Friday, October 30, 2015

Billie Davies, Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon (Album Review)

Billie Davies, Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon (Album Review) In OffBeat Magazine in New Orleans.

Billie Davies, Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon (Independent)

Avant-garde music really finds its beauty in the way it rids musical expression of a number of conceptual restraints, leaving the core of the artist’s emotion to be exposed bare.
This kind of intimate connection with the listener is what drummer Billie Davies offers in her release Hand in Hand in the Hand of the Moon.
The album, a symphony in eight movements dedicated to Belgian painter Serge Vandercam, was recorded in one take, with each movement inspired by a different painting by Vandercam.
Davies invites musicians to converse freely around pieces of visual art created in a session she spent with Vandercam in 1995. That type of experimentation in music allows her to draw connections between different individuals and their ideas, through different art forms, and across different timeframes.
Though the instrumentation remains within the established norms of the jazz quintet, the absence of piano challenges the horns to build a melodic and rhythmic rapport among themselves and with Davies’ lead drumming, rather than relying on set harmonies or chord structure.
The bare and vivid expression that results from this combination of ideas—on how to create music—shows a certain degree of sincerity and openness that remains present throughout this concept album.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Monday, September 28, 2015

New CD by BILLIE DAVIES, "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon", available October 1, 2015

BILLIE DAVIES - Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon - The Paintings
HAND IN HAND IN THE HAND OF THE MOON
BILLIE DAVIES
An homage to Serge Vandercam (Copenhagen, Denmark, 1924 - Wavre, Belgium, March 10, 2005). A symphony inspired by paintings by Serge Vandercam and drums by Billie Davies (Brugge, Belgium, 1955).
The painter influenced by the drummer and the drummer influenced by the painter over a period of three days of the full moon. A collaborative work, conceived in 1995 resulting 20 years later in a series of 8 paintings and a jazz symphony of 8 musical movements.
Serge VandercamBillie Davies
Serge Vandercam painting on Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon
"You would have loved where I was at,
Serge,
between the Rocks, the Dirt, the Coyotes, the Eagles, the Mountain Lions, the Road Runners, the Rattle Snakes.
You would have loved where I am at,
Serge,
in the heat of New Orleans with the Banana trees, the Gators, the Water Moccasins, the Egrets, the Hawks, the Pelicans and the Swamps, the Bayous and the Music
and the Sun and the Moon and the Birds.
Serge,
this Music has been made with You in mind...
You, Me, then, Painting and Drums,
and now Music inspired by these paintings ...
a Symphony to You and to Thalia.
A symphony to the Magic in fine Art
A symphony to Nature.
A symphony to the Bird with the Wish that
People listen to Mother Nature
People listen to the Bird."
Billie Davies
One has to give that justice to art, That it brings proof that nothing functions. It establishes that there is no use, Not for the universe, Not for religion. It's flagrant uselessness makes one discover that something, Of which no-one gave much thought, Suddenly becomes essential. (Francois Jaqmin. Translated from French by Billie Davies.)

THE ALBUM 

Hand In The Hand In The Hand Of The Moon

ARTISTIC INTEGRITY SPIRITUALISM IN ART PASSION CREATIVE EXPRESSION INTEGRITY PRIDE ORIGINALITY DEFINITION INTUITION INSTINCT Conversation rather then Technique

The Movements -
prelude. Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon - 7:26
i. Hand In Hand - 7:02
ii. In The Hand Of The Moon - 7:27
iii. Hand In The Hand In The Hand Of The Moon, Listen To The Bird - 7:59
iv. As She Tells - 7:10
v. The Shark In The Hand - 4:40
vi. Tiburon - 8:36
vii. The Bridge - 9:08

This music was recorded live in one take on an afternoon in April with all musicians in one 600 Square Feet room that was acoustically treated.
A slide show was playing photos that were taken during the painting/drumming session in 1995 and other photos of Serge Vandercam and Billie Davies.
For each movement the corresponding actual painting was hanging on a wall, visible to all musicians, in bright light.

The Paintings -
7 movement paintings were painted by Serge Vandercam (1924, Denmark - 2005 Belgium) in February of 1995 as a collaborative improvisational work inspired by drums played by Billie Davies during the three days of the full moon.
The prelude painting was painted by Billie Davies in 1995.The Art on the CD cover was painted by Billie Davies in 1996.
The Musicians -
Alex Blaine on tenor sax, Branden Lewis on trumpet, Evan Oberla on trombone
Billie Davies on drums, Ed Strohsahl on upright bass

The BILLIE DAVIES Ensemble
The Recording -
Recorded Live in New Orleans by Mike Davies on April 24, 2015 at the 415 Blossom Street Studio. Mixing by Mike Davies. Mastering by John Vestman. Produced by Mike Davies.

Recording Engineer / Producer Mike Davies
Press & Booking Contact -

Publicist: Scott Thompson
http://www.scottthompsonpr.com
-
Bandleader: Billie Davies - New Orleans, LA - Tel: (+1) 310.467.2061 | Email: Billie@BillieDavies.com
Website: http://www.BillieDavies.com | Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Davies

BILLIE DAVIES - Hand in Hand In The Hand Of The Moon - The Album

 
BILLIE DAVIES CDs are available at the Louisiana Music Factory in New Orleans | Buy Billie Davies CDs on CDBaby | Buy and Listen to Billie Davies music on iTunes | Buy Billie Davies' Music on Amazon | Listen to Billie Davies on Google PlayBILLIE DAVIES music is available on BandCamp