Soldiering On

Description

Absorbing, multi-faceted debut album by this new 8-piece ensemble, led by the inspired, ever-active, London-born trombonist-composer, Raph Clarkson.
The band features Laura Jurd, Phil Merriman, Simon Roth & Fini Bearman + guests: Huw Warren, Joshua Idehen & Norwegian singer, Mia Marlen Berg.
The album is dedicated to the late John Taylor (two of whose compositions are featured) and Micaela Comberti, Raph's late mother – violinist and leading figure in the British Early Music revival. The album was produced by Liran Donin (of Led Bib).

Notes: Trombonist, improviser, composer and educator, Raph Clarkson, presents 'Soldiering On' - the debut recording of his new ensemble, The Dissolute Society, released on the Babel label. It is a highly personal, poignant, often dark album - interweaving a wide range of genres, styles and influences, including: avant-garde improvised music, traditional & modern jazz, contemporary classical music, folk, funk, poetry and spoken word.

Raph's musical palette covers all these areas and more - and he has developed a compositional and improvisational interest in the intersection between trombone and voice - an area he explores with The Dissolute Society, for which he provides most of the compositions and writes the words. In fact, he especially likes to employ the power of words in music to give a narrative arc, which also acts as a 'glue' for the many genre styles within this project.

The 15-track album is full of remarkable performances: Fini Bearman's breathtaking part-spoken vocals; Huw Warren's mesmerising piano; Laura Jurd's fleet-footed trumpet; Mia Marlen Berg's elastic voice; and not least, Raph Clarkson's trombone virtuosity - from soft, mournful refrain to unrestrained vigour, and all shades in between. But, genuinely, all the participating musicians bring phenomenal feeling and interpretation to this complex, opaque recording - that also has such immediacy and inner energy.

'Soldiering On' is full of auto-biographical material, including references to Raph's German-Jewish grandmother, who lived in Palestine for many years, and his mother, the well-known violinist and Early Music specialist. His father, Gustav Clarkson, plays delightful viola on the album, and there are two compositions by John Taylor (including the title track) who was to have guested on this project, but sadly died in July 2015. Raph (and Phil Merriman & Simon Roth) were all taught at York University by John Taylor, a close friend of Kenny Wheeler, whose composition 'Kind Folk' is also included on the album.

Raph Clarkson studied music at the Universities of York & Oxford, and is probably best known as a member of award-winning jazz-punk ensemble WorldService Project. Other projects include The Vanderbilts, a contemporary cross-arts collaboration with pianist-composer Elliot Galvin, and dancer Kasia Witek; the free-improvising Speckles Brass ensemble; and The Old Bone Band, who specialise in the swing jazz tradition of the 1930s and 40s.

Raph loves to use creative music-making and song-writing in his work as an educator and workshop leader, particularly with children who have special educational and social needs, and has participated/directed numerous projects with: Be Creative Music, English Touring Opera, Spitalfields Music, Opera Holland Park, Sinfonia Viva, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Match & Fuse initiative, and others.

That left him plenty of spare time in 2016 to: perform with: the Octandre Ensemble (a Radio 3 broadcast); the Kazzum theatre company's new pop-up piece 'Sprung' at festivals; the Engines Orchestra & Femi Temowo at the Love Supreme Festival; the Brassroots brass band; and tour WorldService Project's new album 'For King and Country' across Europe, China, Japan and India. Plus, this year with: Benin City (Joshua Idehen's RnB/Hip Hop band); a jazz & shadow puppetry project in Brecon with Huw Warren, Laura Jurd, Chris Williams & others; and a South African collaboration with Adam Glasser.

personnel: The Dissolute Society: Fini Bearman (voice), Naomi Burrell (violin), Zosia Jagodzinska (cello), Gustav Clarkson (viola), Laura Jurd (trumpet), Raph Clarkson (trombone, vocals), Phil Merriman (keys, synth bass) & Simon Roth (drums). Special guests: Huw Warren (piano), Mia Marlen Berg (vocals,fx), Joshua Idehen (rap vocals) & Mike Soper (trumpet).