More super-confident new British jazz, with guitarist Jonny Phillips’ compositions for octet (with the addition of vocalist Julia Biel on two tracks, and occasional guests) providing tight, idiomatic themes that repeated listening brings to life. Standout instrumentalists are the strikingly good Ben Davis on cello, Sarah Homer on bass clarinet,[…]
Club regulars will already be familiar with Oriole’s first album, Song for the Sleeping (F-IRE CD03), even if only subliminally, since it’s frequently played between sets. This, the band’s second album, has many of the debut recording’s virtues (striking Jonny Phillips melodies imbued with deliciously wistful melancholy courtesy chiefly of[…]
Their new Album ‘Migration’ is an early contender for jazz release of the year, a sublime, slightly unsettling but emotionally rewarding work that draws on folk, north Brazilian, West African and Mediterranean music. Like the Norwegian pianist Christian Wallumrod, Phillips conjures music that is quietly intense, beguilingly beautiful and full[…]
Described as “a sensory banquet of soaring melodies, colourful South American folklore, lively dances and emotional ballads of longing”, their music often sounds distinctly English, with clarinet and Ben Davis’s languid cello prominent in the mix. But the rhythm section, sparked by Acoustic Ladyland anchorman Seb Rochford, chugs along firmly[…]
If a strapline for the promotion of Oriole were needed, then how’s about this – the UK’s self contained neo-samba nova wave that’s well free of any ipanema coctail cliche. I’m playfully pumping the hype, but the groups eminence grise, the guitarist and composer Jonny Phillips, comes over in earnest[…]
After the thunderous success of Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear, lets hope that Oriole are the next F-IRE Collective band to break. But when it happens expect a quiet storm. A delightfully folksy outfit, Oriole’s rich cinematic tapestries mature on their second album into rustic, languid world music. Venezuelan, Brazilian,[…]
“Migration” is Orioles second album – a rich mix of South American folklore, traditional and religiously rooted music. Prepare to travel to dusty side roads , lively market places and the great outdoors as the album encourages you to discover and experience. Orioles composer and guitarist Jonny Phillips teams up[…]
“Oriole is a strange and beautiful blend of influences, a group that re-imagines Tracy Thorn in a band with Joao Gilberto and Charlie Byrd. Brazilian samba and British folk-rock rarely coalece so seamlessly. Led with great authority by guitarist-composer Jonny Phillips, the ensemble features F-IRE collective notables saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock,[…]
Jazz CD of the week The second disc from acoustic guitarist Jonny Phillips and his band Oriole is a lovely development of the first and he is so sure of himself in this territory that it leaves the listener feeling thoroughly at home, as if we have been listening to[…]
Jonny Phillips? Oriole is one of the only surviving lineups from the bands that made up the first flowerings of the influential F-ire Collective. The stability of its personnel contrasts with the nomadic wanderings of the Lake District born acoustic guitarist and composer. His desire to experience first hand the[…]