drum kit also lends some really interesting textures to the sounds she produces. On the other hand, the drumming is as solid, nuanced and captivating as ever. Interestingly, the approach taken to recording was similar to that of her ‘Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon’ CD; the music is recorded in front of a small, live audience in a single take with images relating to the music projected behind the band. This captures an exciting, slightly edge-of-the-seat performance that conveys the sense of improvisation while maintaining a well-balanced interplay between the artists.
The lyrics, written by Davies, reminisce on her time living on Hollywood Boulevard, and have that blend of story-telling and heartfelt poetry that you find in, say, Joni Mitchell. During this time (in 2013), Davies was awarded the Los Angeles Music Awards Jazz Musician of the Year, and moved to New Orleans the following year. The delivery of the lyrics by IRIS P (Catherine Poree) is beautifully jazzy, and she sings soulfully across the rhythm in an understated way that gives a sardonic edge to some of the stories and memories and a bittersweet longing to others. This could easily have been a duet between IRIS P’s singing and the swing of Davies’ drumming. Davies relishes the electronic drum kit, moving from snare and toms to harsher metallic sounds, and uses it creatively to add texture to the vocals. You can almost get the stories from the drumming alone. The playing of Watkinson and Oberla, who have played and recorded regularly with Davies over the past few years, bring a driving edge to the music and work superbly off the mood of the lyrics and the subtle shifts in emphasis that Davies gives from her drum seat. Throughout the set, Davies leads the music, pushing the pulse and emphasising the words in ways that encourages keys and bass to find the gaps and cleverly work around and within them. I particularly liked the evocative playing of Oberla on trombone on several of the tracks. The group is a winning combination and one that promises an exciting change of direction for Davies.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Self Release
Billie Davies: electronic drums; IRIS P: vocals; Oliver Watkinson: electric bass; Evan Oberla: keyboards, synth, trombone.
Recorded New Orleans, September 26, 2016
On the one hand this set represents a very new direction for Billie Davies, working in Nu Jazz, which bridges jazz and contemporary R&B and hip hop. Her choice of an electronic drum kit also lends some really interesting textures to the sounds she produces. On the other hand, the drumming is as solid, nuanced and captivating as ever. Interestingly, the approach taken to recording was similar to that of her ‘Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon’ CD; the music is recorded in front of a small, live audience in a single take with images relating to the music projected behind the band. This captures an exciting, slightly edge-of-the-seat performance that conveys the sense of improvisation while maintaining a well-balanced interplay between the artists.
The lyrics, written by Davies, reminisce on her time living on Hollywood Boulevard, and have that blend of story-telling and heartfelt poetry that you find in, say, Joni Mitchell. During this time (in 2013), Davies was awarded the Los Angeles Music Awards Jazz Musician of the Year, and moved to New Orleans the following year. The delivery of the lyrics by IRIS P (Catherine Poree) is beautifully jazzy, and she sings soulfully across the rhythm in an understated way that gives a sardonic edge to some of the stories and memories and a bittersweet longing to others. This could easily have been a duet between IRIS P’s singing and the swing of Davies’ drumming. Davies relishes the electronic drum kit, moving from snare and toms to harsher metallic sounds, and uses it creatively to add texture to the vocals. You can almost get the stories from the drumming alone. The playing of Watkinson and Oberla, who have played and recorded regularly with Davies over the past few years, bring a driving edge to the music and work superbly off the mood of the lyrics and the subtle shifts in emphasis that Davies gives from her drum seat. Throughout the set, Davies leads the music, pushing the pulse and emphasising the words in ways that encourages keys and bass to find the gaps and cleverly work around and within them. I particularly liked the evocative playing of Oberla on trombone on several of the tracks. The group is a winning combination and one that promises an exciting change of direction for Davies.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Billie Davies, "A Nu Experience: On Hollywood Boulevard" (Independent) - OffBeat Magazine
Billie Davies, "A Nu Experience: On Hollywood Boulevard" (Independent) - OffBeat Magazine
OffBeat Magazine
Billie Davies, “A Nu Experience: On Hollywood Boulevard” (Independent)
By Robert Fontenot
Published: February 08, 2017
Despite the best efforts of James M. Cain, Chinatown and BoJack Horseman, L.A. noir still doesn’t get the respect it deserves next to what goes on in Gotham. This is doubly true for jazz, where a combo of experimentalism, perceived lack of gravitas and the general laid-back vibe of West Coast Cool doom it to second-fiddle status, seemingly forever. All these years later, and when folks want to feel how La La Land destroys the dreams of its citizens, they dig out “Hotel California,” not Chet Baker. Shame, really.
If anyone could change that perception, it’s pioneering avant-garde drummer Billie Davies, a disciple of fellow “California Hard” stylist Max Roach and someone who, true to her gypsy resume, actually lived on Hollywood Boulevard for a time. Her latest release is typically daring, capturing the perfectly frightening freedom of being lost in El Lay, largely thanks to the cool glissandos and lonely brass of keyboardist Evan Oberla and the kind of youthful energy you need for this sort of piece: new vocalist IRIS P, who brings some R&B flair to tracks like “Jacaranda” and “Yellow Sunshine” (which is not the kind of nature you’re thinking of, maybe). Meanwhile, Billie as usual plays counterpoint, creating the menace simmering under the surface naiveté that makes all that ambition seem weighted down, if not doomed, by reality. The set’s only major flaw is her decision to use electronic drums on half the album, augmenting and sometimes replacing her usual setup entirely; they just don’t have the expressiveness of a trap kit, turning Billie’s wise Greek chorus into a drunken party crasher. Ironically, a little more traditionalist grounding is just what the album and its subjects need most.
~Robert Fontenot, OffBeat Magazine
OffBeat Magazine
Billie Davies, “A Nu Experience: On Hollywood Boulevard” (Independent)
By Robert Fontenot
Published: February 08, 2017
Despite the best efforts of James M. Cain, Chinatown and BoJack Horseman, L.A. noir still doesn’t get the respect it deserves next to what goes on in Gotham. This is doubly true for jazz, where a combo of experimentalism, perceived lack of gravitas and the general laid-back vibe of West Coast Cool doom it to second-fiddle status, seemingly forever. All these years later, and when folks want to feel how La La Land destroys the dreams of its citizens, they dig out “Hotel California,” not Chet Baker. Shame, really.
If anyone could change that perception, it’s pioneering avant-garde drummer Billie Davies, a disciple of fellow “California Hard” stylist Max Roach and someone who, true to her gypsy resume, actually lived on Hollywood Boulevard for a time. Her latest release is typically daring, capturing the perfectly frightening freedom of being lost in El Lay, largely thanks to the cool glissandos and lonely brass of keyboardist Evan Oberla and the kind of youthful energy you need for this sort of piece: new vocalist IRIS P, who brings some R&B flair to tracks like “Jacaranda” and “Yellow Sunshine” (which is not the kind of nature you’re thinking of, maybe). Meanwhile, Billie as usual plays counterpoint, creating the menace simmering under the surface naiveté that makes all that ambition seem weighted down, if not doomed, by reality. The set’s only major flaw is her decision to use electronic drums on half the album, augmenting and sometimes replacing her usual setup entirely; they just don’t have the expressiveness of a trap kit, turning Billie’s wise Greek chorus into a drunken party crasher. Ironically, a little more traditionalist grounding is just what the album and its subjects need most.
~Robert Fontenot, OffBeat Magazine
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Monday, December 19, 2016
Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’ – Skope Entertainment Inc
Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’ – Skope Entertainment Inc
Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’
by Admin • December 19, 2016
“On Hollywood Boulevard” is a glamorous, gorgeous mixture of jazz and funk displaying Billie Davies’s deft skill. Luxurious textures dominate the collection as Billie Davies draws from a wide variety of sources. Everything simply glistens as the attention to tone and texture are of the utmost importance. Bass works wonders alongside the rather loose, careful rhythms that adorn the album. Mood serves an important function as Billie Davies explore vast terrains, oftentimes delving into surreal, otherworldly soundscapes.
Things start off on an impassioned note with the phenomenal opener “On Hollywood Boulevard 1”. With almost a noir take on jazz, the mysterious shadowy nature of the piece results something deeply compelling. Vocals accompany the laid-back attitude of “The Girl In The Window”. Delivered with a sultry sensibility, the way the song builds itself up is quite wonderful as the song unfurls in a rather celebratory spirit. Careful grooves define the ritualistic work of “Jacaronda”. Some of the detail, such as the tactile percussion, gives the song a quiet intimate feeling. Funk dominates over the spirited performance, as the synthesizer sweeps give the song a chilled hue to it. Electronics and jazz come together on the narrative of “Hollywood Boulevard” where its hip-hop structure adds to the song’s cache. Returning to the album’s beginnings in jazz is the spacious sprawl of “On Hollywood Boulevard 2”.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/on-hollywood-boulevard/id1174033049
Billie Davies offers a cool confident update on jazz with the playful nature of “On Hollywood Boulevard”.
http://www.billiedavies.com/
By – beachsloth.com
Billie Davies – ‘On Hollywood Boulevard’
by Admin • December 19, 2016
“On Hollywood Boulevard” is a glamorous, gorgeous mixture of jazz and funk displaying Billie Davies’s deft skill. Luxurious textures dominate the collection as Billie Davies draws from a wide variety of sources. Everything simply glistens as the attention to tone and texture are of the utmost importance. Bass works wonders alongside the rather loose, careful rhythms that adorn the album. Mood serves an important function as Billie Davies explore vast terrains, oftentimes delving into surreal, otherworldly soundscapes.
Things start off on an impassioned note with the phenomenal opener “On Hollywood Boulevard 1”. With almost a noir take on jazz, the mysterious shadowy nature of the piece results something deeply compelling. Vocals accompany the laid-back attitude of “The Girl In The Window”. Delivered with a sultry sensibility, the way the song builds itself up is quite wonderful as the song unfurls in a rather celebratory spirit. Careful grooves define the ritualistic work of “Jacaronda”. Some of the detail, such as the tactile percussion, gives the song a quiet intimate feeling. Funk dominates over the spirited performance, as the synthesizer sweeps give the song a chilled hue to it. Electronics and jazz come together on the narrative of “Hollywood Boulevard” where its hip-hop structure adds to the song’s cache. Returning to the album’s beginnings in jazz is the spacious sprawl of “On Hollywood Boulevard 2”.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/on-hollywood-boulevard/id1174033049
Billie Davies offers a cool confident update on jazz with the playful nature of “On Hollywood Boulevard”.
http://www.billiedavies.com/
By – beachsloth.com
Monday, November 28, 2016
Billie Davies - Dec 10 Release of Her Nu Experience - "On Hollywood Boulevard"
On JazzCorner.com News
- A Nu Experience! -
An Electrifying Musical Adventure
- December 10 Release Date! -
CD Release party at The Prime Example, New Orleans.
Dec. 8th, 2016 - 8 PM
- "On Hollywood Boulevard" -
- BILLIE DAVIES -
After 20 years of playing, producing and releasing instrumental jazz, Billie Davies is turning a page and is bringing us a Nu Vocal and Electric Experience, "On Hollywood Boulevard".
"On Hollywood Boulevard" was born while Billie Davies lived at 6533 Hollywood Blvd. at The Historic Hillview Hollywood in Hollywood, Los Angeles. She lived there for several years and her many experiences in and impressions of Hollywood Boulevard resulted in a recorded album of 5 songs that Billie Davies wrote melodies and lyrics for and 2 improvisations of which one has improvised lyrics by IRIS P.. It took from 2012 in Hollywood, the initial conception, to September of 2016 in New Orleans for the album to become a reality.
Billie and her husband/producer Mike Davies chose Evan Oberla, with whom she has recorded and performed since February of 2015, on keys/synth and trombone and Oliver Watkinson, who became her bass player in the summer of 2015, on electric bass. Billie Davies met IRIS P through an introduction by Evan Oberla, during one of their performances at The Dragon's Den, and was rejoiced to find the perfect vocalist, the perfect chemistry, to record and perform the "On Hollywood Boulevard" lyrics and experience.
Read more here: http://www.jazzcorner.com/news/display.php?news=7681
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Hollywood Boulevard (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Hollywood Boulevard (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Hollywood Boulevard (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
Friday, October 14, 2016
Palm Trees (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Palm Trees (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Palm Trees (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Jacaranda 2 (Billie Davies) - BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
BILLIE DAVIES - A Nu Experience
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Jacaranda 2 (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
In the recording studio...
Recording the new album "On Hollywood Boulevard"
Jacaranda 2 (Billie Davies)
L to R:
Evan Oberla - piano/synth/trombone
Billie Davies - drums
Oliver Watkinson - bass
Iris P - vocals
Mike Davies - sound & video
Recorded at Billie Davies studio - Cobra Basement
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Call out to EXPERIENCED, CREATIVE, IMPROVISATIONAL Free Improvisation Cats
Billie Davies Trio is calling out to EXPERIENCED, CREATIVE, FREE IMPROVISATIONAL Jazz Cats in New Orleans
All of Billie Davies music is improvisational... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain common feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED, IMPROVISATIONAL CATS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whether you consider yourself advanced or expert... you need to love and have a yearning for interacting and growing with the same musicians continuously for an indefinite amount of time of playing, recording, gigging ...
INFLUENCES
All of her music is improvisational... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain common feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community.
Most of her influences stem from Classical, Gypsy, Manouche, Blues, Jazz, Free Jazz, Avant-jazz, Avant-garde, Soul and Funk.
Major influences: Jack De Johnette, Billy Higgins, Billy Hart, Al Foster, Ed Thigpen, Billy Cobham... Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
Important influences: Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams... Music produced under The ECM label in the 70's/80's with artists such as Dollar Brand,Abdulah Ibrahim, Jan Garbarek, John Abercrombie, Terje Rypdal, Charles Lloyd became an important influence and her inspirations have been influenced by Carla Bley, Nina Simone, Edith Piaf, Billie Holiday, Chopin, Ravel, Serge Vandercam, Matisse, Manitas de Plata, Irene Papas, Vangelis, Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Trilok Gurtu, Klaus Schulze, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Mozart, Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mussorgsky, Christian Dotremont, the CoBrA movement, Bram Bogart, Hugo Claus, Gaudi, Braque, Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali, Miro, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and so many more... and ~~~ Universal Energy ~~~.
“LOUD AND CLEAR
What Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins accomplished in “The Shape of Jazz to Come” was not in vain, I heard it!!!... What Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor left us was not in vain, I heard it!!!...
LOUD AND CLEAR
It was their roots, It is my roots, answering, calling, and continuing the Mission of the evolution of Fine ART in JAZZ, in MUSIC, of liberating the notes to be free and the sounds to be re-invented, re-explored, so that others will hear and see and feel the ROOTS.
So that others may IDENTIFY with it. As I Do.
So that this extremely FREE, Heart Beating, Soul Searching, Mind Bending form of FINE ART through the medium of MUSIC... be still here
after I am gone...
UNCONSTRAINED by color, race, gender, dogma, politics, fashion and trends and money.
LOUD AND CLEAR” (Billie Davies)
Free jazz is an approach to jazz that developed in the 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during this period believed that the bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz that had been played before them was too limiting. They became preoccupied with creating something new. Free jazz has often been combined with or substituted for the term "avant-garde jazz". Europeans tend to favor the term "free improvisation". Others have used "modern jazz", "creative music", and "art music".
The ambiguity of free jazz presents problems of definition. Although it is usually played by small groups or individuals, free jazz big bands have existed. Although musicians and critics claim it is innovative and forward looking, it draws on early styles of jazz and has been described as an attempt to return to primitive, often religious, roots. Although jazz is an American invention, free jazz musicians drew heavily from world music and ethnic music traditions from around the world. Sometimes they played foreign instruments, unusual instruments, or invented their own. They emphasized emotional intensity and sound for its own sake. (Wikipedia)
Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which improvisation may take place. This structure may be composed note for note in advance, partially or even completely. The origins of avant-garde jazz are in the innovations of the immediate stylistic successors of Charlie Parker. Musicians such as Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane introduced modal improvisation and experimented with atonality and dissonance. Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, and Ornette Coleman became controversial jazz innovators. (Wikipedia)
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