A Study (In The Key Of Now)
New digital Ep - Out this month!
Here is a new ep - coming out on 20th March! A solo piano improvisation - from a live performance last November…
Thanks to the great folks at 577 Records (NYC) - Polly Barnes and Federico Ughi. Please checkout lots of the amazing set of albums and eps they have been putting out since 2001. For this one the over photograph is by Nick Lyons and the graphic design by Mark Smith.
This is the recording being launched on 20 March 2024 at the Lescar (Sheffield, UK) show mentioned in the previous post:
Recorded at the stunning Kings Hall (Newcastle University) - I already knew about one of the most special moments in the history of this hall:
Thank to Dr Mariam Rezaei, Olivia Cameron, Fred Hollingsworth and Oskar Cox Jensen at Newcastle Uni - for both the invite and such great support for both my talk (on lh only piano) and to play in the hall. I was lucky enough to practice in the evening before the lunchtime performance and took these photos:
Simply to be able to sit and take in the hall in silence was magical. A beautiful and powerful mix of history and recent renovation. Quiet but certainly not empty.
It is not often as a performer that this is possible - and in a space with such historical reverberations - this ultimately proved inspirational. The chance to develop a connection with such a great piano, in a hall like this - led to the decision to make sure some improvising would be a bigger part of the set than initially planned - and this is what is solely within the ep.
After practicing - this poem came into being;
Recipe For Peace I
Plant a seed,
Pray for rain,
Write a verse,
Do it again.
See the stars,
Thank them near - thank them far,
Read the words,
From a prophets heart:
‘All our borders,
Are man made,
An ocean of blood spilled,
While each one was raised,
Breathe in the day,
This separation stops,
The interrogation is dropped,
And unification is what we adopt.’
Douse the flames,
Share the blame,
Grant this earth of infinite beauty - the spotlight,
From which we all can gain.
Taste with all your senses,
Sing from head to toe,
Dance every single day you live,
Don’t separate high from low.
Allow the wind to guide you,
Allow the moon to entrance,
Allow the grass, the sand, the rocks,
To heal, to inspire, to enhance.
See the world as timeless,
Perfected inside a grain,
Where All those weary weary souls,
Are permanently young once again.
©R.Mitchell 2023
There are more solo shows coming up:
20 March The Lescar, Sheffield, Album Launch
25 March Jazz In The Round, The Cockpit Theatre, London
26 Barnaby’s Lounge, Hastings
13 April Sonic Sculptures (1pm), Broadway, Nottingham
13 April The Beam (7pm), Nottingham
29 June Jaminaround, Corsham
19 September Vortex, London
3 October NAC, Wolverhampton
I hope you enjoy the recording!
More to announce this year! (Both poetic and improvisatory…)