Description
Diversity is at the heart of pianist/keyboardist/composer/poet Robert Mitchell's remarkable career. His recent tenure as Artist in Residence at Morley College provided the setting for a new venture that builds on all his previous legacy while sounding quite unlike any of it. Drawing inspiration from the heavy fusion of Chick Corea and Allan Holdsworth, the psychedelic bluesy swagger of Jimi Hendrix, and the fearless multi-media explorations of Cecil Taylor, 'Little Black Book' brings together three bravura players in an uplifting celebration. Laurie Lowe on drums and Zayn Mohammed on guitar bring the exact combination of power, accuracy and unbounded imagination to make the project come alive.
All the compositions were written specially with the trio's unique blend of musical personalities in mind. "The word jazz can be so difficult and limiting. Zayn is so versed in different musics from across the Middle East and India as well as rock and blues and Laurie is simply one of the best drummers around: creative, superbly reactive and amazingly versatile whether with a specific arrangement or coming up with the best drum based answer to a musical challenge. For myself, I love the sounds of Geri Allen, Django Bates and Cecil Taylor well as the innovations of synth pioneers like D-Train. It's all in there."
Little Black Book lives up to the sense of mystery and promise the title evokes, opening up new vistas of Robert's creativity. "It's been very exciting to explore the world of electronic keyboards, with the challenge of taking on multiple roles, from lead voice to bass, all live in the studio. And I'm fulfilling a long held dream to work more with guitar and realise the sense of excitement and exploration that it brings." 'Little Black Book' is the latest telling of a story in which every chapter is more intriguing than the last.
Available on heavyweight black vinyl + digipak CD editions.
