"MISTERIOSO IS A TOUCHING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKIING THEATRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LITTLE-KNOWN LOVE AFFAIR OF A BOHEMIAN HEIRESS, NICA DE KOENIGSWARTER, AND A RECLUSIVE JAZZ GENIUS, THELONIOUS MONK. THE WORDS ARE STYLISH AND THE MUSIC, PERFORMED LIVE BY LEADING JAZZ PROS, IS EXCELLENT." Jack Massarik
Kultureflash Review on Misterioso
29 I 10 I 09
CONCERT / JAZZ / MULTIMEDIA / THEATRE
MISTERIOSO
Riverside Studios
Ends Sunday 8 November [Wed to Sun 8pm]
Crisp Rd., W6 T:020.8237.1111 Tube: Hammersmith
general £15 | concessions £13
London-based collective Theatralia inject Stefano Benni's play Misterioso with a dose of beatnik heroin. Misterioso explores the relationship of legendary pianist Thelonius Monk with aristocratic arts patron Baroness Rothschild (Pannonica). Jazz aficionados will by thrilled by the ensemble of seasoned musicians, who will transport them to an NYC Jazz club in McCarthy-era America. Tony Kofi blows away the cobwebs with his sax, Orphy Robinson competes with a projection of a '50s cartoon character on vibes, and Pat Thomas' subtle piano invokes the presence of the late Monk, who spent the last seven years of his life in silence. Magical music and audience toe-tapping is given a menacing undertone with Pannonica's tragic anecdote, about a cop hitting Monk's hands with a baton after he asks for refreshment in a whites-only hotel. Misterioso culminates with a projection of Monk rotating like a whirling dervish, a metaphor for mounting racial tension. Sympathetic direction and uplifting vocals by Filomena Campus, evoke the feel of the Beat Generation's Big Apple Ex-drum and bass MC Cleveland Watkiss brings Monk's narrative to life with his booming voiceover, whilst Thomas is the physical embodiment of the silent Thelonius, chiaroscuro highlighting him like a Zurbaran painting, giving gravitas to the myth of a musical legend.
TELEGRAPH REVIEW ON MISTERIOSO How Monkish was Monk?
By Sebastian Scotney - The Telegraph
October 23rd, 2009
What is Misterioso? First, and simplest, it is a good jazz gig. The theatre is set up as a club. Director Campus, originally from Sardinia, has assembled a classy band. At one point the audience is encouraged to dance. Vibes player Orphy Robinson – who isn’t doing all the performances – is a national treasure. I just love the warmth and humanity he radiates from the bandstand. Winston Clifford on drums and Tony Kofi on alto sax also feed in energy and humour. Campus herself is a highly musical singer. The music was continually bringing a smile to many faces in the audience.... Read more
And the music by Monk being showcased is definitely capable of looking after itself. Here’s a safe prediction: new generations of musicians are going to continue to absorb the harmony, the language, the emotional directness of Monk’s evergreen and unique tunes for ever. The dreamy sensuality of “Round Midnight”, the slinkiness of “Blue Monk” are for every season. These are great tunes which simply can’t be uninvented. Last night the band were also digging hard into the hip bravado and swing of “I Mean You” and “Well You Needn’t”. They also took excursions into free jazz, a reminder of that part of Monk’s heritage and influence. Pianist Pat Thomas, who certainly looked the part of Monk, came into his own in these episodes."
"There was also something of the lecture about the evening. The sonorous recorded voice of Cleveland Watkiss dwelt on the politics of the McCarthy era. Campus instructed us at one point to “Listen to the sounds of his last silence,” and occasionally drifted into Italian interior monologue”.
“ The best moments were when Tamsin Shasha as Monk’s Baroness Nica was telling the story of some of the more improbable escapades from her travels with Monk. Shasha is both versatile and elegant: not only did she convince with her prim cut-glass Patricia Hodge, and diction to die for, but also was impressive when being lofted upwards as a butterfly”.
Misterioso runs at Riverside Studios till November 8th.
..
ATN review: Misterioso, Riverside Studios ****
Reviewed by Lindsay Johns
Published, November 2, 2009
Subtitled “A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk,” Misterioso is the Riverside’s October Black History Month offering. Billed (albeit a little disingenuously) as a play, when in fact it is far more of a live musical performance, connected by vignettes and short soliloquies, it examines the life of the musical colossus, iconoclast, legend and jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.
Set against a backdrop of visceral racism in segregated 1950s America undergoing the McCarthy purges, the conversational monologues which link the dizzyingly brilliant displays of jazz virtuosity are narrated by Monk’s white patron, friend and perhaps quondam lover, the self-proclaimed Jazz Baroness Nica Rothschild. Tamsin Shasha’s performance explores with an assured depth the friendship that organically develops between her and Monk, and under Filomena Campus’ direction feels sure and controlled.
The pre-recorded voice of Monk, as spoken by jazz musician Cleveland Watkiss, monologues by Billie Holiday and mention of luminaries Bud Powell and Charlie Parker all complete the period evocation and serve to shed valuable light on the white fascination (and at times dangerous fetishization) of black music and musicians.
With the Italian lyrical interludes acting as a gracious nod to writer Stefano Benni’s background, multi-media visuals projected onto a screen, audience participation which evokes the Harlem jazz club milieu, complete with tables and a hostess who sits, drinks and chats with the audience, not to mention some intriguing, deft aerial work, there is much to admire and entertain in this production.
The band are led by the effortlessly sublime saxophonist Tony Kofi and the hauntingly beautiful solos, be they on sax, piano, vibraphone or drums, fully draw out the pathos of Monk’s tortured plight, his loneliness and the metaphysical dimension of his silence.
Poetic, sensual and brave, Misterioso functions both as a serious contemplation of musical genius and as a fervent celebration of Monk’s remarkable legacy, not to mention the jazz aesthetic in general. Jazz - the greatest musical invention of the 20th century, a music which created and defined an unashamedly cerebral black aesthetic, one that still powerfully resonates to this day, is without doubt the evening’s true protagonist and star.
The mystery of Monk’s silence - a silence which consumed him for the last seven years of his life, is summed up in one of the play’s concluding lines, when he asks: “What is the point of talking, when you can play like that?” Having heard Thelonious’ music, only a fool would argue with the profundity of that rhetorical question.
Filomena Campus and Theatralia
TUNES IN JUNE
Celebrate the summer solstice at the London RIVERSIDE STUDIOS with some of the UK's foremost talent in Jazz, Improvised and World music and performance
- June 18 8pm - Filomena Campus Band featuring special guests Cleveland Watkiss and Antonio Forcione @ Riverside Studios
Filomena Campus - vocals
Steve Lodder - piano
Dudley Phillips - double bass
Helder Pack - drums
Cleveland Watkiss - vocals
Antonio Forcione - guitar
A magic night of Mediterranean Jazz
notes with internationally renowned
Sardinian vocalist Filomena Campus
and some of top UK jazz musicians...
an unmissable, engaging experience.
‘...reaching out to her audience, exuding
expressiveness from every part of her body
even down to her fingertips.”
Mary Brosnan on Filomena Campus
'Beautiful voice' Franco Fayenz (Jazz critic)
"Filomena has some spectacular singing abilities (the technique, the passion…), which can be appreciated both while performing “regular” songs and while improvising." Two Expats
“Watkiss has been acknowledged as one of the
worlds most outstanding male jazz singers.”
The Guardian
- June 20 8pm- THEATRALIA THIRD INTERLUDE: Join us for Theatralia’s celebration
of ritual on the Riverside terrace
till midnight.
A unique Theatralia multimedia
event featuring legendary Saxophone
player EVAN PARKER plus Theatralia
performers and top UK free improvisers Filomena Campus, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders, John Edwards, digital artists SDNA and Theatralia stunning performers. Theatralia production, Conceived and Directed by Filomena Campus
“Evan Parker may be the most formidable
saxophonist since John Coltrane.”
All About Jazz
Filomena Campus' outfit by designer "Celeste di Francesco", Alghero, Sardinia, www.celestedifrancesco.com
Other events and past reviews
- THEATRALIA present 'MISTERIOSO. A Journey into the Silence of Thelonious Monk' at the Assembly Queen's Hall,EDINBURGH FESTIVAL 08 www.assemblyfestival.com
MISTERIOSO, A Journey Into The Silence Of Theloniuos Monk, written by STEFANO BENNI, adapted and directed by FILOMENA CAMPUS, featuring Byron Wallen, Pat Thomas, Rowland Sutherland, David Leahy,Mark Sanders, performers Tamsin Shasha and Christina Oshunniyi, recording by CLEVELAND WATKISS, digital art by Sdna.
This production was sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute Edinburgh, Trinity Theatre, Associazione Sardegna2000, Jerwood Space, Feltrinelli and Stefano Benni
..
..
"I’m not going to tell you any names senator McCarthy Go into any library or any jazz club, there you’ll find your enemies Am I afraid of you, senator McCarthy? We are not all heroes, sometimes we are afraid But you are much more afraid, senator, or should I call you president? With your preaching tone and your well rehearsed smiles And the rivers of blood that flow at your feet, under your desk. You can’t sleep at night as you walk through your house with your gun loaded. While we, senator, stay awake at night to listen to the golden fire of a saxophone Senator, sergeant, patriot, spy, executioner, president! Listen to the story of a black piano player, grieved and gentle Listen to the sounds of his last silence"
from "Misterioso" written by Stefano Benni, translation F.Campus
Stars of the UK Jazz scene - such as Byron Wallen, Filomena Campus, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders, Rowland Sutherland and David Leahy bring you Misterioso, an evening of notes and verse about the struggle of jazz musicians in the McCarthy era.
Adapted and directed by Filomena Campus, Misterioso is based on the acclaimed work by Italian writer Stefano Benni.
The story explores the magic of jazz through the life of legendary pianist Thelonious Monk, a genius and an outsider, who spent the last seven years of his life in complete silence. His music is widely used in the show.
Your enjoyment of Misterioso will be strongly enhanced if you choose to wear black and white only
CORRIERE DELLA SERA – 9 AGOSTO 08
Edimburgo, duemila spettacoli E l'Italia esporta il teatro-jazz
Una regista-cantante al «Fringe» con la storia di Monk, leggenda del piano
La nostra performance da un testo di Benni.
(...)Nella capitale scozzese si inaugura con l'opera, si celebra con le parate in gonnellino e cornamusa e quest'anno l'Off è particolarmente organizzato e aggressivo: oltre 2mila performance, biglietti per un milione e 300mila euro. Cercare un filo conduttore è inutile, non è nello spirito del Fringe, e tuttavia quest'anno una linea comune è stata seguita dai quattro spazi più importanti, più folli, come ha segnalato il Financial Times: le sempre affollate sedi di Assembly, Pleasance, Gilded Balloon e Underbelly si sono collegate per offrire un festival nel festival. E per la prima volta, proprio all'Assembly (700 posti) dal 14, è invitato uno spettacolo nato in Italia e cresciuto a Londra: Misterioso, A journey into the silence of Thelonious Monk, testi di Stefano Benni, regia e interpretazione vocale di Filomena Campus. Mentre in passate edizioni l'apporto del nostro teatro era da cercare in scampoli di commedie di Dario Fo affidate a giovanissimi inglesi, Misterioso è «parola e jazz perché ripercorre la vita di una leggenda del piano, Thelonious Monk, tormentata da fantasmi personali e dalla caccia alle streghe del Maccartismo, dalle discriminazioni di un'America anni '50— ci sono video e cartoons — non poi così diversa da oggi», spiega la jazzista di origini sarde che ha diretto lavori di Sarah Kane e Marco Paolini.
«A farmi da tramite con Benni è stato Paolo Fresu. Per Edimburgo, il "mio" festival da quando ero ragazzina, ho creato una serata di note, versi e lotta, con i musicisti Byron Wallen, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders, Rowland Sutherland, David Leahy e la voce fuori campo di un grande come Cleveland Watkiss; e le attrici Tamsin Shasha nel ruolo di Pannonica, la baronessa inglese che proteggeva i neri, e Christina Oshunniyi in Billie Holiday».
Claudia Provvedini
An eloquent study of madness and silence ****
Monk spent the final seven years of his life, until his death in 1982, in near total silence, not speaking or playing a note to anyone. Misterioso explores the possible causes of his descent, through a series of monologues in the guises of his friends and contemporaries, through Monk’s own words (recorded by singer Cleveland Watkiss), and through the biggest clue of all: Monk’s music, which is performed by an all-star band of London musicians.
[David Walter Hall] – BroadwayBaby
'Silence' and 'jazz' were two words which I did not naturally associate with each other, and so I was intrigued to discover how this performance would portray these two aspects of Monk's life. On the 'jazz' front there was much incredibly talented playing from all involved, and the vocals, were confident and assured. (...)I wished that we had been in a more intimate setting - then we might all have been on our feet dancing.
Threeweeks - [Lucinda Wingate-Saul]
Exploring Monk’s elusive mindscape
The often chaotic, always creative and ultimately silent life and times of one of the greatest of all modern jazz giants, pianist Thelonious Monk, is celebrated in this amalgam of music, theatre and video projection from the London-based Theatralia company. The show, sold out in its inaugural run at the Riverside Theatre in London last year, boasts several highly regarded British jazz musicians in its cast, including trumpeter Byron Wallen and singers Cleveland Watkiss and Filomena Campus, the founder of Theatralia.
The show (…)explores Monk’s inner mindscape and reflects upon his experiences, notably in the repressive McCarthy era.
The List
At various times, Thelonious Monk was reputedly either one of two polar opposite characters, able to discourse endlessly about his esoteric music, or a virtual mute who let his idiosyncratic jazz piano style speak for him. However, it's the latter character who appears in this production in which, as McCarthyism unfolds and Monk's friend and patron Pannonica de Koenigswarter reflects on his life, the jazz genius's music is the main event.
Pat Thomas, as Monk, looks the part, sitting statue-like until called to play piano, although rather than attempt faithful recreation sound-wise, the musicians inject Monk favourites such as In Walked Bud with their own energy.
The Herald
MISTERIOSO 07
MISTERIOSO A Journey Into The Silence Of Theloniuos Monk, SOLD OUT at the RIVERSIDE STUDIOS LONDON in Nov 2007
featuring GUY BARKER, JEAN TOUSSAINT, PAT THOMAS, ORPHY ROBINSON, ROWLAND SUTHERLAND, CLEVELAND WATKISS, DUDLEY PHILLIPS, DAVID LEAHY, KENRICK ROWE, projections by Sdna
Misterioso is sponsored by The Arts Council England, The Italian Cultural Institute, The Italian Film Festival, Camden People's Theatre, Urban Audio Visual, the Italian Bookshop and Feltrinelli.
Misterioso by Theatralia
Filomena Campus & Rowland Sutherland’s IN KIMBE: featuring John Crawford (piano), Dudley Phillips (double bass) and Simon Pearson (drums)
IN KIMBE Reviews
'Filomena jazzes things UP'
NOT being much of a jazz buff I didn’t expect to enjoy the jazz quintet In Kimbe at the Trestle Theatre in Russet Drive, St Albans, on Saturday night as much as I did. But I was completely drawn in by their exuberance and love of what they do — mainly due to front woman Filomena Campus. Singer, composer and improviser does not cover what she does. Her voice is an expressive instrument which she rarely deigns to use in the service of words. It’s not scat singing but something more elemental , visceral. The sounds she creates are so perfectly in sync with Rowland Sutherland’s flute that it’s like an ongoing discourse between them. Sardinian-born Ms Campus danced across the stage like a happy child, dispelling the dampness outside and conjuring up visions of sunnier climes. The band play mainly non-Western style music, much of it of their own compositions influenced by Latin, Brazilian rhythms. I guess Filomena and flautist Rowland are the guiding lights of the quintet but they are very ably aided and abetted by Simon Pearson on drums, Dudley Phillips on double bass and nimble-fingered John Crawford ..boards.(...) Engaged is a keynote word which sums the musicians up. They are so engaged with what they are doing that they draw the audience in with the power of their commitment. Again, Filomena has to be given credit for the part she plays in reaching out to her audience exuding expressiveness from every part of her body even down to her fingertips. These musicians are not merely players or superior technicians – they are artists painting pictures and creating moods through their instruments. (...)
MARY BROSNAN - Herts Advertiser, Thursday, April 17, 2008
'Beautiful voice' FRANCO FAYENZ on Filomena Campus at Roccella Ionica Jazz Festival 08
In Kimbe are a surprise and a delight. After the gig at Trestle Arts Base they said they were really delighted that people had sat and listened. How could we not? They draw you in with their commitment to music that is complex, uplifting and evocative played with skill, sensitivity and charm by five excellent musicians. It’s clearly jazz, but it also reminded me of Satie and Ravel in its twists and turns and its willingness to truly explore on the way to its final resolution. The band evokes the sounds of joy, of struggle and confusion, and of the great unfathomable beauty of sunlight glaring on the sea, or dappling through the tall spires of a pine forest. You may find your own pictures, but whatever they are, I’m sure you’ll find them when you give yourself over to this music, which, as I discovered at this intimate gig, is eventually inevitable. They’re a truly fascinating band to listen to and to be in the presence of; there’s a sort of alchemy, a magic that is happening between them as they play. I saw them in a small theatre as part of a small crowd. I know one day we’ll be watching them on an open air stage as part of a large crowd and I can hardly wait. In the meantime, go and see them, go and hear them whenever and wherever you can. I know I will.
Jonathan Salisbury -
23rd April 2008
- 'ITALIA VS ENGLAND' at ROCCELLA IONICA JAZZ FESTIVAL, Italy, a new project created for the Jazz Festival, an evening of readings by sensational writer and performer Stefano Benni and experimental music with top UK jazz musicians featuring STEFANO BENNI, Filomena Campus, Orphy Robinson, Rowland Sutherland, Pat Thomas, David Leahy on 22 August 08
Maria Joao, Oregon, Ralph Towner, Orphy Robinson, Maria Pia De Vito, Paolo Fresu, Airto, Cleveland Watkiss, Norma Winstone, London Improvisers Orchestra, Elis Regina, Joyce, Eva Bittova, Thelonious Monk, Betty Carter, Bobby McFerrin, Lady Day, Tenores di Bitti, De Andre', Pieranunzi, Jon Hendricks, Coltrane, Pat Metheny, Maria Carta, Steve Reich, ...
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Filomena Campus - Theatralia
Jazz vocalist, improviser, academic, theatre director.
Filomena Campus was born in Sardinia, and started her performing career in the 1990’s singing in her native island with groups committed to ethnic music, mostly related to Mediterranean and South American areas. In 1990’s Filomena studied jazz with musicians such as Paolo Fresu, Maria Pia De Vito, Ralph Towner, Pierre Favre, Norma Winstone and Sheila Jordan.
Filomena began to direct jazz musicians and actors in her first major project, A Game of Chess in 2000. The lyrics she wrote were inspired by the work of James Joyce, T.S.Eliot and Samuel Beckett. This project became part of a demo CD, Nightingale, recorded in Sardinia in 2001, prior to Filomena relocating to London for an MA in Theatre Directing.
In UK Filomena began to experiment with improvised and contemporary music and in September 2002 she joined the Nubian Vibes tour project, led by Blue Note artist and key member of the Jazz Jamaica All Stars, Orphy Robinson, with Jean Toussaint, Cleveland Watkiss, Pat Thomas, Dudley Phillips, Kenrick Rowe, Rowland Sutherland and Celloman, for which she received excellent reviews in ‘Jazz UK’ magazine.
Since then she has been very active in the jazz and improvisation scene, collaborating with top musicians and performing at the London Riverside Studios, Edinburgh Queen's Hall, The Vortex, Notting Hill Jazz Festival, the Barbican, Pizza on the Park, The Crypt, the Bloomsbury Theatre, Trinity Theatre, The Albany, Trestle Theatre, Nottingham Jazz Steps Festival, Manchester Jazz Week, Roccella Ionica Jazz Festival and other major venues across the UK. Filomena has also performed live on BBC Radio 3 with jazz band Quattro+. In December 2003, Filomena featured in Orphy Robinson’s X-Mas Files, working alongside Andy Sheppard, Guy Barker, Julian Joseph, Byron Wallen, Gary Crosby, Mark Mondesir, Soweto Kinch and Cleveland Watkiss.
Filomena Campus is also founder and director of Theatralia Collective and university lecturer in London (University of Essex, MA Theatre Directing and BA Phisical Theatre Course). She has collaborated with the BBC Singers, the UCL Bloomsbury, the New London Orchestra, Hackney Empire, the National Chamber Music Course and several other organisations both in the UK and in Italy.
In 2004 Filomena co-founded the acclaimed jazz quintet IN KIMBE with flautist Rowland Sutherland.
In 2006 and 2007 she was awarded by the Arts Council England for Theatralia production Misterioso, a jazz concert fused with theatre and live art, based on the text by acclaimed Italian writer Stefano Benni. Misterioso has received excellent reviews in UK and Italy and has been broadcasted by Italian RAI TV.
In 2007 ACE R&D Misterioso, with Guy Barker, Orphy Robinson and Jean Toussaint as special guests, was sold out at Riverside Studios in London.
Misterioso was part of the Edinburgh Festival 2008 at the prestigious Assembly Queen's Hall with Byron Wallen as special guest
MISTERIOSO by THEATRALIA www.myspace.com/theatralia
MISTERIOSO's new edition will be at the RIVERSIDE STUDIOS Oct 21/Nov 8th 2009 with fabulous special guests. There will be a double bill with the acclaimed film documentary "The Jazz Baroness" by Hannah Rothschild and post show talks with jazz stars and the author Stefano Benni.
Filomena Campus
Credits include:
PREMIO MARIA CARTA 2009 - Italian Award - Sardinia - July 4th 2009
Italian Press:
Da Londra non è voluta mancare Filomena Campus(....)«Con Maria Carta ho in comune la testardaggine sarda. In Inghilterra ho potuto coronare i miei tre sogni: fare la cantante jazz, la regista teatrale e la docente universitaria». È la regina dello spettacolo “Misterioso” (testi di Stefano Benni) che ricorda il genio pianistico di Thelonius Monk. Tutto esaurito nei teatri del Riverside Studios. Il legame con l'isola resta fortissimo. Un suo gruppo si chiamava “In Kimbe” e con la nuova band che porta il suo nome promette di aprire un canale più diretto: «Sto pensando di rielaborare alcuni pezzi sardi» Gianpiero Marras - Unione Sarda - 6 Luglio 09
The Maria Carta Award is the right chance for Sardinians to get to know young Italian talents that work abroad, such as Filomena Campus, whose name is well known in the jazz and theatre avantguarde scenes in London (Il Sardegna, July 09)
FILOMENA CAMPUS BAND - Tunes in June - London Riverside Studios - June 18 2009 - feat. Antonio Forcione and Cleveland Watkiss
THEATRALIA THIRD INTERLUDE - London Riverside Studios - June 20 2009 feat. EVAN PARKER, Mark Sanders, Pat Thomas, John Edwards and Sdna
ROCCELLA IONICA JAZZ FESTIVAL 08, "Italy against England", Original project by Stefano Benni with Filomena Campus and Misterioso All Stars Band: Orphy Robinson, Rowland Sutherland, Pat Thomas, David Leahy.
..
-The NUBIAN VIBES TOUR, led by Orphy Robinson, with Jean Toussaint, Cleveland Watkiss, Pat Thomas, Kenrick Rowe and Celloman
- LONDON IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA,
Improvisations For George Riste, CD, 2008
Founded in 1998, the LIO has been a focal point for the community of improvising musicians in London. The CD features four total improvisations (from 2003 & 2007) selected from the archive of concert recordings made at their monthly appearances at the Red Rose.
Improvisations for George Riste 1
(2 February 2003)
Evan Parker - - soprano saxophone
Roland Ramanan - - trumpet & wooden flute
Ian Smith - - trumpet
Neil Metcalfe - - flute
John Rangecroft - - clarinet
Harrison Smith - - bass clarinet
Lol Coxhill - - soprano saxophone
Adrian Northover - - soprano & alto saxophones
Caroline Kraabel - - alto saxophone
John Butcher - - tenor saxophone
Philipp Wachsmann - - violin
Charlotte Hug - - viola
David Leahy - - double bass
B.J. Cole - - pedal steel guitar
Steve Beresford - - piano
Amy Denio - - accordion & voice
Tony Marsh - - percussion
Orphy Robinson - - percussion & electronics
Knut Aufermann - - electronics
Filomena Campus - - voice
"These recordings persuasively show the subtleties of coloration, shape and intensity that can arise in such free playing.... if the scope of LIO music is circumscribed by collective priorities, its sweep remains impressive in its evident self-regulated coherence and shared purpose." Julian Cowley SIGNAL TO NOISE
..
- Sunday Supplement, Millfield Theatre, Free Improvised Music, with Toni Kofi, Toni Bevan and Aref Dervesh
-A-Trane, Berlin, with Andreas Schmidt trio
- Schlot Berlin www.kunstfabrik-schlot.de with pianist Andreas Schmidt feat Rainer Winch (drums) and Tim Shafer (bass)
-The MOZAMBIQUE WAITLESS TOUR, July 2004, international project in collaboration with Massukos and Water Aid, Mozambique, featuring Mark Sanders (drums), Dean Brodrick (acordion), Simon King (guitar), Gideon Juckes (tuba), Chris Smallwood (sax). www.myspace.com/emptyboat, www.myspace.com/massukos.
- THEATRALIA HUMAN INTERLUDE, improvised music and live art featuring Steve Lawson, Roger Goula Sarda and B.J.Cole
-BBC Radio 3 – QUATTRO+, with Orphy Robinson, Pat Thomas, Dudley Phillips and Kenrick Rowe
-Duo concerts with pianists Benet McLean and Zoe Rahamn
-X-MAS FILES, working alongside Andy Sheppard, Guy Barker, Julian Joseph, Byron Wallen, Gary Crosby, Mark Mondesir, Soweto Kinch and Cleveland Watkiss
-TIME IN JAZZ, Jazz Festival, Bortigiadas, Deragliamenti (2002), original project Nightingale, featuring Massimo Ferra (guitar),Paolo Carrus (piano), Massimo Tore (bass) Roberto Pellegrini (drums)
-Time in Jazz 2000, Berchidda, Sardinian Jazz Festival,The Three Crocodiles Project and guest with Alain Jean Marie
FILOMENA CAMPUS' PROJECTS:
- MISTERIOSO, A Journey Into The Silence Of Theloniuos Monk
Misterioso, written by Stefano Benni, Adapted and directed by Filomena Campus.
Jazz & Live Art acclaimed production featuring Pat Thomas, Guy Barker, Jean Toussaint, Orphy Robinson, Rowland Sutherland, Cleveland Watkiss, Dudley Phillips, David Leahy and Kenrick Rowe, inventive digital art by SDNA.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
‘Triumph of Misterioso. The play by Stefano Benni about the life of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk, was sold out each night and totally charmed its enthusiastic audience’ (ANSA)
JAZZWISE The UK's biggest selling jazz magazine –Jazz Publication of the Year
Monk’s Mysterious Silence Gets Multi-Media Treatment
A fascinating night of music and verse to commemorate the creative
struggle of jazz musicians during the McCarthy era is taking place at the Riverside Studios, in Hammersmith, London on 22, 23, 24 November. Entitled Misterioso: A Journey Into The Silence Of Monk it brings together leading UK musicians Guy Barker, Jean Toussaint, Pat Thomas, Rowland Sutherland, David Leahy and Kenrick Rowe in a work adapted and directed by singer and theatre director Filomena Campus and based on a work by top Italian satirical writer Stefano Benni.
With singer Cleveland Watkiss providing the voice of Monk, the story is linked via pieces from the iconic pianist interspersed with moving texts and writings from the era. Monk reacted to the personal struggle he faced by spending the last seven years of his life in complete silence, this work takes direct inspiration from both his musical genius and his status as an outsider. (November 2007)
TIME OUT -LONDON- A night of music and readings inspired by Thelonious Monk's self-imposed seven-year silence, maintained until his death as an act of protest against the oppressive McCarthy era. With readings from Monk's innermost thoughts – voiced by Cleveland Watkiss – interspersed with music from a superlative cast of top UK names and poetic words from acclaimed Italian satirist Stefano Benni . This should prove a thought provoking and entertaining mix of words and music. RECOMMENDED - Nov 2007
'The success of the show arises from both the remarkable performance of the actors, musicians and audience participation' (Café Babel)
Theatre's night of Monkish magic -
22 November 2007 -
EDITORIAL - herts.advertiser@archant.co.uk -
Misterioso
Was it a jazz concert, was it a play or was it an art show? The answer is it was a stunning fusion of all three.
Recreating the setting of a 50s' jazz club, Misterioso explores the magic of jazz through the story of pianist Thelonious Monk, a genius and an outsider who spent the last seven years of his life in complete silence.
An evening of notes and verse about the struggle of jazz musicians in the McCarthy era, it alternated poetic words written by Stefano Benni with Monk's spellbinding notes. It was a fascinating mix of live music by a splendid jazz ensemble and stunning projected art works.
Nothing is as it seems in this production although we did guess the exotically-dressed black girl at the next table might be "a plant". Christina Oshunniyi played Billie Holliday but this lady not only did not sing the blues but didn't sing a note. However, her feline sensuality dominated the stage and held every eye as she undulated and padded around it.
It was the white woman Filomena Campus who sang to us - often in her native Italian. The multi-talented Ms Campus also translated and directed Misterioso.
Her fellow musicians included the illustrious Jean Toussaint on tenor saxophone who has worked with all the greats. His "golden fire" filled the theatre like a wrap-around embrace.
Pat Thomas, who played the piano, could have been Monk himself with his rangy frame bent over the keyboard in a trademark hat.
Pannonica Butterfly - a reference to a Monk song - was played by Rachel Snider in a very stylised, stylish manner.(..) Her clear ringing tones successfully accompanied the action in an evocation of another era.
Sophisticated, soigné, cool and classy, the evening managed to simultaneously entertain, engage, educate and enrich which is a rarity for a theatrical experience.
MARY BROSNAN
ITALIAN PRESS
LA REPUBBLICA, 12 NOVEMBRE 2007 -ENRICO FRANCESCHINI - LONDRA -
(...) Qui a Londra, adattato e diretto dalla regista e cantante italiana Filomena Campus con la sua compagnia Theatralia, lo show porta sul palcoscenico due stelle del jazz contemporaneo come Guy Barker e Jean Toussaint.
È la storia, in versi e note musicali, non solo di Monk, il leggendario pianista jazz che trascorse gli ultimi anni della sua vita senza più pronunciare una sola parola, chiuso in un silenzio di protesta, ma anche più in generale della lotta dei musicisti jazz nell..America del maccartismo e della "caccia alle streghe", quando gli artisti sospettati di simpatie comuniste venivano messi nella lista nera o perseguitati.
Trent..anni dopo Bar Sport, e dopo la trentina di libri che Benni ha scritto dopo quello del suo esordio, Misterioso è una prova, come ha scritto il romanziere inglese Jonathan Coe, «dello straordinario talento e della poliedricità dell..autore». Fece il tutto esaurito nel 2006 a Camden, ora si prevede lo stesso ai Riverside Studios.
(ANSA) - LONDRA, 23 NOV - Un gigante del jazz, tra musica,razzismo, silenzi e l'isteria del maccartismo contro un'arte
percepita come sovversiva: questa è la vita di Thelonious Monk
raccontata in 'Misterioso' di Stefano Benni, portato ieri sera
in scena dalla regista e cantante italiana Filomena Campus al
Riverside Studios di Londra. Uno spettacolo raffinato, con
grande jazz e il recitato che riporta all'America degli anni
Cinquanta, al suo drammatico contrasto di bianco e nero, che è
poi il tema cromatico, razziale e pianistico di 'Misterioso' .
Tra immagini filmate, musiche e narrazioni della vita di
Monk, Campus, eccellente vocalist jazz, porta sul palco con la
sua compagnia Theatralia - tra inglese ed italiano - le
sensazioni e le riflessioni di Benni mescolate con le note del
grande pianista. Davanti al palco, come in un jazz club fumoso
d'altri tempi, i tavoli degli spettatori, con tanto di cameriera
che porta i drink.
Accanto alla cantante e regista, un poderoso ensemble di
jassisti di altissimo livello: Guy Barker (tromba), Jean
Toussaint (sax), Pat Thomas (piano), Rowland Sutherland
(flauto), Dudley Phillips (basso), Kenrick Rowe (batteria),
Orphy Robinson (vibrafono, percussioni), mentre Cleveland
Watkiss, cantante, è la voce di Monk. Favolosa, nei panni di
Billie Holiday e Nellie Monk, moglie di Thelonious, l'attrice
Christina Oshunniyi.
Campus, artista sarda da anni attiva sulla scena teatrale e
musicale inglese, dove ha portato con successo una versione di
U-238 di Marco Paolini, usa i testi di Benni per raccontare non
solo pensiero di Monk. In questo 'Misterioso' si dice di una
vicenda umana ed artistica, ma c'é posto anche per una
riflessione musicale e filosofica sul silenzio, una condizione
che il grande pianista morto nel 1982 scelse di abbracciare
negli ultimi sette anni di vita.
Il silenzio bianco e nero di Monk.
“Misterioso” omaggio di Filomena Campus
Sul risvolto della locandina, un avviso: vi godrete meglio lo spettacolo se vestite di bianco e nero. L'invito guardarobiero potrebbe sembrare cosa strana, riferito com'è a uno spettacolo teatrale, ma se uno ci pensa un poco, invece ha molto senso. Perché l'ultimo lavoro portato in scena al Riverside Studios da Filomena Campus, jazz vocalist e regista teatrale sarda trasferitasi a Londra nel 2001, proprio di quello parla: di nero e bianco come simbolo di musica e silenzio, di oppressione e protesta, di lacerazione e armonia. Se poi si aggiunge che Misterioso - questo il nome dello spettacolo - è una performance jazz, il bianco e nero diventano quasi d'obbligo. E che jazz: nientemeno che Thelonious Monk, il mitico pianista nero che visse gli ultimi 7 anni della sua vita (morí nel 1982) senza proferir una sola parola - in bilico fra genio o follia, a seconda dei punti di vista. Misterioso nasce da un recital di Stefano Benni, che riflette poeticamente sul silenzio e la musica di Monk, ed è incentrato originariamente su una voce narrante e un contrappunto di pianoforte. Filomena Campus, conosciuto Benni per l'intercessione di Paolo Fresu, ha tradotto il testo in inglese, e lo ha adattato arricchendolo musicalmente con l'apporto di una jazz band di calibro internazionale tra cui spiccano il sassofono di Jean Touissant (che collaborò con Art Blakey, uno dei membri originari della band di Monk), la tromba di Guy Barker (che vanta una nomination al Mercury Prize e gli arrangiamenti per del film Il Talento di Mr Ripley ) e il suo stesso potente, appassionato, versatile canto. Dopo il successo che questo spettacolo aveva riscosso lo scorso anno (fu premiata dall'Arts Council England), Campus lo ha riproposto in una veste più raffinata e curata, andata di scena per tre giorni al Riverside Studios, teatro londinese sul cui palco hanno recitato fra gli altri Dario Fo e Franca Rame. Un successo, testimoniato dal tutto esaurito venerdì e sabato.(...) A Londra, Campus ha fondato nel 2003 la compagnia Theatralia, che, oltre a sperimentare idee di teatro multimediale e multilinguistico, ben riflette questa visione politica. Tra le sue produzioni spiccano infatti Not in my name , incentrato sulla vera storia di Karla Tucker, giustiziata in Texas nel 1998, e U-238 , su testo di Marco Paolini. E oggi il successo di Misterioso , dove in sostanza il silenzio di Thelonius Monk viene letto, poeticamente, come una forma di protesta contro la persecuzione culturale di stampo maccartista.(...) ANDREA FOIS- L'Unione Sarda, 27/11/2007
IN KIMBE
www.myspace.com/inkimbe
Filomena Campus & Rowland Sutherland’s IN KIMBE
International jazz band featuring John Crawford (piano), Dudley Phillips (double bass) and Simon Pearson (drums).
Alongside vibrant and expressive originals from the bandleaders and musical influences stretching from the Mediterranean through to Brazil, their repertoire also includes new arrangements of classics from these regions by such writers as Egberto Gismonti, Maria Joao and Hermeto Pascoal. In Kimbe’s performance is an engaging experience for the audience who also participate in the band’s interactive free improvisation segments during their concerts.
In Kimbe has performed since 2004 at 'Jazz Live' The Crypt, Pizza on The Park, Spice of Life, Native Tongue and other noted venues across London and the UK.
The bands’ guests have included Jonathan Gee, piano and Davide Mantovani ,bass.
THE NUBIAN VIBES ENSEMBLE
A project that brings together some of the most exciting & interesting musicians in London. The ensemble has undergone two successful UK tours sponsored by the Arts Council England. The music, composed by Orphy Robinson, is an original inspired fusion of African, Classical, Jazz & Latin. Featuring: Orphy Robinson: Marimba. Filomena Campus: Vocals, Jean Toussaint: Soprano saxophone Rowland Sutherland: Flutes, Sam Bishai: Violin, Mandy Drummond: Viola, Ivan Hussey: Cello, Pat Thomas: Piano, Dudley Phillips: Double Bass, Kenrick Rowe: Drums.www.myspace.com/nubianvibes
QUATTRO +
‘Orphy Robinson’s project featuring vocals by Sardinian vocalist Filomena Campus alongside Quattro members Pat Thomas, Dudley Phillips and Kenrick Rowe. Their first performance was on the popular BBC Radio 3 programme for contemporary classical music “In Tune”. They were one of the first groups from the Jazz idioms to be invited to perform on the live music programme in November 2002. This was immediately followed by concert appearances at the Notting Hill Jazz Festival and Bristol to sell out audiences. Vocalist Filomena Campus first appeared with Orphy’s 16 piece ensemble Nubian Vibes on his Arts Council sponsored tour in 2002 in the north of England where she was featured alongside vocalist Cleveland Watkiss, to great acclaim and was then invited to perform with Quattro. In 2003 the group has toured and performed in UK and an album is imminent’ (Press Review, 2002) www.myspace.com/orphyrobinson
hi my dear .... just double checking..... berlin a-trane gig will b with WHO is playing ?! u and me + ..... the same evening i will go 2 KEITH JARETT at 8 p.m. ... and sure will ask him, if he comes by to jam with us ... hihi a-trane recording ? than mail to oliver hertkorn. till soon andreas
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