Tarc Gallery, Stanford Bridge, Worcs – Review by Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann
/in Press/by Lyndon DarkesDeborah Rose with Martin Riley & Catherine Harper, Tarc Gallery, Stanford Bridge, Worcs., 16/02/2013
With her stunningly pure voice I’ve always considered Rose to be a talent worthy of greater recognition. This was an excellent trio performance with the singer well supported by her colleagues.
Welsh born, Worcestershire based, singer, songwriter and guitarist Deborah Rose has been a regular figure on the Jazzmann web-pages in recent years albeit with some of the other entries published under her former name of Deborah Hodgson. With her stunningly pure voice Iâve always considered Rose to be a talent worthy of greater recognition and tonight there were encouraging signs that her reputation is starting to grow with a number of audience members seeing her for the first time following Roseâs appearances on both local and national radio (of which more later).
To date Roseâs recorded output has consisted of a number of self financed EPâs, all of which have been highly accomplished and have acted as good calling cards but I think itâs fair to say that a full length album release is long overdue. This situation should be rectified later in 2013 with the release of âSong Be My Soulâ, a collection of original songs and settings of poetry with Rose often blurring the distinctions between the two by adding her own words to established texts. A singer raised in the folk and art song traditions she draws much of her inspiration from the poetry and visual art of the Romantic movement.
As well as being a talented vocalist and songwriter Rose is also a tireless organiser and is the musical co-ordinator of the successful supper and music evenings that have been taking place at the Tarc Gallery in the heart of the Worcestershire countryside over the course of the last eighteen months or so. I have attended several of these popular and enjoyable events in recent months and as well as hosting the evenings Rose has usually delivered a brief twenty to thirty minute supporting set as well as making cameo appearances with headline artists such as the duo State Of The Union (Boo Hewerdine and Brooks Williams), rising star singer songwriter Stephen Langstaff, and, in a rather different context, Tom Hillâs Blues Trio.
After seeing Rose as a support artist on many occasions (sheâs also appeared opposite New Yorker singer songwriter Kenny White and supported folk legend Judy Collins at Worcester Cathedral) it was good to see her playing a full two sets as a headliner for the first time. Being so close to Valentineâs Day tonightâs event had a loose âromanticâ theme and although most of the tunes werenât âlove songsâ per se Roseâs material was nevertheless Romantic with a capital âRâ. She was joined by two of her favourite and most trusted accompanists, pianist and songwriting partner Martin Riley and cellist Catherine Harper, the latter returning to musical activity following twelve months off which culminated in the birth of her young son Charlie. Welcome back, Catherine.
The evening began with Roseâs original song âTaigh Allainâ, one of her most beautiful melodies and a tune that has been recorded more than once on her EPâs. The title is Scots Gaelic and means âbeautiful houseâ, the inspiration for the piece coming from timeless holidays spent on the islands of the Hebrides. The tune not only demonstrated the purity of Roseâs voice but also the skills of her accompanists. Riley conjured a wonderful sound from his Roland Fantom G8 electric piano and Harperâs cello was suitably warm and rich on this evocative picture of the summer tranquillity of the Scottish Islands.
Roseâs âLady Of Shallotâ was inspired both by Tennysonâs poem and Waterhouseâs painting. She and Riley performed the tune at Birmingham Art Gallery when Waterhouseâs picture was exhibited there as part of a larger exhibition of Victorian art. Roseâs haunting depiction of Tennysonâs epic tale was written in conjunction with Worcester based pianist and composer Ian King who had accompanied her on her recent Tarc appearance opposite Kenny White.
Following the solemnity of âLady Of Shallotâ a little light relief occurred when the alarm on somebodyâs mobile phone went off. The members of the audience had all diligently turned theirs off before the show, of course it was Deborahâs! She temporarily dashed off stage to switch it off and returned looking suitably embarrassed. As a regular gig goer I can pretty much guarantee that when a phone goes off in the middle of a performance it always belongs to one of the musos.
Rose recently gained some exposure on national radio when she was interviewed by Sir Terry Wogan. Among the subjects under discussion were Roseâs settings of poetry, the forthcoming album, and her admiration for the music of the late Eva Cassidy whose fiftieth birthday it would have been in 2013. Some of tonightâs audience were here as the result of hearing that interview.
In conjunction with Ian King Rose has set Cassidyâs poem âSpringtimeâ to music and the piece is to be released as a single. An arresting melody allied to Cassidyâs simple but direct, evocative and poetic words may even result in a surprise hit. Rose has strong connections with Cassidyâs violin playing brother Dan who will be featured on the new album. Born in the US but now based in Iceland Dan Cassidy is a frequent visitor to the UK and recently played at the Tarc Gallery as part of his regular duo with Shrewsbury based guitarist and vocalist James Hickman.
If tonightâs version of âSpringtimeâ was good then Roseâs arrangement of Sandy Dennyâs classic âWho Knows Where The Times Goes?â was even better. The tune was originally recorded by Fairport Convention and remains one of that long running groupâs most popular songs. It was also a US hit for Roseâs mentor Judy Collins, but Iâve never heard it done before quite as it was tonight, a haunting slowed down arrangement that wrung the maximum degree of emotion out of Dennyâs appropriately timeless lyric – Denny died tragically at the age of thirty three, how could somebody so young write such a mature song? Tonightâs arrangement was enhanced by the melancholic timbres of Harperâs cello which granted the song an additional haunting quality.
The Rose/Riley song âIt Gives Life To Theeâ expanded upon the famous lines of the Shakespearian sonnet âShall I Compare With Thee With A Summerâs Dayâ, âDarling Bids Of Mayâ and all. Rose then took up her acoustic guitar for the first time as she and Riley performed a duo version of the traditional Irish folk tune âBlack Is The Colour Of My True Loveâs Hairâ with Rose apparently drawing inspiration from Paul Wellerâs version of the song (the thought of Weller covering this is a good deal less improbable than it might once have been). Riley impressed at the piano with a rare instrumental solo.
Rose now invited young singer Portia Reed to the stage to sing with Riley and Harper. The fourteen year old is a precocious and highly promising talent who also writes her own material and has already gathered enough material for a putative album. Tonight she chose to sing a version of Santanaâs âBlack Magic Womanâ ( your rather long in the tooth correspondent would like to point out that the song was composed by Brit guitarist Peter Green and originally recorded by the first edition of Fleetwood Mac). Iâd seen Reed perform some of her own songs at the Tarcâs music & poetry evening in October 2012 and if Iâm honest preferred hearing the original material to this cover. Tonight Riley provided sympathetic accompaniment and Harper added pizzicato cello to Reedâs soulful vocals but overall I found Reed more convincing when singing her own words. Sheâs a talent, thatâs for sure and she should certainly persevere with her song writing.
Thanking Portia Deborah Rose returned to the stage to conclude the first set with the heart felt âSong Be My Soulâ which borrows from the Welsh hymn tune âCalon Lanâ (an acknowledgement of Roseâs roots) and includes the chorus âsing all day and sing all nightâ, a reflection of Roseâs love of words, songs and singing and pretty much a personal philosophy or mission statement.
A shorter second set began with Rose/Riley composed âBreathe Inâ, a contemplative piece with the lyrics inspired by the words of a Native American poem but acting as paean to nature that also seemed to embrace other philosophies from Zen Buddhism to the Gaia hypothesis. âWe Are Made Of All Thingsâ as the chorus had it.
Another Rose/Riley setting added additional lyrics to a rare Charles Dickens poem âA Childâs Hymnâ (Dickens was primarily a writer of prose). This was another beautiful setting with Rose adding real beauty to the simple homespun wisdom of Dickensâ words. The singer told us that she had recently met a descendant of Dickens who had expressed her approval of Roseâs adaptation.
Previous appearances by Rose have always contained elements from the American folk tradition and beyond. Although the sources of inspiration for the majority of tonightâs performance were predominately British Rose turned to her mentor Judy Collins for a dash of Americana with a good natured performance of Collinsâ folk/country classic âSomeday Soonâ.
Next came a return to Albion and another Rose/Riley setting, this time of the much loved William Blake poem âTiger Tigerâ with the sombre arrangement emphasising the genuine menace and inherent spirituality of Blakeâs words. The poem is sometimes presented as an innocent childrenâs piece but as Rose emphasised here itâs far deeper than that. The recorded arrangement is to feature flute, violin (presumably played by Dan Cassidy) and a chorus of tree frogs!
The trio concluded an excellent eveningâs music with their version of the jazz standard âAutumn Leavesâ. Although Rose is not a jazz singer as such she placed her own stamp on the song by slowing down the arrangement and singing it in her own distinctive, well enunciated crystal tones. She actually invested the words with far more emotion than the average jazz singer with the melancholy ring of Harperâs cello adding to the fragile mood. Rose, Riley and Harper actually managed to bring something new to a piece that has become somewhat hackneyed in jazz circles.
Speaking to Deborah afterwards I asked if sheâd heard the settings of poetry by the late jazz pianist, bandleader and composer Michael Garrick (1933-2011) but it seems that she hadnât. Garrickâs last album âHome Thoughtsâ, released posthumously in 2012, includes settings of Shakespeare and Blake but it would seem that Rose and Garrick, essentially musicians from different generations and traditions have converged at a broadly similar point through their shared love of poetry and literature. Interesting.
This had been another hugely enjoyable and successful evening at the Tarc Gallery with a sell out audience. Deborah Rose can always be relied upon to deliver and she was well supported here by her two sympathetic and highly accomplished colleagues. 2013 promises to be a big year for Deborah Rose with the release of âSong Be My Soulâ. Here at the Jazzmann we wish her well as she continues to develop her already very promising career.
Deborah Rose with Martin Riley & Catherine Harper, Tarc Gallery, Stanford Bridge, Worcs., 16/02/2013
Reviewed by: Ian Mann
http://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/deborah-rose-with-martin-riley-catherine-harper-tarc-gallery-stanford-bridg/
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