The founder of The Specials and 2 Tone Records, the writer of Ghost Town and Free Nelson Mandela, announces the first ever UK tour of Jerry Dammers Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra.
The orchestra includes such luminaries as Mercury Prize nominated Zoe Rahman, Denys Baptiste, Jason Yarde, Larry Stabbins (Working Week, Centipede), Finn Peters, Nathaniel Facey (Empirical), vocalists Anthony Joseph and Francine Luce and many more.
Starting at the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry on March 4, 2010 the MBM tour visits Brighton, Poole, Basingstoke, Leicester, Gateshead, Manchester, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bristol and Northampton. Full listings details below.
Watch video - Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra "Ghost Planet"/"Nuclear War":
Jerry Dammers' music has always been "aimed at everyone" and, although further into space musically with his tribute to the funkier side of cult spacejazz maverick Sun Ra, this is actually not a million miles, in concept at least, from his original audacious punkblending update of ska. Dammers has taken elements from the past and put them into his own 21st century rhythmic settings. His arrangements mix the jazz with funk, reggae and rock, or more recent styles such as hip hop, jungle or dubstep.
The tour will give people around the country an opportunity to see most of the recent, massively acclaimed London concert, with some new material. Dammers will take the repertoire even further beyond Sun Ra with his own updates on music from Tommy Mc Cook's deep jazzy ska and Cedric "Im" Brookes spiritual reggae, to Alice Coltrane's eastern mysticism, or Martin Denny's dark exotica, from European influences like library music and beyond, to one or two of Dammers' own compositions.
He describes the orchestra not as "old school" or "new school" but as "back to school" ... a learning process where his mixture of humour and seriousness can be seen, not just in the performance itself, but in the way he describes it: "nostalgia, not for the past, but for a future...at least we can try and remind people that there was once a time when musicians and artists were trying to invent a better world".
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Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra are:
Jerry Dammers (Musical Director, Selecta and keyboards), Jason Yarde, Nathaniel Facey, Larry Stabbins & Denys Baptiste (saxophones), Finn Peters (flute), Robin Hopcraft (trumpet), Harry Brown (trombone), Zoe Rahman (piano), Roger Beaujolais (vibraphone), Patrick Illingworth (drums), Crispin "Spry" Robinson & Steve Gibson (percussion), Neil Charles (double-bass), Olly Bayley (electric bass), Guy Clark/Patrick Hatchett (guitar) and Francine Luce and Anthony Jospeh (vocals)
"Triumphant, glorious, exhilarating" - Nick Hasted, Uncut
"One of the best things I have seen and heard" - Mr Scruff, D.J.
"Now this is really special" - Kitty Empire, The Observer
"Puts the joy back into live jazz" - Jane Cornwell, Jazzwise
"Go and see them!" - Ian Harrison, Mojo
Jerry Dammers Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra 2010 tour dates:
(Dates and information subject to change.)
March 2010
4 Mar COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 024 7652 4524 warwickartscentre.co.uk
5 Mar BRIGHTON Dome 01273 709709 brightondome.org
7 Mar POOLE Lighthouse 0844 40608666 lighthousepoole.co.uk
10 Mar BASINGSTOKE The Anvil 01256 844244 anvilarts.org.uk
11 Mar LEICESTER De Montfort Hall 0116 233 3111 demontforthall.co.uk
26 Mar GATESHEAD The Sage Gateshead 0191 443 4661 thesagegateshead.org
30 Mar MANCHESTER Bridgewater Hall 0161 907 9000 bridgewater-hall.co.uk
31 Mar EDINBURGH Usher Hall 0131 228 1155 usherhall.co.uk
April 2010
1 Apr LIVERPOOL Philharmonic Hall 0151 709 3789 liverpoolphil.com
7 Apr BRISTOL Colston Hall 0117 922 3686 colstonhall.org
9 Apr NORTHAMPTON Royal & Derngate 01604 624811 royalandderngate.co.uk
Jerry Dammers Official Website
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