Sister Sadie : Clare Hirst : Sax | Barbara Snow : Trumpet & Flugel horn | Julie Walkington : double bass | Dave Barry : drums
Ladies Excuse Me Dance Orchestra
Martha Lewis : vocals | Diane McLoughlin : saxophones | Barbara Snow : trumpet | Alison Rayner : string bass | Josefina Cupido : drums
Sounds Like
"the bright lucidity of Vicari's compositions bepeak a clarity of vision rare in so young a composer" The Times
"a sharp post-pob piano improviser and prolific composer - breathtakingly eclectic. The Guardian
"irresistibly catchy, and hugely inventive". The Observer
"scary..it's worth seeing her play" Oxford Times
"one of the most brilliant young jazz musicians in the UK - an outstanding pianist and superbly fertile composer" Penguin Rough Guide to Jazz
"a brilliant young British talent"
Humphrey Lyttleton
"one of the very brightest stars in the jazz firmament" Ian Carr (biographer of Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett)
"Andrea Vicari shares with Django Bates an irreverent wit and a wanton disregard for musical borders yet she can swing with the best of them" Neville Hadsley
"a jazz composer of formidable range...the variety of texture and colour is truly remarkable" Dave Gelly, Musician Magazine
NEWS - iTunes Andrea's new album "Mango Tango" plus "Suburban Gorillas" and "Tryptych" are now available globally to download direct from iTunes. Click the Album name to go straight to the iTunes page.
LATEST CD - MANGO TANGO - iTunes Mango Tango is the latest album on 33 records by Andrea Vicari. Encompassing the eclectic saxophone playing of Pete Wareham (Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear) with the peerless playing of Steve Waterman (just about everyone) on trumpet; plus regular bassist Dorian Lockett with newcomer and rising star James Maddren on Drums.
LATEST REVIEW - JazzUK Magazine Feb 2008 A conventional-enough quintet of trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section, but it would be a great injustice to regard Andrea Vicari's new CD as a routine jazz exercise. For one thing, there are ten earcatching original pieces by the leader, ably interpreted by a fine band. For another, Andrea Vicari's own playing is a constant delight - intense, probing, and generating a seemingly endless succession of ideas. The stylistic contrast between Steve Waterman's trumpet and Pete Wareham's sax playing is also productive, with the former delivering strong, fluent solos in a predominantly hard-hop idiom, while the latter (as listeners to Acoustic Ladyland would expect) tends to explore the harmonic 'outside', as on the lively 'So Bigtime'. Then again, the very next track, 'Counting Minutes', is a gentle, reflective piece. This is primarily a vehicle for Andrea Vicari's thoughtful piano playing, but the track also provides a chance for bassist Dorian Lockett and drummer James Maddren to display their empathy with the leader's ideas. An absorbing CD - the sort you'll keep going back to.
PMRead a review of The Mango Tango Quintet's recent gig at the Warwick Arts Centre
Buy Andrea's recordings direct with GoogleCheckout
TRYPTYCH - iTunes Piano trio featuring brilliant virtuoso drummer Sebastian Rochford, an integral member of "Acoustic Ladyland" and "Polar Bear". The music is a combination of Andrea Vicari's "atmospheric and original" (Time Out) compositions, and her unique arrangements of classic jazz standards; including "Bewitched", "Fly Me to the Moon", and "Someday My Prince will Come".
“...moving from Evans-like calm into a fevered sequence whose drive and momentum bring to mind the late Hampton Hawes at his best.
Still, there's little need to overplay such comparisons since all these tracks offer ample testimony to Vicari's refreshing fusion of creativity
and command.” JazzUK magazine
SUBURBAN GORILLAS - iTunes Andrea Vicari's epic debut album featuring a freewheeling eleven piece jazz orchestra, performing works commissioned by the Arts council, Jazz Umbrella, and the Peter Whittingham Trust. The music embraces a bewildering range of styles: african township jive, cuban dance music, reggae, ska, bop, free-jazz, french folk-music, arabic rhythms, fusion and sultry ballads.
"go out and get this album because it's rich in good things... a brilliant young british talent" Humphrey Lyttleton BBC Radio 2
Biography
Pianist and composer Andrea Vicari was born in Miami (Florida) and grew up in Birmingham (England). Educated at Cardiff University she won a scholarship to study at The Guildhall School of Music in London. Andrea was soon in demand as a 'side-man" working with bass guitar legend, Dill Katz in a band that included the then unknown guitarist Phil Robson. Soon after she formed her first important group with Julian Argüelles on saxophone & Stuart Hall, then of Django Bates' "Human Chain", on bass. Other employers included GRP recording artist, Phil Bent; jazz warrior David-Jean Baptiste with whom she recorded her first commercially released CD; and the all-women band "Birds" led by Kathy Stobart. She played a successful season at London's sadly defunct jazz club "The Bass Clef" with the late great American saxophone innovator, Eddie Harris, broadcasting live on JazzFM radio; and gigged with the US trumpet legend Art Farmer.
Andrea was commissioned by The Arts Council and the Peter Whittingham Trust to write music for a new eleven piece jazz orchestra which became the Suburban Gorillas project. A CD and Jazz Services tour followed including a triumphant appearence at Brecon Jazz Festival and a live BBC broadcast from the Newcastle Playhouse.
"This is one of the most impressive recording debuts to come from the recent crop of young British jazz musicians. The writing and playing are superlatively assured, and the music covers a vast spectrum, from the elegiac "Awakenings", to the African-inspired "Maibouye", the brittle satire of "Pin Stripe Woman", and the tour de force of "L'Orchestre des Fous", a ten minute outing in 5/4 time which swings beautifully"
Ian Carr (Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett biographer) talking about Suburban Gorillas.
Rapidly gaining a reputation as a prolific and original composer she followed up with a quintet CD "Lunar Spell", featuring Mornington Lockett (then of Jim Mullen, and Ronnie Scott's groups) on tenor sax, and Phil Robson (Partisans) playing guitar. The music again consisted entirely of Vicari originals.
"As her previous CD showed, Andrea Vicari is a composer of formidable range. She moves easily from complex ear-tricking rhythmic devices to a kind of pastoral lyricism while remaining recognisably herself...the variety of texture and colour (the band) are able to draw from this standard line-up is truly remarkable"
Dave Gelly (broadcaster, "Observer" Jazz critic & Stan Getz biographer) writing about "Lunar Spell".
In 2004 Andrea decided to explore the piano trio tradition with the release of "Tryptych". Featuring long time collaborator Dorian Lockett on double bass, the drum chair is taken by Sebastian Rochford, recently winner of the BBC jazz Award in the "rising star" category for his work with "Acoustic Ladyland' and his own group "Polar Bear". For the first time Andrea recorded some arrangements of standard songs alongside her "atmospheric and original" (Time Out) compositions.
Andrea also returned to the large ensemble in 2004 performing and recording with "The Vortex Foundation Big Band", an all women jazz orchestra led by Annie Whitehead with a line-up including Deirdre Cartwright and Carol Grimes. Their CD "Charybdis" was released on Babel Records.
Since arriving in London Andrea Vicari has worked with the cream of the UK jazz scene including: Alan Barnes, Denys Baptiste, Don Weller, Phil Robson, Dick Pearce, Tim Whitehead, Tim Garland, Jacqui Dankworth, Dick Pearce, Julian Siegel, Brian Abrahams, Jim Mullen, Mornington Lockett, Alan Skidmore, Patrick Clahar, Chris Tobin, Bryan Spring, Julian Siegel, Paul Booth, Martin Drew, Dave O'Higgins, Jason Yarde, Theo Travis, Trudy Kerr, Nick France etc.
Currently Andrea holds a position as Professor of Jazz Piano at Trinity College of Music, London; one of Europe's leading conservatoires, and is founder and musical director of the Dordogne Jazz Summer School.
The Dordogne would be lovely Andrea. It may be the only jazz course left running at this rate (apart from Aebersold of course .....)!!! I love the variety of rhythms in your compositions, and the melodic quality. Keep up the good work!
hi andrea, thanks for acceptin my request. Just wanted to say it was really nice to play with you briefly at Epsom a couple of weeks ago, and maybe I'll see you down the 6 again sometime soon? Cheers, Steve
Hey Andrea, Great music on yourspace, really digging it. it was great to see and chat with you recently, I hope all is well and look forward to seeing you soon. Best wishes, Tony Kofi.x
