I am very grateful to music. Music always reminded me that deep down life is timeless and all about passion. I believe there is something everyone can do, their own unique gift that makes them feel like this. It is the place we can go where we never grow old. My dream is to create music that can be a friend to someone else the way music has been a friend to me.
see you at facebook
Influences
faith, life, music, passion, people, quiet people, people who quietly do the opposite of what everyone else is doing, romance, dogs, pat metheny group, books, I LOVE BOOKS
THANKYOU Grant Thomas, John Hanlon, Tony King, Russell Finch, John Morrison and the musicians on this page for your talent, patience and generosity.
PS by the way John Hanlon has just released an album of his own songs. I LOVE THIS ALBUM, it is just pure great songs and acres of space. You can listen at Johnhanlon.com.au
beautiful world
10/07/09 that secondhand shop, right in the middle of the clubs and parties, the old Greek man runs it from his downstairs living room. It is a bit half hearted though, the stock never changes, just all the old stuff that he and his wife have thrown out over the years, big old fan covered in sticky tape, washing machine gone yellow with a crack in the lid and the pricecard with his FIRM but wobbly pencil $370 ! I did find my George Elliot books there though! If he has something else to do, shop stays closed. I don't think he cares if he sells anything, I think he just likes the idea of letting the world in, sitting at his little kitchen table and who knows what visitors, WHO may show up! When I see the gate open and the rack of clothes in the street I get that little lift like all is right with the world.
2/07/09 this cat, he doesn't have a lot of stuff, only dinner, tray and a warm bed and that's it, that's all he WANTS. Imagine giving him lovely things, him looking up as if to say what am I supposed to do with this? Cuddles and games are very good. But even then I could buy him a whole toystore but still this screwed up ball of paper, he would rather play with that, there is more up to the imagination, endless new ways to chase it, catch it, carry it around like a prize. I wish he could shake us, tell us that we don't need all this STUFF, material stuff, fads, pressures we put on ourselves, to achieve, to earn more to keep up, it is sort of madness.
30/06/09 There is something weirdly comforting about places like that, like the Labour Club, or even the quaint inner city pubs that I never drink at, their clean ordinary honesty, the poker machines in those dark corners, I quite like them, the lights and sounds in the black cave, the smell of beer in the air, and the dripping airconditioner (dripping airconditioner is my favourite. ) At this one place upstairs there is a bistro where everyone takes a tray and a number, and a TV set in every corner, with the sound always off, and the cardboard coasters, and the old people, they meet for early dinner, they have happy faces and they seem to love live music, even though I always sneak in my own songs. There is something uncomplicated and fascinating about these places, I never get tired of them, of writing about them, the romance of them. Maybe they connect me to my grandparents who are gone now, or maybe because they are REAL Australia.
karma cafe, los angeles
THE DREAM and ON PATROL FOR THE JAZZ POLICE (also on iTunes)
'Stunning. just amazing stuff. I've never heard anything quite like it.'
DON BURROWS
'Elizabeth Geyer sounds like Elizabeth Geyer. There is no greater
compliment. She's got her own sound and it's beautiful.'
JAMES VALENTINE ABC
'There are two sides to Elizabeth Geyer, who writes, sings and plays trumpet, flugelhorn and piano. She is an aspiring adult pop artist with jazz inflections and a jazz artist with pop leanings ... both work here thanks to a lovely voice and some fine playing by her and a band of excellent jazz musicians'
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
'
While much of Geyer's thought provoking poetry is open for personal interpretation, these compositions and arrangements, especially the energetic pieces include qualities of climactic drama and surprise. I didn't want the crescendo of 'A Candle Is Sweeter Than Fire' to end..
ABC LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE
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I love music and beautiful things.. new ideas, revelations, grief, when you lose someone and realise what they meant to you is beautiful. Loners, humour, dogs, vulnerability, humility are beautiful. But romance best of all , not just the Valentine's day kind, but as in ANYthing is possible, melancholy, memories, and strangeness - industrial suburbs on the weekends, tired suburban bowling clubs, forgotten people and places. This is all the kind of stuff I live for and love to write songs about.
It is never too late to follow our dreams. When I was eleven, my school offered free trumpet lessons to anyone who would play in the school band. All we had to do to qualify was blow a big raspberry into a mouthpiece and pray for a sound. I was head over heels in love with music by then but hadn't connected music with the trumpet. The instrument was cold and the mouthpiece was strange and stinky. But I blew the biggest raspberry I could and out came a cow sound, a cow in pain, and a few hours later I was riding home with a trumpet strapped to the back of my bike.
If throughout my life music and I have been like soulmates, trumpet and I soldiered on like a miserable married couple. All through school and university I practised and practised, driven by an insane need to please and a stubborn fascination with the sheer difficulty of the instrument. I'm grateful now, but don't know why I didn't just do something I loved.
Instead I went on to study it. Three years into a classical trumpet degree I went to a jazz workshop, run by a cranky fantastic old man, Hal Hall. He introduced us to improvisation and Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan and changed my life. Trumpet was suddenly fun for the first time. Then my teacher tracked down a beautiful flugelhorn which I still play to this day. Finally I had found a way to the trumpet - it was called FLUGELHORN.. . .
..only most gigs wanted trumpet, not flugelhorn. So I kept working at trumpet until I was freelancing for a living. Then my reluctant trumpet and I were travelling and playing all sorts of wonderful gigs with many talented people. Outwardly it was going well but inside I was a mess of nerves every single time I pulled the horn out of it's case. All I had ever wanted to do in life was create music but not by giving myself to an instrument I wasn't passionate about.
After many years depression began to take over and the fallout was beyond my imagination, professionally and personally. Everything unravelled including my trumpet gigs. But in it all was an enormous blessing. There was finally an opportunity to make everything right. In my case it meant taking a leap of faith to create the music I had dreamed about since first playing piano when I was little. And having to live more bravely and honestly than ever before.
I now know that nothing in life is ever a waste of time. Everything is a blessing taking us where we deeply want to go. Late bloomers I have seen can make for the most beautiful flowers sometimes. Trumpet is part of who I am. I have such a soft spot and respect for the trumpetplayers out there.
I love to write songs about the amazing things I see..
some beautiful,
some heartbreaking,
some bizarre,
all hiding in the everyday
BIOGRAPHY
Elizabeth Geyer began playing piano at age 4 and trumpet at 12, touring Europe with her school choir. Following a B Mus performance degree (trumpet) at Adelaide University she performed in piano bars and as a freelance trumpetplayer in jazz festivals in Australia, Monterey Jazz Festival (USA ) backing artists on occasion including James Morrison, Gene Pitney, Barbara Morrison (US), Harry Secombe, in the Don Burrows Quintet, and Swing City for the 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Inspired by singing teacher Kerrie Biddell, in 2000 Elizabeth recorded an album of jazz standards which led to national and ABC radio airplay and joined John Morrison's Swing City, firstly as trumpet soloist and then feature vocalist. 'The Dream' , a collaboration album with award winning songwriter/multi instrumentalist Tony King, led to a top 5 placing in the Australian Songwriting Competition with 'You Carry Me Home', a national tour and unearthed her passion for songwriting. In 2007 Elizabeth travelled the US/ Europe performing at venues including Galli's Bar, Karma Cafe in Los Angeles, Cafe Tirebouchon in Paris and in New York at Yippie Museum, Googie's Lounge over The Livingroom, with residencies and repeat performances at Cafe Vivaldi and legendary New York songwriter venue The Bitter End. Elizabeth recently released her third album 'On Patrol With The Jazz Police'.
I DON'T HAVE TOP FRIENDS
EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT
THANKYOU FOR VISITING AND LISTENING AND WRITING..
A HUGE THANKYOU IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED MY MUSIC.. you make my dream possible. I love to visit your space, music and your story, drop me a request and I'll get back as soon as I can, Elizabeth
elizabeth ... went back to your tunes today. listened and enjoyed your sound again. your "song of spring" is a great conversation with nature. you make the picture of spring so clear, the sound almost has a scent to it. you are now part of my TOP TWENTY (20) FRIENDS.
Your welcome Elizabeth...Now your wish has come true but don't say that I did not warn you first...LOL...on my profile page there are vids of me singing or you can simply go to my vids and watch if you'd seriously like to do such...Again have a great weekend...Smiles, Bev
Elizabeth, your welcome and I am sorry that you could not post your comment to me! I will check into why you could not but I think that my settings are set to approve comments first...Again as I said to you in my email, "Have a fantastic weekend!" And yes, your music is excellent! Smiles...Bev B
Hola Elizabeth, Hope things are good & not to cold at your end! Wish you a wonderfull weekend, great news about you recording new songs! Warm wishes Ibatabros!
Hi Elizabeth! Hope all is well. New CD at My site. Some trumpet playing too from a very young guest musician Nick. Hugs from me and Sara the dog!! Roine.
Hey Elizabeth... it has been a long time. I have been working incredibly hard. The unfortunate economy has us all working harder and the payback less. I have used your page a number of nights for a musical backdrop. I need to write more... the last think I wrote was at the end of feb or march called "in the shadow of sinatra" which I was pleased with... but I was moved to write it.
Hope all is well with you ... any touring in NYC planned?
Hi! How are you? You can listen to our new song "In Your Soul" just now ! Please access our profile page and comment your impression. Regards. BrandNewDay
Oh Elizabeth, your songs are very emotional and moving - again and again!! I like this very much. What you sing and play sounds so honest. You must be a person everybody should have trust in. And the man who is loved by you must be totally lucky and happy.
I would like recommend to you the CD "If There Be Nothing New" by my best friend Friedbert Wissmann using poems by William Shakespeare. It is a composition for choir, wood wind quintet and two improvising jazz soloists. If you want you can find sound examples on www.myspace.com/friedbertwissmann
Hi Elizabeth…Thanks a lot for your kind comment and your friendship, which is very much appreciated…I love your Voice and your Choice of Songs…also your Trumpet Sound is amazing…all the best from the other side of the World…Prabhudeva
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