Moons, Masons and M&S

I love taking photos of bridges over water. 
This was my first view of beautiful Norwich on the way to the hotel.

There was a chaise longue in my hotel room!  A chaise longue is
definitely one of my favourite things.

Kate Williams and I were booked to perform under this art installation of the moon during the full moon.  Unfortunately the windy conditions meant the artwork was moved inside and we perofrmed outsidebut it was absolutely stunning.

Soundcheck - done!  Just a few minutues until the seats were filled
with jazz fans fo all ages. We had fun!

Really enjoyed working with these guys.  Kate Williams, Cosimo Keita, Tony Kofi & Oli Hayhurst.
We also got a great review here

David Preston and I on our way to Bath for the Bath Festival to perform the new
collaboration project with performance poet Zena Edwards!
(I'm definitely #teamnero #properitaliancoffee)

Another beautiful bridge - this time spotted on the way to the hotel in Bath.

We spent the day before the show rehearsing in a small theatre above a church. 
David and Zena working on one of her songs.

And this was our venue - Masonic Hall which is part of the Old Theatre Royal.
A really stunning room.

I had a great time working with Zena on our project and we got lots of wonderful
feedback from the audience.

The next day David and I did an impromptu performance for the shoppers in M&S.  Some bewildered looks as we set up next to the lingerie!  Lots of nice comments from the surprised shoppers.  And another bonus is that I found these gorgeous sparkly shoes.

Next on the agenda are some London performances and a return to Oxford.  Hope to see you there!

08 June:  Bond to Bowie @ Bar Zedel, London
25 June:  Special Guest with house band at Summertown Wine Cafe, Oxford
28 June:  Divas of Jazz @ Bar Zedel, London
29 July:  Nina & Other Divas @ Boisdale of Canary Wharf, London

Arrivederci Roma, Hola Odessa!

November was a busy month filled with new people, places and experiences.  :-)

I had a really amazing time with 6 gigs in Italy, then numerous gigs over the EFG London Jazz Festival including a live performance from the Barbican for BBC Radio 3's Jazz Record Requests and a great family-friendly performance at Cadogan Hall.  I also returned to one of my favourite places (Oxford), at the Summertown Wine Cafe.

And it won't be long until I'm off to foreign climes again as I've been invited as a guest artist for New Year's Eve celebrations at an amazing new venue in Odessa!  I've checked the weather and it doesn't seem too cold at the moment but I'm keeping everything crossed that there'll be no snow.

We played 2 nights at Gregory's Jazz Club - the oldest jazz clubs in Rome

Downstairs at Gregory's there is a tiny bar where regulars have special name plaques.  I asked about Vittorio and if I remember correctly, he is a sailor from Sicily who visits Rome and Gregory's often and keeps his place at the bar reserved.  Love this idea!

The Italian Quartet!  Max (bass), Rudy (drums) and Daniele (piano)

I spent some time in Genoa and was amazed at how wonderful the climate is - there are PALM TREES!

Love Pisa!  Here I am in front of a gorgeous Keith Haring mural.

With the Family Jazz All Stars (Tony Kofi -sax, Kate Williams - piano, Oli Hayhurst - bass, Cosimo Keita - drums) just before we stepped on stage at Cadogan Hall

On stage at Cadogan Hall.  A stunning venue!

Finally, Trevor Hoggett did a really nice interview with me about Spellbound Stories and it's out now in December's Jazz Journal magazine.

And my name is on the front cover - second name up from the bottom in red - woo hoo!

Finally, (really this time), here's a seasonal joke for you:

Q:  What do you call a bunch of chess players bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?
A:  Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.

New Spellbound Stories EP is here... and another new project coming up for the EFG London Jazz Festival!

Yes, it's here!  In advance of the full album release I've decided to make three of the new tracks available for download.

There are 3 tracks on the EP:

1.  Little Things (inspired by The God of Small Things)
2.  Surrender (based on a theme from Middlemarch)
3.  Forbidden Fruit (with ideas from The Color Purple)
plus a radio edit (shorter version) of Track 1

I'm joined by a fabulous band who have played with the likes of Cinematic Orchestra, Pharoah Sanders and Mark Ronson.

If you'd like a copy of the music and to help me in my goal to finally release my next album after a long five years, then just click the link below and it will take you straight to the page where you can listen to the songs and buy the EP.

(EP is no longer available but you can now buy the full album below.)

https://julietkelly.bandcamp.com/album/spellbound-stories



And in other news, I'm pleased to announce that the producers of the EFG London Jazz Festival have asked me to create a new family jazz show for the upcoming festival in November!  I'll be performing some classic jazz favourites with an allstar band featuring Tony Kofi (sax), Kate Williams (piano), Ben Hazleton (bass) and Cosimo Keita (drums) at the Southbank Centre on Sunday 23 November.  Tickets available here!

Playful Puns and Spellbound Stories

Great news!  My grant application to Arts Council England was successful and I've been offered funding for my new project "Spellbound Stories".

Spellbound Stories is a set of songs I've written that are inspired by some of my favourite novels. Novels used as inspiration include "Vanity Fair" (William Makepeace Thackeray), "The Colour Purple" (Alice Walker), Veronika Decides to Die (Paolo Coelho) and "White Teeth" (Zadie Smith). 

I'm really looking forward to working with my great band - Nick Ramm (piano) Oli Hayhurst/Ben Hazleton (bass) and Eddie Hick (drums).  Our premiere performance will be at The Forge in London on 22 May 2014.  I've almost finished all the songs now - just a few bits and pieces to finish. I've aso been working on setting up a tour for later in the year and already have several dates confirmed.  Exciting!

While I was waiting to hear my fate I busied myself by searching out some excellent puns.  Here are a few of my favourites.  

• No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
• Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
• Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
• A vulture carrying two dead raccoons boards an airplane. The stewardess looks at him and says,  'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'
• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

 This also made me chuckle.

UK Jazz Tour - Gigs 7 & 8 of 12 - London & Oxford

I became an honorary Pole on 5th March and it was fabulous!  The Polish hostess for the show at Jazz Cafe POSK in Hammersmith was the gorgeous Mariola and we were even treated to Polish cakes during the interval.  And I've discovered a new favourite drink... Zubrowka aka Bison Grass Vodka!   Absolutely delicious served with chilled apple juice.  And I've heard that you can also serve it over vanilla ice-cream.  Double yum!





With the lovely Mariola





George, Milo and Dave tucking into Polish cakes!

 

The audience were lovely and although we had to compete at times with a rather noisy birthday party happening in another section of the room, the audience seemed to enjoy themselves and there were lots of happy smiley faces.




Some of the happy smiling faces

 


Next was a return to Oxford - one of my favourite cities.  Unfortunately I got delayed by an accident on the M40 and although I left London at 4.30pm to get there for 6.45pm, I didn't arrive at the venue until 8.20pm...  Ten minutes before I was due on stage!  Other complications were that I had a call from Milo, the drummer, that day and unfortunately, due to no fault of his own, he was unable to do the gig so we had to get a dep in with very short notice.  Luckily, Charlie Stratford - a local drummer - was available and he acquitted himself extremely well and was a joy to play with!





George, Charlie and Oli

 Joe's Bar & Grill is a another great venue.  It's a shame they don't advertise the music more as with a decor that includes a beautiful chandelier and black and white photos adorning the walls, it has the makings of an excellent jazz club.




Joe's Bar & Grill

 



Lovely Layla and husband
(And more smiling faces)

  

UK Jazz Tour - Gigs 5 & 6 of 12 - Hawth, Crawley & Camberwell Crypt

We're half way through!

The Hawth is a lovely venue.  A proper but cosy little studio theatre with raked seating. Only thing is when I was on stage the audience was in complete darkness which meant I could see no-one at all!  I love to see the faces of the audience while I'm singing so that made it a little difficult but I made up for this by going out and meeting them all during the interval...

The Hawth Theatre

George, Oli and Milo on stage during soundcheck

 

Somr of the people I met during the interval



Brian (a jazz photographer) and his wife.  He took lots of pictures of me during
 the show so I thought it only fair to return the favour!



Me with 2 lovely ladies -  She looks as if she's about to kiss me
but think she was just caught mid sentence!



Taken by a professional - Brian O'Connor



Another photo from Brian O'Connor (See my photo of Brian above!)



Oli was back with us for these 2 gigs and it was lovely to play with him and hear stories of his tour in Ireland with Zoe Rahman.  The promoter also arranged for us to be given a hot meal before the performance.  This seems like a luxury but really it should be a necessity as when we've travelled for hours it can be tough to then have to go out looking for somewhere to get a meal with only minutes to spare after the soundcheck.  And that's not to mention the added cost!  I wish all promoters would consider this.

Then the next day we were in my home town of London for my first performance at the Camberwell Crypt.  I've been to this venue as part of the audience before and always loved it so it was great to be performing there.  Again we had a meal before the performance and I highly recommend the food.  Especially the puddings.  Yum!

What was particularly good about this venue is that it's full of young people.  A real rarity in jazz.  There were more than a hundred people there and the average age definitely seemed to be under thirty.  Maybe we shouldn't be so pessimistic about the future of jazz after all?



The sign says "Welcome To The Crypt"  A bit spooky, no?  Muhahahahaha!




Some of the lovely people at the gig

 

More lovely people.  And the girl on the left has spectacular hair!