28th October, 7:30pm, Jazz Cafe POSK
Pianist and composer John-Paul Muir launches his new project “Home Now”, featuring Brigitte Beraha on vocals alongside the rhythm section of Jakub Cywiński (double bass) and Eric Ford (drums). George Crowley features on both bass clarinet and tenor saxophone, and David Wright also joins on tenor saxophone.
Muir’s compositions are lyrical, imbued with warmth, and represent the arrival of a distinctive artistic voice. Several of the compositions were created in collaboration with writer Anjali Bhat as lyricist, and this partnership resonates throughout the album.
Muir’s classical heritage is still present but is now imbued with influences from across the European jazz tradition. He will also be presenting new arrangements of compositions from his previous album “The Cornerstone Suite”.
John-Paul Muir has established himself as one of the finest pianists to emerge from New Zealand in recent years, and certainly one of the most versatile, equally at home in both classical, jazz, and contemporary genres.
After completing studies at the University of Auckland with Rae de Lisle and Kevin Field, John-Paul moved to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
He has since graduated with distinction from their Artist Masters Programme and is currently enjoying a freelance career based in London.
He has performed throughout New Zealand, the USA, and the United Kingdom. Highlights include performing for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and several concert series at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of the Royal Over-Seas League concert programme in both classical and jazz settings. He was featured as the official pianist for the New Zealand exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 2011, where he performed daily for a week as part of the opening festivities.
John-Paul is the Senior Programme Manager of the Bloomsbury Festival, an annual 10-day arts festival held in October featuring over one hundred events across Bloomsbury.
He has established a weekly jazz night in Bloomsbury at Goodenough College, where his regular appearances feature an ever-evolving roster of guest musicians from the UK jazz scene and beyond. His debut solo piano record featuring original compositions and improvisations, the Cornerstone Suite, was released in November 2019 after a premiere at the London Jazz Festival, and his latest recording project is due for release in 2023.
Born in Poland, based in London, Jakub Cywiński is a double bass player and composer who currently explores his interest in collaborating with various contemporary composers and jazz musicians such as Ola Onabule, Marco Marconi, Partikel, Duncan Eagles Quartet among others. He studied double bass as a postgraduate at the Royal College of Music. His varied freelance career has taken him to India, Russia, Lebanon, and other places around the world…
Brigitte Beraha, improvising vocalist, and composer is one of the leading talents on the UK jazz scene. She has recorded several critically acclaimed albums, with the latest two under her name, By the Cobbled Path (a solo work) and Blink (with her ‘Lucid Dreamers’ quartet), both adventuring into the realms of electronic exploration and spoken word. She is increasingly involved in exciting cross-genre projects, such as the recreation of Basil Kirchin’s music as part of Hull City of Culture 2017 or Raising Hell with Henry Purcell led by Ethan Iverson at Kings Place in 2018, cementing her reputation as a truly versatile artist with a huge range of experience and creative scope.
Line-up:
Brigitte Beraha – vocals
George Crowley – bass clarinet/sax
David “Flash” Wright – sax
John-Paul Muir – piano
Jakub Cywiński – double bass
Eric Ford – drums
Video 1 (John Paul Muir – “Rita’s Waltz”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IThaK0W8r18
Video 2 (John Paul Muir – “Autumn Song”): https://vimeo.com/174437981
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