According to leading conductor John Lubbock "The Derek Paravicini Quartet bring a whole new dimension to popular music of the 20th century with their extraordinary musicianship and dazzling virtuosity" and I have to say that I agree.
I have worked with classically trained soprano Hannah Davey on many occasions, including a concert in the Lake District this weekend, but hearing her sing jazz...well, that was a surprise to us all! She is equally at home singing both genres and can slip seamlessly between the two completely different disciplines. She has sung with Sir James Galway, Dame Emma Kirkby and The Orchestra of St John’s among many others, but Hannah has always had a love for singing jazz having grown up listening to the great singers including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Diana Krall - and it shows.
This weekend sees the launch of the Derek Paravicini Quartet official website and it is well worth a visit. Gorgeous sound clips, interesting biographies and of course the first place to find out where you can catch this exciting new quartet live. Their next concert will be a Music for Autism event at Dorchester Abbey on 14th June and I will definitely be there.
This quartet has a strong link with the charity Music for Autism, mainly because their pianist and leader of the quartet, Derek Paravicini, is autistic. According to the website Derek has been "dubbed ‘The Human iPod’ in the States, [as he] has a repertoire of tens of thousands of pieces – all learnt very rapidly, just by listening." His incredible improvisations and breath-taking technique have left audiences in awe all over the world, with over a million hits on Youtube and another million on TED.
The remaining members of the quartet are equally as thrilling. Ben Holder (violin) is one of the most gifted and exciting young jazz violinists in the UK and multi-award winning drummer Ollie Howell has Quincy Jones as a mentor and is the first jazz musician to be awarded the Sky Academy Arts Scholarship.
I am so excited to see my friend Hannah Davey share another facet of her gorgeous voice and I fully anticipate that the Derek Paravicini Quartet will continue to take to world by storm.
I have worked with classically trained soprano Hannah Davey on many occasions, including a concert in the Lake District this weekend, but hearing her sing jazz...well, that was a surprise to us all! She is equally at home singing both genres and can slip seamlessly between the two completely different disciplines. She has sung with Sir James Galway, Dame Emma Kirkby and The Orchestra of St John’s among many others, but Hannah has always had a love for singing jazz having grown up listening to the great singers including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Diana Krall - and it shows.
This weekend sees the launch of the Derek Paravicini Quartet official website and it is well worth a visit. Gorgeous sound clips, interesting biographies and of course the first place to find out where you can catch this exciting new quartet live. Their next concert will be a Music for Autism event at Dorchester Abbey on 14th June and I will definitely be there.
This quartet has a strong link with the charity Music for Autism, mainly because their pianist and leader of the quartet, Derek Paravicini, is autistic. According to the website Derek has been "dubbed ‘The Human iPod’ in the States, [as he] has a repertoire of tens of thousands of pieces – all learnt very rapidly, just by listening." His incredible improvisations and breath-taking technique have left audiences in awe all over the world, with over a million hits on Youtube and another million on TED.
The remaining members of the quartet are equally as thrilling. Ben Holder (violin) is one of the most gifted and exciting young jazz violinists in the UK and multi-award winning drummer Ollie Howell has Quincy Jones as a mentor and is the first jazz musician to be awarded the Sky Academy Arts Scholarship.
I am so excited to see my friend Hannah Davey share another facet of her gorgeous voice and I fully anticipate that the Derek Paravicini Quartet will continue to take to world by storm.
Photo: Marios Forsos 2013 ©
