Tomorrow’s Warriors, Perry Louis and JazzCotech, and the newly crowned UK Calypso Monarch, Sheldon Skeete had everyone up, dancing and smiling at Nottingham Contemporary on Sunday 30 September as they experienced a taste of the Windward Isles with a feast of Caribbean rhythms and swing music. Sheldon ‘Smasher’ Skeete is a brilliant Calypsonian (and an aircraft engineer by day!) – it’s no wonder he beat off all-comers recently to be crowned UK Calypso Monarch.
We had to switch the lineup for our Nottingham show as Peter Edwards and Binker Golding were up in Scarborough for the local jazz festival where, by all accounts, they captured their audience the moment they played the first note, so our lineup was:
Gary Crosby (double bass), Ben Burrell (piano), Moses Boyd (drums), Mark Kavuma (trumpet), Rosie Turton (trombone), Marcus Joseph (alto sax), and Nubya Garcia (tenor sax) plus Perry Louis’ energetic JazzCotech and ‘Smasher’ Skeete.
Here’s a little vid that we shot on the night in Nottingham…
It was a similar story at Harrow Arts Centre on Friday 5 October, where the audience had a great time and, given half the opportunity, would have kept dancing ’til the early hours.
If this tour were an album, it would be a collector’s item!
This is a call out to all music fans out there to lively up yourself and race along to one of 19 fantastic concerts and events in our new Lively Up!Festival coming to a city near you from 28 September-2 November. Festival headliners, the fiery Jazz Jamaica All Stars big band are back on the road after 8 long years and set to ignite audiences up and down the country when they team up with reggae star, Brinsley Forde and strings from Urban Soul OrchestraforCatch A Fire – a live, pulsating, roots-rock-reggae-jazz tribute to global superstars, Bob Marley and The Wailers with rich orchestrations by Jason Yarde.
Other acts confirmed in the Lively Up! Festival include the Nu Civilisation Orchestra whose Musical Director, Peter Edwards collaborates with visual artist, Emma Godebska to deliver a multidimensional, mixed media Parallel – A Tribute To Joe Harriott, the iconic Jamaican free form jazz saxophonist; Tomorrow’s Warriors collaborate with JazzCotech Dancers and the young Calypsonian Sheldon Skeete to host a Jamaican dance party with spectacular floorshow for the whole family; and Jazz Jamaica Family Fun Club presents Mango Spice, an interactive performance workshop for children and their carers to discover Jamaican folk songs and ring games.
Other events hosted in association with Lively Up! include a panel discussion the British Music Experience, London (20 September) exploring the impact and legacy of Catch A Fire as part of the BME’s Seminal Album series – includes the chance to see an open rehearsal of Jazz Jamaica’s vocalists with Brinsley Forde, band leader Gary Crosby OBE, and music arranger, Jason Yarde. Also the I Is Anotherexhibition at New Art Exchange, Nottingham (28 September-8 December) highlighting some of the best contemporary talent in sculpture, painting, installation, photography, film, video and performance from across the hugely diverse Jamaican diaspora.
Produced by Dune Music in association with Tomorrow’s Warriors Lively Up! is a bold and ambitious festival of music touring 50 musicians and dancers to 10 cities around the country in a vibrant programme celebrating some of Jamaica’s most influential cultural icons. In 2012, the year in which Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence, the festival will present 19 events in 17 venues from Southampton to Edinburgh through a series of concerts and participatory activities that offers something for everyone: children, adults and families.
Click here for all festival dates and take a look at this Bob Marley and The Wailers gig…enjoy! And hope to see you soon at the Lively Up! Festival.
Lively Up! Festival 