Sidetracks And Detours Present PASS IT ON 44 weekly walkabout Supplement 17 3 2024
Sidetracks And Detours
Present
PASS IT ON 44
weekly walkabout Sunday Supplement 17 3 2024
Hello, and thank you as always for calling in to pick up your mail and newspapers. Our intrepid team of voluntary, and excellent, writers have wandered down Sidetracks and Detours and even into a few cul-de-sacs in the search for arts related news and stories. You can find them by looking for them on your search engine as well as another thousand more free to read items in our daily Sidetracks And Detours not for profit blogs.
CONTENTS
Researching History.
ST. PATRICK AND RULE BRITANNIA !
an essay by Michael Higgins
all across the arts
HELPING THE ARTS TO HELP
an essay by Steve Cooke
Live Jazz
Jazz at Progress
Friday 22 March 2024
Arbenz + Hart + Pursglove = CONVERSATION
previewed by Jazz in Reading
Hosted by Seonaid Aitken
Savings Bank, Glagow, December 2023
SCOTLAND JAZZ AWARDS
reviewed by Joined Up Jazz Journalists
Jazz On Air
HOT BISCUIS previewed by Steve Bewick
A Reader´s Perspective: All Points Forward
TOM RUSSELL: SINGER – SONGWRITER
an essay by Peter Peasrson
Island Insights
SUPPORTING THE ARTS ON LANZAROTE.
by Norman Warwick
Researching History
ST PATRICK AND RULE BRITANNIA !
an essay by Michael Higgins
What does St Patrick (left) have in common with the now British patriotic song Rule Britannia? The now patron saint of Ireland is celebrated on his feast day of 17 March each year, with parades and celebrations not just in Ireland, but all over the world, especially in the USA. And Ireland has had a fractious history with Britain and England in particular over the centuries. Actually Patrick himself is both a symbol of that fraction, and also of its unity in one cause, Christianity and anti-slavery. That great anti-slavery song, Rule, Britannia!, exhorts Britain to control its seas to thwart Viking boats in the time of Alfred the Great, as written by James Thomson in 1740. And by extension it refers to thwarting Barbary pirate slave ships raiding the Cornish Coast in the year the song lyrics were written. And the chorus cries out that ‘Britons never shall be slaves’ The song lyrics could have been written for Patrick, himself taken as a slave from Britain to Ireland at the age of sixteen around 400AD.
Irish slavers took him from what is now the English County of Cumberland, then part of a shadowy Romanised Celtic kingdom of Rheged, where his father was a civic dignitary and deacon and his grandfather a priest. After six years of herding and farm labouring for his new masters, he escaped and took a boat to the continent, being ordained priest and returning to Ireland thirty years later to spread the Gospel. It is possible he set up his base in Britain before returning to his former slave home. Poignantly, after Patrick, Irish slavers and pirates are blamed for the exodus of Cornish people to old Armorica, or what is now named Britain or Bretagne in French (Brittany). This year when St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in patriotic green hues and his symbol of the shamrock the British connection will be forgotten but the issue of slavery won’t. Nor will the modern coupling of slavery with colonialism be forgotten with the recent controversy of the wording of Rule Britannia and the issue of patriotism in general.
In 2020 the BBC decided to ban the song, a great favourite of the sing-along session ending the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall every September. Because singers mistakenly add an ‘s’ to the word ‘rule’ in ‘Rule, Britannia!’ The BBC opined that it exuded glory in Britain’s imperial past and alienated non-white, immigrant Britons and the former colonial commonwealth. In the prevailing idea that patriotism is exclusionary it was proposed to play an instrumental version of Arne’s tune to Thompson’s words. There was such an uproar from the media and the general public that the BBC was forced to relent, but many musicians continue to express their unease.
Recently the black cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (right) again expressed his own feelings that the song made him feel uneasy and made many black Britons uncomfortable. At last year’s Last Night At The Proms he said he had left early to avoid hearing the song. Indeed at last year’s event pro EU activists flooded the floor with EU flags to drown out the usual Union Jack waving exuberance that usually accompanied the rousing singing of the chorus. In the world of many these days, expressions of old fashioned British patriotism are offensive and unnecessary.
However he did suggest the BBC replace the song and others like it with singing of British folk songs. One presumes by British Folk Songs he did not mean the singing of the anti French song Drink Old England Dry or the great homage to the Royal Navy, Farewell And Adieu To You Spanish Ladies. Nor that great eulogy to the Duke of Marlborough, Hark Now The Drums Now Beat Again, with its rousing chorus beginning ‘Queen Anne commands and we obey…’. Folk songs with rousing choruses tend to extol sentiments often out of touch with modern identity politics.
Thangan Debonnaire,(right) Labour Party culture spokeswoman, recently said in an interview on the strangely styled podcast Women With Balls, that Rule Britannia! Is not her ‘favourite bit’ of music but it shouldn’t be politicians who tell people how to run cultural events. But she could see both sides of the argument and welcomed debate over the issue. This debate still runs alongside the colonialism and slave trade history/Black Lives Matter issues. The Church of England, whose members included the great slave trade abolitionists William Wilberforce and John Newton has joined the slave reparations lobby because in the 18th century it once rashly invested in the South Sea Bubble, which went bust investing part of their money in rickety slave trading enterprises. And despite Britain abolishing slavery throughout the empire in the early 19th century, through the power of the Royal Navy, it is now raising even more money to pay reparations it says are morally required. Of course the slave trade required sellers as well as traders and as all these slaves sent to the Americas were traded by African tribal chiefs, selling captured tribes enslaved already, or purposely raided in Africa, the shadow of guilt is yet to be raised over the Dark continent.
If Britain had had a powerful navy in 400AD perhaps Irish slave traders would have been deprived of St Patrick, but then the modern Ireland would perhaps have lost Patrick as their national saint. In Legend he cleared the island of snakes and cowed the Druids. In fact he established bishoprics and a pilgrimage retreat in County Mayo. Today he is known throughout the Irish diaspora as an Irish icon, and the excuse for merrymaking and feasting on this too well-known feast day.
But he does share something else with Britain as well. In the church calendar, the 17th of March is also the traditional feast day of Joseph of Arimathea (left) the donor of Christ’s tomb and the legendary bringer of the Glastonbury Thorn to modern day England, well before Patrick was born. In this legend promulgated by Welsh folklorists and by William Blake in the wake of the first 18th century revived and romanticised Eisteddfod, Joseph had brought the boy Jesus here after the flight to Egypt where he was taught by Druids for a while before he returned to the Holy Land. Hence Blake’s stirring hymn which begins his long mystical Poem Milton: ‘And did those feet in Ancient time/ walk upon England’s mountains green’. Thanks to Blake and Hubert Parry’s tune, Jerusalem has become England’s unofficial National Anthem, where English folk, enslaved by deistic ideas and the drudgery of plodding life struggled to unloose their imaginations. Britain, or the Ancient Albion, was blind to spiritual life like the blinded Samson, chained to a grist mill horse team grinding dead bread on the Satanic Millstones.
Like Patrick, who was an Englishman who did not go back to Ireland for 30 years after his slavehood there, Joseph came here in legend only on trade and finally to plant the Thorn. In fact he is a Palestinian who kindly lent his tomb to Jesus’s family. But as a mixture of fact. legend and myth both have contributed to intense patriotism in Ireland and England.
And legend and myth can be all important in national pride and remembrance. Both men have become symbols of physical and mental slavery which tend to be lost in modern celebrants on 17th March – whether in wearing green hats and drinking green beer or singing about building the new Jerusalem in England’s green and pleasant land. Top o’ the mornin’ to ye, begorrah and bring me my arrows of desire.
all across the arts
HELPING THE ARTS TO HELP
an essay by Steve Cooke
I was recently invited to speak at the closing event of the Rochdale Festival of Ideas ‘Speakers Corner Salon Talk’(see photo right)
Here is an expanded version what I had to say.
I am Rochdale born and bred and proud of our rich heritage, especially in the creative arts. That heritage includes:
A 19th century poster for a performance at the Hippodrome Theatre both inspired and provided the lyrics for John Lennon’s Beatles song on Sargent Pepper, For The Benefit of Mr Kite.
The global superstar, Gracie Fields, born Grace Stansfield in humble circumstances, in our town, not very far from here.
The singing powerhouse that is Lisa Stansfield with a string of hits, performances around the world, singing with such as George Michael and Prince.
And of course, Corrie star Sue Devaney, who has toured in Mamma Mia, worked on Dinner Ladies with Victoria Wood and crashed many an ambulance on Casualty – not bad for a diminutive local lass!
This is just a small sample of our rich cultural arts heritage at the elite level.
What I am even more proud of is the current plethora of active organisations where local people of all ages, across our diverse communities, get together to be creative. These include such as M6 Theatre, Skylight Circus Arts, Curtain Theatre, Milnrow Artists, EBOR Studios and Gallery Frank, Cartwheel Arts, Rochdale Musical Theatre Company and Breaking Barriers plus lots of thriving writing groups.
Personally, I have the privilege of heading up all across the arts and Vibe Rochdale.
This includes a group of writers who contribute to a twice weekly column in print in the Rochdale Observer and quarterly in Rochdale Style Magazine, online on InYourArea, digitally on allacrossthearts.com and across social media platforms.
The Rochdale Observer carries a column with a single purpose – to promote the creative arts for individual and community wellbeing through celebrating creativity in our local community and encouraging involvement and engagement by recommending creative arts activities and events locally and wider afield, that can both inspire and provide enjoyment.
A local charity funded by GMNHS where young people explore, develop, enjoy and share their creativity working alongside elite artists. The young people are in full control, they are never measured or judged and choose how and with whom to share their creativity. Through creative arts they develop confidence, pride, feelings of self-worth and gain a voice helping to develop resilience to the mental health challenges they face.
Examples of the effect Vibe Rochdale can have on young people’s lives include:
A female Member, age 21, Bangladeshi Family referred by MIND with a history of domestic abuse and general dis-functional relationships within the family. This had contributed to her having issues of trust in relationships and very low self-esteem. She dropped out of college and spent a year in a psychiatric hospital. After becoming a member of VIBE, she chose to join the Guitar Building Project. She quickly became very enthused by the workshops saying, ‘I have never been allowed to use tools before, this is great’. She quickly built her guitar and worked hard at learning to play. Her new-found enthusiasm for music led her to also learning to play drums. She reports feeling well-supported and valued, contributing to her being more confident in herself and being more able to trust people. Her renewed confidence and motivation is evidenced by going back to college getting very good grades and now studying at university.
A male Member aged 13 from a very dis-functional family background who was having behavioural issues at school that led to internal and external exclusions. He engaged with his creativity to help build his resilience through such as building and learning to play a guitar and developing a stand-up routine. His behaviour at school improved and he developed a much more mature attitude to his relationships with other members. His mother liaised with VIBE using his attendance on the project as a ‘carrot’ in modifying his behaviour.
A male Member aged 19 originally from Brazil who was referred to us by MIND. He harboured suicidal thoughts and experienced situations of conflict between family members. He embarked on strengthening his resilience to the challenges he faced through developing his creativity in areas such as learning to play acoustic guitar. He engaged with other members to help him overcome social isolation through building relationships and introducing other young people to VIBE.
A young person aged 15 referred to us by Healthy Young Minds, with anger management and gender identity issues. They settled in very well and were very open in explaining and discussing their issues with staff and other young people. This person has written some lyrics to a song that expresses feelings around depression and anxiety, with support from our musician recorded the chorus and worked on a melody. This person also produced some digital art with the support of our creative artist and has borrowed a camera to take images with the support of our photographer/digital artist.
A young man, who has been with us for six years, has complex learning difficulties and has attempted to develop his creativity through such as stand-up comedy and script writing. He has now become a volunteer/member and joined Vibecast [Vibe’s video production unit] on the production side, learning alongside our filmmaker. He has been given the responsibility for buying in refreshments and drinks and is an accomplished barista. The confidence this has given him has enabled him to secure his first paid employment in the pub trade.
A young woman aged 16 referred to us by Hopwood Hall College is hearing impaired and has difficulty forming relationships with her peers. We introduced her to our visual artist, and she quickly became very enthusiastic about producing posters and cards for staff and family. She now makes regular trips, accompanied by one of our team to buy art materials. She has grown in confidence and has bonded with other members, sharing music and discussing what they like.
A young man aged 17 came back to VIBE after a time away concentrating on his GCSEs. He initially became a member after having been referred to us by his brother. Both brothers are on the autism spectrum, and the elder one is now in full-time employment coming to VIBE when he can. This returnee is enthusiastically working with our musician learning to play along to his favourite songs on guitar, bass guitar and drums. He says that he has not settled well at college and coming to VIBE is helping him to feel more positive and have something to both enjoy and look forward to.
A young man aged 11 initially became a member when in year 6. However, we hadn’t seen him for some time when his mother contacted us to ask if he could come back as VIBE was the only thing he would come out of his bedroom for. We welcomed him with open arms, and he is now regularly attending to work with our filmmaker on producing animations as well as learning how to edit in support of another member.
A new band is born! Two of our members, on the autism spectrum, aged 17 and 24 have formed a band with two members who have refugee status both aged 16. We have set up a new recording studio where under the guidance of our music man these members are collaborating on a new recording. This is a huge step forward not only musically for the members involved but especially in social development and communication – two Spanish speakers working co-operatively with two members who have issues with social contact and communication.
A long-term female member now aged 25 has completed her commission to make a short film providing information about accessing health care for refugees and asylum seekers. This is part of a development package we have designed to help her to gain the confidence and skills to deliver a commission. Working alongside our film man she has become much more confident in her own abilities·
Three of Vibe’s long term young people have been developed into volunteers and have accepted becoming Trustees of the charity. They have mental health issues including autism, anxiety, and low mood. Through Vibe they have developed confidence in themselves and continue to develop their creativity through graphic art, animation, video, and music. They are embracing their new roles with enthusiasm, are eager to learn and are already making valuable contributions to the running and future development of Vibe Rochdale.
A young man on the autism spectrum has made great strides in both his guitar playing and guitar building. The confidence this has given him has enabled him to support other young people and also become an in-house guitar technician. His social skills have improved dramatically, and he is now much more confident in verbal communication.
What a privilege to see the dramatic changes in young people who may have to carry labels such as neurodiverse and hard to reach.
Vibe Rochdale also provides opportunities for highly skilled creative artists to become Vibe Associate Artists, where they develop skills in enabling and supporting young people to explore and enjoy their creativity.
My personal journey to aata and Vibe Rochdale began when I got some money for my 5th birthday and didn’t buy a toy gun or a Dinky car – I bought a record – a vinyl 78 – why, I don’t know but that was my first step into the world of the creative arts.
Fast forward to my career in education where as an assistant head teacher I was instrumental in achieving Performing Arts College status for the school I worked in – driven by my belief in the importance of all young people having access to the creative arts – in addition to be being essential to individual and community wellbeing I fervently believe that the creative arts, can help to dismantle stereotypes and prejudices, develop empathy, and help us to connect beyond boundaries and borders.
In 2005 I left teaching disillusioned by the restrictions of the national curriculum, the weighing and measuring of young people that left many disengaged through feelings of failure.
As current 29-year-old pop superstar Jacob Collier recently said ‘The biggest damage a teacher can do is strip you from confidence. I do a lot of my best work when I am not afraid of doing anything wrong. If there is a sense that there’s this judgement from outside, it can paralyse you for life. We have a huge amount of responsibility to keep curiosity awake.’
I then worked as the producer of an independent film and became involved in the Peace Treaty element of the 2012 London Olympics, training 300 young people to be peace ambassadors and tell the story of what peace meant to them using the whole spectrum of the creative arts.
The positive effects on those young people reignited my enthusiasm to promote the creative arts as essential to a healthy society and individual happiness.
I started to think that young people could benefit from the opportunity to tell their story in whatever way worked for them – sing it, draw it, animate it, paint it, storyboard it, write a poem or a short story.
How could they do this? By working alongside creative artists.
Thus, was born Stories We Could Tell., a project that enabled young people to find their voice.
The first cohort of about 30 young people from diverse backgrounds included asylum seekers, in care, neurodiverse, self-medicating and self-harming. They were a bunch who liked to perform so we put on a two hour show in front of 200 people at the Middleton Arena. A show in which they told their stories through a wide range of creative arts.
In the audience were several representatives of the NHS including mental health practitioners. This was instrumental in us getting a contract.
Stories We Could Tell proved to be a bit of a mouthful and the young people preferred much punchier Vibe.
Parallel to this I was given the opportunity to take over All Across The Arts columns in the Rochdale Observer, Heywood Advertiser and Middleton Guardian which meant free tickets to press nights and access to our town’s vibrant cultural arts organisations and artists.
It also gave me a voice – the opportunity to tell the stories I can tell.
With a team of like-minded writers, we created an oasis of positivity. A space where people could be enthused by the creative arts.
My journey has led me to being in the privileged position of living my dream – inspired by a 5-year-old’s eccentric choice of a birthday gift.
My love of music, visual art, live theatre and creative writing – feeling part of a community of creatives – has sustained me throughout my life – a source of light and warmth when life went dark and cold – a vehicle for celebration when things become good – a vital element in my wellbeing – I want everyone to have access to these life sustaining creative arts.
Next steps on the agenda include securing funding in addition to that provided by GMNHS to establish a permanent home for Vibe Rochdale in the centre of Rochdale, operating 7 days per week.
We must also ensure that AATA continues to involve as many writers and develop as many platforms as possible to give a voice to creative artists and encourage our whole community to engage with, participate in and enjoy the creative arts.
My big idea is to build on our cultural arts heritage by enabling and encouraging the creative arts community to bring the creative arts to everybody – to be able to say:
‘COME AS YOU ARE,
BRING WHAT YOU HAVE,
YOU’RE WELCOME HERE!’
In order to achieve this, we need to enable and empower the local creative community by giving them places and spaces and supporting them to share and celebrate their creativity through such as a Festival of Local Creativity representing creativity across our diverse communities, bringing them together.
When speaking to artists and organisations it is often the case that they are ignorant of other artists and organisations, even within their own field. The general public are even more in the dark. We need a central resource that builds on AATA with an easily accessed digital platform and a presence in local spaces and spaces such as shopping malls and libraries.
Let’s get our heads together so that we can say with confidence,
‘come as you are,
bring what you have,
you’re welcome here!’
Live Jazz
Jazz at Progress
Friday 22 March 2024
Arbenz + Hart + Pursglove = CONVERSATION
previewed by Jazz in Reading
Florian Arbenz, Internationally renowned drummer and percussionist, is on a mission to release twelve albums with twelve different constellations of musicians – each carefully planned, delicately curated, but ultimately dependent on the inspiration and creativity that the players generate on the day.
Conversation is one such album. Recorded at Arbenz’s custom built Hammerstudio in his home city of Basel, Switzerland it features two of the UK’s most creative musicians, Jim Hart and Percy Pursglove, who now join forces to launch the album on an exciting European tour.
Conversation explores the realm between jazz and improvised music; the trio’s sophisticated and open-minded sound is equally comfortable in either world. Vast in texture and feeling, it encompasses rapid shifts between tight, syncopated grooves, flurries of virtuosic trumpet, passages of melancholic openness, and powerfully dense harmonies.
This is truly music of the moment. At Jazz In Reading we believe in offering a wide spectrum of jazz, and this gig reflects the dynamism of what is integral to jazz of any variety; that is improvisation. We have three superb musicians who we are sure will produce an exciting evening.
Barb Jungr sings Bob Dylan
in conjunction with
Hampstead Jazz Club
Bishop’s Court Farm Dorchester on Thames OX10 7HP
Sunday March 24th 2024
Barb Jungr can squeeze more juice out of a Dylan song than just about anybody.’ New York Times
‘A shockingly expressive voice with an astonishing palette of colours.’ The Observer
The legendary Barb Jungr’s first Bob Dylan collection, Every Grain Of Sand, has become a modern classic. Described by the Wall Street Journal as ‘the most significant vocal album of the 21st Century,’ it was named as one of the Top 10 albums of the year in both the Sunday Times and Daily Telegraph.
In a unique, unforgettable show that brings together the very best of the incredibly imaginative interpretations of Dylan classics she has honed over the course of three critically-acclaimed albums and countless sold-out performances across the world, Jungr effortlessly blends jazz virtuosity and formidable gospel soul power with her trademark breezy cabaret chutzpah.
Barb Jungr – vocals
Simon Wallace – piano
Davide Mantovani – bass
Hosted by Seonaid Aitken
Savings Bank, Glagow, December 2023
SCOTLAND JAZZ AWARDS
reviewed by Joined Up Jazz Journalists
There certainly seems to be a thriving live jazz scene in Scotland, and the listings sent out by Rob Adams and published monthly on these pages reminds us that live Jazz in Scotland is Music That´s Going Places.
The stars of Scotland’s burgeoning jazz scene were celebrated at the 2023 Scottish Jazz Awards. Hosted by multi-award winning musician Seonaid Aitken, the sparkling ceremony took place at the historic Savings Bank in Glasgow on Thursday 7th December and saw winners across six categories honoured for their outstanding contributions to the genre.
Since their inception, the Scottish Jazz Awards have become a hallmark event on the Scottish cultural calendar, recognising and honouring contributions to the genre from some of Scotland’s finest vocalists and instrumentalists, while inspiring gifted newcomers to the scene.
A carefully selected shortlist across five categories was chosen by a panel of industry specialists, including media, press and promoters from across the UK, alongside last year’s winners who were ineligible to be nominated in the same category. Over 3,000 public votes were then cast to decide the winners, while the Critics’ Choice Award was chosen by the panel of judges.
The winners at the 11th Scottish Jazz Awards are:
Rising Star Award sponsored by Musicians’ Union
KIMBERLEY TESSA
Awarded ‘Rising Star’ at the 2023 Scottish Jazz Awards, 21 year old Kimberley Tessa (right) is steadily making a name for herself within the vibrant Scottish Jazz scene. A member of Milhouse Collective and The Vintage Girls, Kimberley recently performed an intimate set with pianist Iain Mathieson, including a selection of swinging standards and fresh originals. She was performing in the sophisticated setting of Sandman’s whisky lounge – where she paired her beautiful performance with a suitably velvety and elegant accompaniment.
Fionna Duncan Best Vocalist Award
sponsored by Whighams Jazz Club
MARIANNE MCGREGOR
Marianne’s ‘star’ has been on the ascendancy for quite some time now and with accolades such as Scottish Jazz Vocalist of the Year and the ‘Danny Kyle Award’ at Celtic Connections under her belt, she’s been very much in demand as a ‘hot ticket’ jazz artist.
She has a huge body of material released and already has some touring and international performances under her belt. Highly acclaimed in the UK, Marianne was chosen to represent UK Jazz as a guest of the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba where she performed to a sell-out audience.
Taking inspiration from her great jazz influencers, Marianne has a tone comparable to the likes of Amy Winehouse or Sarah Vaughan, an Ella-like freedom towards improvisation and captures phrasing and emotion with the power of Billie Holiday.
Best Instrumentalist Award
sponsored by ESP Music Rentals
EWAN HASTIE
Ewan Hastie is a double bassist, composer, bass guitarist who has previously also won BBC Young Jazz Musician 2022. After graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he also received the Mark McKergow Prize for Jazz Improvisation twice in 2022 and again in 2023. Some very memorable musicians he has worked with are Tommy Smith, Iain Ballamy, Ryan Quigley, Fergus McCreadie, Pete Johnstone, Niki Yeoh, Huw Warren, Alyn Cosker, Tom Gordon, Mark Mondesir only to name a few. Ewan has also had the opportunity to tour throughout the UK and across Europe with various different musicians and bands. he has so far spent most of his life in Kirkcadly (Fife), but was born in Edinburgh, and has now been based in Glasgow for 4 years
Best Band Awardsponsored byPizzaExpress Live
CORTO.ALTO
Corto.Alto are
Lliam Shortall trombone,
Mateusz Sobieski tenor sax,
Harry Weir tenor sax,
James Mackay guitar,
Fergus McCreadie keyboards,
Lucca Pisanu bass
and Graham Costello drums.
Among the new sensations of the most dynamic scene in Great Britain, the youngsters of Corto.Alto, a collection from Glasgow that for a year has published a single, both new music, every three months. The record series is named ‘Live from 435’ and has the collaboration of Soweto Kinch, present at Mas i Mas’23. Leading this project is the multi-instrumentalist, composer and plastic artist Liam Shorthall, a musician who, since he was 16 years old, has been a trombonist, guitarist and producer. Shorthall has collaborated with Scottish artists such as Graham Costello, the National Jazz Orchestra of Scotland, Tom McGuire & The Brassholes and AKU! Corto.Alto works with musicians of different tendencies and origins for such fusion, he assures, an original sound in the field of jazz and beyond. The result is fast-paced music, with elements of jazz, funk, soul, drum’n’bass and other genres; an “incendiary” band, according to colleagues from the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, “formed by talented musicians,” afegeixen, and both “the best of the vibrant Glasgow jazz scene.” An authentic revelation faces the final stretch of Mas i Mas’23.
Best Album Award sponsored by Birnam CD
MARRAM BY MATT CARMICHAEL
There’s something about the scenes outside of the capital cities that allows an additional spark of individualism and creativity to emerge. Perhaps there’s a reduced expectation or peer pressure, that consequently drives and allows space for a greater innovation, creativity and experimentation, built with more individuality. For the UK, Cardiff, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds are a few such scenes but recently Glasgow has been in the limelight and become a powerhouse of creativity and culture. One of the major new voices in that burgeoning scene is Matt Carmichael – a saxophonist and composer with an individual sound (left) who brings the focus of continuous melodic improvisation of Folk music to a Jazz landscape.
Marram takes its influence from the drama, moods and expansiveness of the coastal imagery of Scotland. But rather than the music being inspired by the landscapes, it’s more the other way round, where the image of the sea encapsulates the openness and emotiveness Matt is trying to communicate in his music. The album also talks about escapism, of flow and the push and pull or drama that the sea evokes. For Matt, his music “wants to have a transportive element…the sea can be calm, but can also be tempestuous, a space where lots of different moods, emotions and energies can be conveyed, lots of different elements of nature found”.
Marram, his second album, (right) is his first with Edition and follows on from his highly successful self-released debut ‘Where Will The River Flow’. Released in March 2021 to critical acclaim throughout Europe including a 5 star review in BBC Music Magazine, the bold and commanding debut gained over 2 million streams and was long-listed for the multi-genre Scottish Album of the Year Award. In Oct 2021 it prompted an invitation from GRAMMY Award-winning WDR Big Band to be a guest soloist performing Bob Mintzer’s arrangements of Matt’s music.
His debut was the start of a long journey and an album that allowed his music to flow naturally to find its own path, much like the rivers do, hence the title ‘Where Will The River Flow’. It was about efficiency and unpredictability, about a voice finding his own individual path, meandering the obstacles, and searching for his identity. Marram is a natural development on Where Will the River Flow – they are connected yet have different goals. Marram sees Matt’s compositional identity come into its own, represented perfectly by the story and emotion of what the Scottish landscape evokes.
As Matt explains: ‘It feels like with Marram, I have a clearer vision and confidence in the sound world I want to create and continue expanding on. Much like the Scottish coastline, I want my music to have drama, to evoke an emotional response, with an openness to explore, to transport the listener away from everyday life, even just for a moment”.
For Matt, his experiences with Jazz and Folk music allow him to bring what he sees as the most interesting aspects of each genre to his music. Whilst studying, his discovery of Folk was almost a rebellion towards the expectation of having to focus on more conventional Jazz: playing with Folk artists offered a greater focus and purity of melody, and it’s this focus on melody that takes centre-stage in Marram: “I love the way folk musicians improvise – they are improvising all the time, but the melody is always the focus whilst the improvisation is more collective and less centred around one player”. Matt sees his role in this group more like a vocalist, to convey the melody, something that was instilled early on in his development playing hymn melodies on his saxophone to support church congregations.
Looking back at his career in 10-15 years time, Marram will without doubt be an album that marked a turning-point in Matt’s career: the album that will have defined his sound and set him on his own path of discovery of larger ‘seas,’ ‘oceans’ and ´horizons´. It’s honest and deeply individual, a vital hallmark that stands out in an ever-crowded landscape of new music. It’s a seminal record that will see him take strides to a more global audience.
Critics’ Choice Award
sponsored by Inhouse Event Productions
RACHEL LIGHTBODY
Rachel (left) has forged a path for herself in the Scottish music scene. Her ears and influences are immersed in a broad range of styles and sounds, creating her genre hopping and fluid approach to writing and interpreting music. She has been sought out for many different collaborations (Mezcla, The Elusive Tree, Alyn Cosker) which allows her to challenge her instrument, as well as explore what it means to be a vocalist.
Recent notable achievements include: her nominations for Best Vocalist in the 2018 – 2021 Jazz Awards; the featured vocalist in sold-out performances of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Court and Spark’ (featured on BBC Radio Scotland, 2018), and Carole King’s ‘Tapestry’ with Start-to-End at Celtic Connections; and her work as a backing vocalist for folk singer Siobhan Miller (featured on BBC Quay sessions 2019) and Kris Drever (Where the World is Thin 2020).
Consistent praise from the jazz media, such as the items below, has inevitably led to this deserved award.
Rachel Lightbody who provides one of those beautiful performances that stops you in your tracks, and forces you to listen.” Dave Jones (Jazz Journal)
Meanwhile Jazzwise Magazine has praised “The fragile beauties of Lightbody’s voice”
The Scottish Jazz Awards are produced as an independent event by the organisers of Glasgow Jazz Festival and supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
It is also fantastic to see so many sponsored categories and they can be sure their support is appreciated.
Jazz On Air
HOT BISCUITS previewed by Steve Bewick
My Hot Biscuits programme, next week, sees the return of FAQ – electric jazz fusion with further audio snips from this 5-piece band earlier last year.
Also in the broadcast is music from the great Charlie Parker, Wardell Grey Quartet, Louis Armstrong, Joshua Redman, Kevin Figues, Willie Ruff & Dwike Mitchell in interview. Finishing with Ambrose Akinmusire with Bill Frizzell and the Harper Trio, `Passing by.` If this looks interesting, please let me know and pass it on. Catch the broadcast 24/07 at www.mixcloud.com/stevebewick/
Live Music l
REVIEWS, by Music In Portsmouth newsletter
YOUKI AND TIANYANG
CELLO AND PIANO IN CHICHESTER: February 2024
Review by David Green, Music In Portsmouth
One of my greatest discoveries in recent years of attending more lunchtime recitals has been the chamber music of Brahms. Others had discovered it already, of course, but education is an ongoing thing and happens in a different order from one person to the next. I have always spectacularly failed at synesthesia by which music suggests colours but I’m very tempted to go for rich, deep tones with Brahms, either emerald or maroon. Velvet, though.
First up from Yuuki and Tianyang (left) was Frank Bridge and his Four pieces for cello and piano. The opening Berceuse was uncomplicated and lovely as were the Serenade and Élégie with the former tranquil with just a ripple on its surface and the latter a shade darker and more melancholy. The Cradle Song then stepped up a couple of gears with Yuuki smooth and Tianyang qué simpático throughout. The chamber music of Frank Bridge looks like being another area for further investigation.
But the Brahms Sonata, op. 38, was altogether a more complex excursion. The first movement is a blend of passion and his extended melodic lines. While it is ostensibly a cello piece, the piano is given plenty to contribute. It wasn’t the piece I was half expecting but it is not dissimilar to the Violin Sonatas and the same order that is placed for any Frank Bridge I find is likely to include their cello siblings to keep them company on the ever-expanding CD shelves. I can’t help myself.
The Allegretto quasi Menuetto soon brought to mind the spirit of the famous Suites as found by Pablo Casals and flowed from its hesitant beginning before Yuuki was allowed to extend himself in the Allegro finale, much busier and technically demanding, which he did with panache.
So, if Brahms is velvet, maybe Handel is satin, Mozart is shot silk, Philip Glass is nylon and Elgar is tweed. I had thought that music was only the notes and the sound they made and poetry was the words and their sound, too, but there’s plenty to work on in finding textures, and textiles, to correspond with composers. Luckily, it still falls within the remit of synesthesia so we won’t have to think of a new word for it. I’m not sure I’m going to convince myself of it, though. I’m not sufficiently hyper-sensitive and I don’t know enough different sorts of fabric.
THE IVORY DUO
Lunchtime Live at Chichester Cathedral, March 2024
Review by Music In Portsmouth
It’s remarkable how many people one has come to know through doing this little website over the years, whether literary or musical. It’s a collateral benefit. My very good friends the Ivory Duo are always welcome at Portsmouth and were rewarded with a good-sized audience today.
Lola Perrin’s Homage to Debussy was a gentle awakening that lead into some actual Debussy, the Petite Suite which is a happy, playful set of four pieces involving impresssive integrated teamwork from Natalie and Panayotis as they negotiated some mid-keyboard congestion involving at least three of their four hands.
It was a ‘game of two halves’, changing mood when Adrian Green performed his own setting of Christina Rossetti’s When I am Dead, my dearest, a nice piece of work for a 16 year old which wasn’t as long ago for him as it was for some of us. The piano provided lilting accompaniment for the sixteen lines of forlorn Victorian weepiness taken from the whacking great tome of Collected Christina but one was entirely convinced by it. While Adrian and, say, Pavarotti are both tenors, that’s almost like saying that a gentle fortepiano and a vast cathedral organ are both keyboard instruments. One wouldn’t want to be without either.
But the main feature was the Songs of Travel by Vaughan-Williams. We might not think that 1960’s icon, Cilla Black and the man from Down Ampney have much in common but, as Cilla once -oooh -surrounded herself in sorrow, Vaughan-Williams for the most part takes on a yet more melancholy air than she did. Panayotis and Natalie shared the songs between them, presumably astonished to have the whole keyboard to themselves, Panayotis for the opening onward march, the rippling Let Beauty Awake and the plaintive Youth and Love before turning the pages for Natalie on the sepulchral In Dreams, the spacious, wistful Whither Must I Wander and the brief bonus track found in the composer’s desk some time later.
We might have gone home somewhat more pensive than if it had been something more bombastic but the jollity had been in the first half and maybe that’s what life is like.
I probably usually say we look forward to the Ivory Duo returning to Portsmouth and then they do, so my song remains the same.
A Reader´s Perspective: All Points Forward
TOM RUSSELL: SINGER – SONGWRITER
an essay by Peter Pearson
Tom Russell is an American singer songwriter, born in California in 1948 and currently based in Switzerland.
Now, as I sat down to write this piece I was trying to think how long he had been visiting the UK for. It seemed like an eternity but how long was it? No joy on the internet.
What about my back copies of Omaha Rainbow? Nothing in there to help.
Kerrville Kronikle back copies? Nothing useful in there.
Did I throw out those Stillwater Times? Hoarder that I am, I had not. Top of the pile was Issue 8 dated 18th June 1792. Editor,John Marrison, had an obsession with history and June 1792 was the date the Bounty mutineers were brought to trial, so the front page had a little story about that. The actual issue date was June 1992. Every issue was dated, with appropriate front page story, in the same manner.
Flip through contents.Voila, interview with Tom Russell by no other than our own Norman Warwick, conducted 1st April 1992 at Liverpool’s Hardman House Hotel. In the preamble Norman states that Tom was touring the UK for the first time. I could have sworn it was before that but no, Tom replies to Norman’s question as follows:” We’ve been wanting to play in the UK and Ireland for about ten years, so hopefully the Roundtower compilation and this tour will increase awareness so that we can come back twice a year.”
I think that was the year that I saw the Tom Russell Band at Monaco Ballroom, Hindley, Wigan when I think Norman was in the front row being wined and dined by the Roundtower executives, whilst I was slumming it at the back.
So who am I to write a piece about Tom Russell? Well, it was Norm’s idea.
I suppose I have seen Russell on all his visits since, which have been mostly annually, and had a ticket booked at Bury Met for last June, only to see it cancelled due to his falling ill on tour; whilst Norm has been living the high life in Lanzarote for a good few years.
Norm did tell me that he had lost touch with Tom since his move, so after a brief introduction, I’ll concentrate more on the later years.
I can’t recall Tom playing with a band in the UK since that first visit. Andrew Hardin was lead guitarist in that band and until they split in 2006, Tom always toured over here with Andrew as lone sideman.
Tom Russell graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a master’s degree in sociology of law and criminology. In 1969, he spent a year teaching in Ibadan, Nigeria, during the Biafran War. He has also lived in Spain and Norway and played music at a circus in Puerto Rico. He began his musical career in the early 1970s in Vancouver, British Columbia, playing strip bars along Skid Row, then later relocated to Texas and formed a band with singer-pianist Patricia Hardin.
They split in 1979 and Tom left the music business for a year, driving a taxi in New York City and it was there he met Andrew Hardin (no relation to Patricia). Together they decided to form a band. The band split in 1994 after a couple of albums.
Throughout the 1990’s Russell released a series of critically acclaimed solo albums. His 1991 album, Cowboy Real, with its cowboy themes was heavily influenced by his mentor Ian Tyson.
In 1999 he released a folk opera song cycle titled The Man From God Knows Where, which traced his ancestors from Europe to America. It was very much one for the fans and featured several guest vocalists. A double album in 2015, The Rose of Roscrae, was in similar vein and, together with Hotwalker in 2005, completed a trilogy.
.Nadine &Tom Russell, front L-R Thad Beckman, Gretchen Peters, Nanci Griffith, Steve Young
In 2008 he recorded a concept cowboy themed album of mostly covers with singer songwriter Gretchen Peters, titled One to The Heart-One To The Head. Russell had recently made some disparaging remarks in print about female country singers and Gretchen Peters responded by inviting him to record with her. The album’s standout track is Tom’s most beautiful song, Guadelupe. Throughout the album Tom’s raspy barritone complements Peters´ sweet vocals. The song was reprised on his 2009 splendid album, Blood and Candle Smoke.
In the meantime Tom had mysteriously split with Andrew Hardin and toured initially with other guitarists and more recently, solo acoustic. I felt that after that split his UK tours never reached quite the same standard.
His 2013 album, Aztec Jazz, consisted of his more popular songs backed with orchestral support from the thirty one members of the Norwegian Wind Ensemble. In my book the formula works and puts a whole new slant on his songs. Highlights include Finding You, a poignant love song; Goodnight Juarez, about the poverty in that city; and East of Woodstock, West of Vietnam, about spending the late 60s in Africa. I should add that many record shops were filing the album under Jazz!
In 2017 he released Play One More, a tribute album to his friends Ian and Sylvia Tyson. Consisting of their lesser known songs, so no Four Strong Winds, the album would probably appeal more to their fans than his own.
Folk Hotel, again in 2017, is back to classic Americana. He grew up on Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Ian and Sylvia and this album is a homage to the art of song and storytelling and probably amongst his best of over 36 albums. Standout tracks include a Katy Moffatt co-write dedicated to Dylan Thomas, The Sparrow of Swansea, and the opening track, Up in the Old Hotel, based on the book of the same name by Joseph Mitchell.
The co-write with Katy Moffatt was the latest in at least 20 co-writes and numerous concert appearances with her. Walking On The Moon is perhaps their most popular and when he made his regular appearances at West Houghton Folk Club, Pat Batty, the club organiser and lead singer in house band, Auld Triangle, used to love joining Tom on stage to sing duet on it.
When Andrew Hardin split with Tom, he became Katy’s sideman
On stage Tom had cultivated a grating habit of uttering Indian war chants during the refrain in some of his songs, probably a left over from his 2004 Indians, Cowboys, Horses and Dogs album and in my view, completely ruined his 2018 best of album, Old Songs Yet To Sing, by repeating the habit on record. A great shame, since all his best songs were there and he had recruited Andrew Hardin to help him out.
2019 brought October In The Railroad Earth, a standout album of all new songs and, at the moment, his latest. Hopefully it is not his last, but it has to be said things have been very quiet since then on both the live and recording front and on his web and social media pages. His appearance at his London gig last year on his visit curtailed by ill health, shows him having lost a lot of weight and looking more his age than I had previously seen.
Tom Russell is not just a singer songwriter. He writes books, paints, composes poetry and prose and has championed up and coming songwriters.
He was instrumental in helping to launch Nanci Griffith’s career.
His songs have been covered by numerous artists. Sorry Norm but I have to mention that rooster song, Gallo Del Cielo, a story about a fighting cock. The Joe Ely cover may be even better than the original. Another of his standards, Blue Wing, was ably covered by Dave Alvin and Outbound Plane by Nanci Griffith and Suzy Bogguss. His beautiful song, California Snow, has also been covered by Dave Alvin.
Each year since 2003, until last year, he has organised Roots On The Rails, a rail journey with guest artists and fans on board, visiting various places throughout the Western USA with a performance carriage and stops at music venues along the way. Peter O’Brien of Omaha Rainbow fame is a regular attendee from the UK.
Since marrying Nadine in 2008, Tom has split his time between Switzerland and El Paso, Texas.
The photograph (right) shows Tom, in a white tie, with wife Nadine on their wedding day with guests Rambling Jack Elliot and Ian Tyson (far right).
logo Island Insights
SUPPORTING THE ARTS ON LANZAROTE.
by Norman Warwick
Steve Cooke makes an impassioned commendation of the benefits of allowing creative arts to help people find their way to integrate with the wider community. At the time that Steve makes his well-considered case, with plenty of relevant examples, the funding to the arts in general in the UK has been severely cut.
Here on Lanzarote, meanwhile, we continue to enjoy a fantastic range of arts events, many of which have been free at the door. They are often also part of a massive community effort.
So, what a contrast there seems to be here on the island of Lanzarote with its thriving arts scene, compared to the misery being felt by the arts scene back in the UK, where funding is being drastically cut, as politicians seem to ignore the benefits that could be brought to a community by the sort of receptivity that Steve advocates.
Lanzarote, where my wife Dee and I have lived for nine years now, seems to support its arts offer not only by financial means but also by fusing an integration between arts, culture, education, history and religion and family life.
We attend arts events at least twice a week here, some of which, because of this integration, are delivered free of charge. On an island that in square mileage and population is no bigger than Rochdale, where I lived in the UK, has four excellent theatres on a space where Rochdale only had one.
The jewel in that crown, of course, is Jameos Del Agua, the theatre (left) conceived and brought to fruition by the late Cesar Manrique. This underground theatre, that is carved out of rock and is built within a lava tube, enjoys state of the art lights and sounds acoustics, and an auditorium that provides uninterrupted views for its audience.
It was here we saw the first ever presentation of the wonderful musical that tells Manrique´s life story and that will surely be made into a film. It was here that we saw, only a few months ago, American actor John Malcovich deliver a one man show to a full house that was, almost literally mind-blowingly and deliberately confusing. He had the full house audience of 800 hanging on to every word of a one-man show that by the way featured a thirty piece orchestra and two super soprano singers. The theatre is also a place where we have seen symphony orchestras and chamber music groups perform.
At the glorious Teatro de San Bartolome, (left) a little further south, we have heard the Spanish versions of Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar. This theatre stands in a tranquil town square with a water fountain and on dark nights is beautifully lit as audiences wait on public benches for the theatre doors to open, or wander round looking at the church and the town hall that border the theatre.
The Victor Gopar Theatre in Arrecife, (right) named after the late, influential poet, is where we recently went to hear what I called on these pages, A Voice Held In High Regard. That unique contra-tenor voice belonged to Jakub J Orlinski as he sang with il pomo dora, a classical group that included clavichord, two violins, viola, violacello, contrabajo, and Tiorba. This fantastic concert was actually part of the 40th annual Festival Internacional of Classical Music which each year tours Canarian musicans and others from around the world to perform on each of the eight Canary Islands for the first three months of the year. Not only do we hear musical master-classes but we also marvel at the master-class of logistics that make all this happen.
Teatro de Tias (left) is a smaller venue seating maybe five hundred but here, too, we have seen some first class events by such artists as Pagagnini performed by a quintet of anarchic classical musicians.
These are simply the major theatres on the island but Lanzarote has a place for rock and jazz, too, at the Cic El Almacen (the warehouse) another creation of Manrique. In a building that houses three or four visual arts rooms there is a restaurant and bar, and a small upstairs theatre. We have also attended book launches here and also guided art exhibitions.´tours and talks´ by art facilitator Estefania Corujo.
We have attended performances in tiny churches all over the island at the El Grifo Bodega and even heard wonderful classical music in a place called The Camel House in Macher.
The Camel House is a much loved venue amongst we classical music lovers. As I was reminded yesterday by Miguel, owner / editor of Lanzarote Information as he gently corrected a few of my typos in a substantially different version of this same article.
I just posted this and saw your reference to The Camel House – what a venue!
When Sir Ernest Hall bought the property, it was pretty much a ruin, and we spent lots of time with him and Lady Sarah sharing stories and ideas, as our home in Haria was quite similar and in the same condition.
He did an amazing job, and we were there for the inauguration of the place, which was a fabulous party, and we were there again for the very first concert in 2010. As well as being an entrepreneur, he was a really accomplished pianist as well, although arthritis in his fingers prevented him from playing regularly by the time we knew him.
He sold it to Danielle and Roland a couple of years ago, as he had become too old to travel, but only on condition they continued to have concerts there.
A fascinating character!
We have also heard folklore music, led by the timple and percussion as dancers float around the town squares of the island in traditional costume.
We have seen jazz-rock fusion gigs outside ´the warehouse´ in Arrecife, folk music by the San Gines lagoon in the same city and beautiful folk playing in the courtyard at the Timple Museum in Teguise.
There have been huge pop music concerts along La Geria vineyard trails each year and in the square in front of the church in Playa Blanca we have attended rock, folk and pop concerts with hundreds of people hopping and bopping with grandparents and parents dancing with their youngsters beneath the moon and stars.
All these concerts seem to be surrounded by excellent restaurants that include three or four course fine-dining establishments as mobile vans selling ´la comida basura´ (crepes, chips, burgers etc) that deserve a much better billing than the ´junk food´ that Spanish phrase might suggest.
Every one of the venues we have mentioned here is special, very special… in its own way. We sigh at the other – worldliness of the theatre under the rocks at Jameos Del Agua, and we sink happily into the plush furnishing of Teatro San Bartolome. Nevertheless, we are just as content sitting on a low wall around a town square on a warm night in a friendly atmosphere that is typical of the art scene in Lanzarote.
I almost forget to mention one of our very favourite venues that we discovered about twenty years ago on holiday.
We had seen a poster for a choir performing at El Fondeadero in Puerto Del Carmen. (right) We arrived in the vicinity an hour before the concert but after half an hour of looking around we had seen neither hide nor hair of it. The night had grown dark and we were heading down into the very busy harbour area. We saw a lady in dressing gown and hair rollers through her open front door. . We tapped politely on the door and asked her, poster in hand and in our best Spanglish. ¨Where the blinking heck is this place?´ and pointed at our poster. She said not a word, but beckoned us to follow her as she led us through a quarter of a mile of sidetracks and detours, and then suddenly pointed dramatically to a small, hidden-away building with an open door, and she turned round and left us.
We managed to obtain tickets at the door and twenty minutes later became very excited as their musical director led a local choir on to the stage. We were both immediately puzzled by how familiar to us the musical director seemed to be. Then we recognised her as the ´tour guide´ who had led us on the last lap of our journey. She´d certainly glammed up in the last half hour. She and her choir gave us a fine recital.
We have been to the venue a couple of times over the past six months, and have reported on the poetry readings, musical concerts and book launches we have seen there. Oddly enough the concert we saw at El Fondeadero two nights ago was another choral performance and we will bring you a review in next week´s issue of PASS IT ON.
Although relatively few tourists attend these concerts they would be certainly made to feel welcome by the indigenous fans and by those who, like my wife and I, are new residents here from the UK or from Germany, Italy, France, and even mainland Spain.
Perhaps our favourite venue has become one only 12k from our Playa Blanca home, which is the Benito Perez Galdos Casa de Cultura, in Yaiza.
This is a tiny theatre in a complex that also holds visual art galleries, surrounded by a church with a peaceful public park area, and Ayuntamiento administration services (Council Offices).
We have seen so many fantastic events here over the years and so far in 2024 we have already seen The Yaiza Municipal Band and two amazing concerts that we have previously reviewed on these pages; three world class instrumentalists coming together as a trio for the first time in timple player Alexis Lemis, guitarist Javier Infante and on double bass, Javier Corona, and more recently an incredible flamenco fusion concert led by Antonio de la Rosa that included six musicians, a female vocalist and two dancers who brilliantly recreated the street bars that were the first homes of the genre; slightly dark, slightly dangerous, voicing protest, and promising romance based on physical attraction and all the time perpetuating the folk lore of Spain.
In the same venue we also saw Roger Trend preview his book of history and geology, The Island of Volcanoes.
And now we have learned that this venue, Casa de Culture in Yaiza, is to be given an almost 1 million euro facelift. !
The Government of the Canary Islands, through the Department of Universities, Science Innovation and Culture headed by Councillor Migdalia Machin (right), has allocated nearly 900,000 euros for the rehabilitation of the “Benito Perez Armas” House of Culture, Yaiza, as part of the historical heritage of the Canary Islands, and in this case, of the island of Lanzarote. The subsidized activity is to take place by December 31, 2024.
“Casa Benito Perez Armas” is an 18th century colonial mansion in Yaiza where Benito Perez Armas, a prominent politician, journalist and writer of the late 19th century and early 20th century, was born and raised.
For the past 35 years it has served as a cultural centre hosting a wide variety of events, such as international conferences, theatrical works, art exhibitions and concerts, in addition to housing the Municipal Library. In 1989 it was declared a Site of Cultural Interest, with the category of Monument, as part of the Historical Artistic Heritage of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands.
I am still not totally sure how the arts funding is shared here on the island, but there is a pyramid, I guess, of Ayuntamiento and Cabildo (Lanzarote government), and Canary Island funding supporting what finances come from mainland Spain. There is also a high level of sponsorship from some of the major companies presenting festivals. Whatever are the machinations that make it work, Lanzarote has an arts scene in which everyone can share, and some of it remains ´gratis´.
From Snarky Puppy to The North Sea Quartet, to choral music and poetry, Lanzarote treasures its art. And the art rewards its landscape and its people.
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