Sunday 15 May 2011

Past Projects - "Gift" by Chris Palmer / Big Theme Pictures

Back in 2005, Myself and Kris Byrne (long standing friend and collaborator) were asked to score a short film for writer/director Chris Palmer. The film was called "Gift" and centres around a young man with a mental illness struggling to come to terms with being in the world. The film was produced by Philip Cooper and Big Theme Pictures and was a UK Film Council funded short film.

This film is copyright Chris Palmer / Big Theme Pictures - Music copyright Chris Davis / Kris Byrne.


Monday 9 May 2011

Current Project - Animated Film - War of the Worlds

One of the projects that I'm working on at the moment is with a very talented young film maker called Nathan Wilkes. Nathan is only 15 years old and yet he's directing a feature length animated film based on the War of the Worlds story. This isn't a remake of the recent live action film, or of the Jeff Wayne musical, but a newly created version of the story. Nathan has gathered a very talented team around him, even getting professional animators from Pixar involved with the film thanks to his talent and passion for what he does.

I've just received the first trailer for the film which is looking amazing! This is a project which is in its early stages but i'm about to start writing the score for the trailer. Nathan is a talent to watch and i'm sure this film will be great! The picture at the top of this blog post is some of the artwork from the film.

I'll mention any major announcements about the film here on the blog as the project progresses.

Nathan is also trying to get some funding together for the film - information about this can be found here: http://www.indiegogo.com/WOTW

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Current Projects - Straight On Red

I thought i'd post some blogs over the coming days about various projects which i'm working on at the moment - this is the first of those.....

One of my more regular musical projects is playing percussion with a band called "Straight on Red". The band is an 8 piece contemporary jazz outfit who began life as a sort of Pat Metheny covers band (yes that's right). Since then we've developed our style and now play a whole range of funky contemporary jazz from the likes of The Brecker Brothers, Mike Stern and Steely Dan alongside the Metheny stuff and some original material. The band has played across the UK in venues and at several jazz festivals including Coventry and Wigan.

We recently spent a weekend rehearsing and writing some new original tracks at the superb Dunfield House (a residential music centre on the Welsh border) and plan to record and release a 5 track EP of this material later in the year (recording dates are set for the summer). The band are:
Phil Danter – guitar
Kris Byrne – keyboard
Chris Davis – percussion
Tim Prottey-Jones – vocals
Mike Davis – woodwind
Ben Haines – drums
Richard Beardmore – bass
Nick Ashwood – Trumpet/Flugelhorn


I'll post more news on the band, gigs and recordings as it happens - but you can also check out the band website (which does need a little updating) for images and videos of the band:  http://www.straightonred.co.uk/

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Roger Harris - A Tribute

I have just heard the very sad news that Roger Harris has passed away. Not everyone will know who Roger was but he had a major influence on my early musical life.
Roger was a musician and teacher with Solihull Music Service (where I began my musical education). He was a phenomenal trumpeter and an amazingly inspirational jazzer. He taught not only me, but my teachers before me, and as such lay some of the foundations for my love and understanding of jazz. He led Solihull Youth Jazz Orchestra and also the SMC Jazz Band and many of those he taught and nurtured through these ensembles have gone on to great things. He was always fun and interesting to be around and was deeply passionate about music, jazz in particular. He had a great way of inspiring others in a unique style which made you feel confident in your own playing ability.
He will always be remembered by musicians from Solihull, and beyond, and my condolences go out to his family and friends.
His funeral will take place at St Alphege Church, Solihull, at 2.30 on Friday, 6th May.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Review - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - Gielgud Theatre, London

On Saturday I had the very good fortune to be able to see "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". This is a new version of the musical based on the 1964 Jacques Demy film of the same name (music by Michel Legrand). The production is directed and adapted by Emma Rice of Kneehigh Theatre with a re-orchestrated score by Michel Legrand.


The two greatest disappointments about the current production are the fact that it has already served it's closing notice (despite only opening in March) and the pitiful audience sizes (probably a contributory factor to the first point).


The production is visually stunning - with a very clever set which is beautifully lit, has cinematic fluid movement and some great effects (such as the snow fall at the end of the show). The music is sumptuous - wonderfully orchestrated (the orchestra features such gems as an accordion and a harp which give a rich palette of musical colours) and brilliantly played by an adept orchestra. The cast are all excellent but particular credit must go to Joanna Riding as Madame Emery and Cynthia Erivo as Madeleine who were both perfect in their performances. The production has been accused of being over sentimental but with Legrand's score, I don't think it has a choice to be anything but sentimental and the sentimentality adds another wonderful dimension to the emotion of the story.

I don't know whether it's the overly harsh reviews (lest we forget that Les Mis was slated by the critics) or the reluctance of audiences to give some new a try which is responsible for the poor ticket sales for the show - but I would urge anyone who has a love of musical theatre to go and see the production while they still can! It runs at the Gielgud Theatre until 21st May 2011 so do get in quick!

Thursday 21 April 2011

Rite of Spring 3D - Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Something very exciting is taking place today (21st April) in Birmingham's Symphony Hall - A performance of Stravinsky's masterpiece "The Rite of Spring" with live 3D visuals and dance.
The concept is that a single dancer interprets Stravinsky's music (played by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) through dance. This dance is captured by cameras and then projected onto a HUGE screen. The image is fed through banks of computers first which create 3D images and add visual effects. The effects are influenced by instruments from the orchestra (which are captured via microphones to alter the images). The audience all wear 3D glasses for this awesome experience! You can read more about the project here: http://riteofspring3d.thsh.co.uk/

There are still tickets available for the 8:30pm performance tonight so do check it out if you can! It's also being performed in London on Saturday (23rd April) at Royal Festival Hall.

Forthcoming Project - Carousel (Knowle Operatic Society)

One of the future projects that I'm about to start getting my teeth into is Musical Direction for Knowle Operatic Society's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel.
Rehearsals don't start until September but we're soon to get into the planning of production with Director Andrew Johnson and Choreographer Amy Price.

The show dates are 5th-10th March 2012 at 7:30pm with a 2:30pm Matinee on 10th. The show will take place at Solihull Arts Complex.

I'll be blogging throughout the rehearsal process so you can follow the production as it takes shape.

We'll be on the look out for a talented cast of principals and will be holding open auditions in October (rehearsals begin in September). Watch this space for more info about the show!