SUBURBAN GORILLAS
  
 
"go out and get this album because it's rich in good things... a brilliant young british talent"
Humphrey Lyttleton BBC Radio 2
  
 
SUBURBAN GORILLAS
Andrea Vicari recorded her debut album in 1994 with an eleven piece jazz orchestra, "Suburban Gorillas" financed by the prestigious "Peter Whittingham Award and the Arts Council of Great Britain. The album was promoted on a nationwide tour of Britain sponsored by the 'Jazz Services' organization. Dates included Birmingham Jazz Festival; Brecon Jazz Festival, and at Newcastle festival the band recorded a live broadcast for BBC Radio Newcastle. The idea behind the band was to get the widest range of sounds and rhythms possible from a relatively small group of musicians, complimented by the use of midi technology.


Suburban Gorillas has been reborn as a downloadable album from ITunes. Click the link Below to go straight to the appropriate page

SUBURBAN GORILLAS - iTunes
"This is one of the most impressive recording debuts to come from the recent crop of young British jazz musicians. The writing and playing are superlatively assured, and the music covers a vast spectrum, from the elegiac "Awakenings", to the African-inspired "Maibouye", the brittle satire of "Pin Stripe Woman", and the tour de force of "L'Orchestre des Fous", a ten minute outing in 5/4 timewhich swings beautifully" IAN CARR
 
 
THE FRENCH SUITE
Center piece of the 'Suburban Gorillas' album was the ambitious "French Suite", an Arts Council Commission which lead to the birth of the 'Suburban Gorillas' band. All the movements have an explicit eastern flavour, emphasized by the virtuoso Iranian tabla playing of Rony Barrak, used to express the diverse influences behind the culture in the south of France.

Dance Vendage
A Pagan dance in 7/4 submits to the serenity of Christian Mysticism as signified by the call of the bell-like piano.

L'Orchestre des Fous
The harvest celebration. The Influence of Absinthe on the village musicians.

Sverr
Culture clash. European harmonies in the introduction swept aside by the propulsive Arabic rhythm. The final section resolves the confrontation with ideas from both cultures juxtaposed.
GORILLAS INSIDE COVER


"Andrea Vicari shares with Django Bates an irreverent wit and a wanton disregard for musical borders yet she can swing with the best of them" Neville Hadsley


"one of the most brilliant young jazz musicians in the UK - an outstanding pianist and superbly fertile composer" 
Penguin Rough Guide to Jazz


MUSICIANS

  • Martin Dunsdon:  
    flute, soprano & tenor sax
  • Leigh Etherington:
    alto, soprano sax
  • Mornington Lockett:
    tenor sax, percussion
  • Simon Da Silva: trumpet, flugel
  • Malcolm Earle Smith: trombone
  • Andrea Vicari: piano, keyboards
  • Hilary Cameron:
    keyboards, vocals
  • Mark Ridout: guitar
  • Dorian Lockett: basses
  • Simon Pearson:
    drums, percussion
  • Rony Barrak: darbouka
NOW AVAILABLE as a download from

BANDCAMP

OTHER TRACKS

Pegasus
Samba and Salsa combined

Fly So High
'Jazz Umbrella' commission

Awakenings
A simple ballad.

In Africa Maibouye
A celebration of freedom.

Pin Stripe Woman
An explosive funky groove.

Southern Comfort
Lazy summer days.

Whispering Whales
An experiment in sound.
 
 

CREDITS
Recorded at The Premises Studio, 201-203 Hackney Road, London E2 on 24 track Alessis ADAT
using B&W 801 Matrix Speakers.
Producer : Austin Ince
Engineers: Dill Katz & Marcus Van Hoorn
Mastered by : Mike Mower for Henry Productions
Executive Producer for 33 Records: Paul Jolly
Photography : David Harrison
Make-up : Kayte Hughes
Album Design : Rodney Edwards
Piano provided by Steinway and Sons
COPYRIGHT©  1994 Andrea Vicari (PRS/MCPS)
All compositions and arrangements by Andrea Vicari.