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Here’s what I’ll be listening to this week.
Sing Joy Spring - The Manhattan Transfer
Run Every Time - Gavin DeGraw
Knocks Me Off My Feet - Stevie Wonder
Queen Of The New Year - Deacon Blues
Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic
Comin’ Home Baby - Mel Tormé
Purple Rain - Prince
All The Things You Are - Ella Fitzgerald
You can listen to the 2022 playlist here.
WELL. What a few months it’s been. Firstly, I hope everyone is keeping well.
It’s been a tricky fourteen or so weeks for me - as I self-employed musician, I have had very little work. I miss gigging! I miss my sisters and my friends and our musical escapades. I miss weddings and theatre shows and being on tour. I miss bandwiches and long car drives and late night service station stops.
But of course there have been some positive things as well - I can’t remember the last time I spent more than three nights in the same place in the past 18 months, and so lockdown has meant becoming extremely well acquainted with my flat, which has been wonderful. I’ve been taking part in Yoga With Adriene’s yoga videos, going for long (and safe) walks, and I’ve been learning to cook. Despite not being able to work and earn a living, I am extremely aware of how lucky I am.
There has still been plenty of music though! I’ve been fortunate enough to take part in several music videos, and I’ve been setting myself some jazz transcribing homework. You can see most of my transcribing videos over on my Instagram, but here are a couple for now. The first one is Dexter Gordon’s solo on Darn That Dream, and the second one is James Copus’ solo on James Beckwith’s latest release.
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I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in several lockdown videos as well.
The Spitfire Sisters have been singing remotely (but together) for a few weeks now - we have a few videos released and a couple more to come over the next month or so. It’s been so strange doing this all separately. We’re so used to performing together that singing these songs alone is a very weird feeling! Here’s our video of Coffee In The Morning, one of my favourite songs from The Boswell Sisters. Also, please note how involved my coffee making process is - once a Monmouth employee, always a Monmouth employee! (Also - I LOVE OATLY.)
You can find our other videos as well as the full credits on The Spitfire Sisters IGTV.
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Down For The Count have also been busy, filming and recording for our new Lockdown EP, Lockdown for the Count. The EP is awesome, features 35 amazing musicians and 50% of all profits will go to MIND, a fantastic charity who campaign for better mental health.
I’m singing Don’t Get Around Much Anymore on the EP (how apt!), one of my absolute favourite tunes. The video for that song is coming soon. In the meantime, here is the video that Michael Bublé described as ‘awesome!’.
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I worked with Greg Pringle, a fantastic drummer, on a song to commemorate VE Day this year. He chose ‘When The Lights Go On Again’, a beautiful song by Vera Lynn. I had never heard it before, but I fell in love with it and it was an honour to perform it with Greg and his band. I have another project that’s coming up with Greg - it’s very different to this one and I can’t wait to share it soon.
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And finally (for now!), the biggest musical project I think I’ve ever been a part of - an epic collective of 121 musicians singing Stevie Wonder’s Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing! Colin Willsher organised this fantastic recording to raise money for the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity. The video alone is a huge feat, so congratulations to Colin for organising, arranging and editing it all together!
Thanks so much for reading - and listening! Let me know how you’ve been getting on in Lockdown, and if there are any songs you would like to hear. There are more videos and projects to come, which is exciting - but above all, I would love to get back to gigging live for you soon.
Stay safe! x