“…world-class performance demonstrating why these two musicians are at the top of their game…” London Jazz News
The Segundo Stanley Hammond Duo was born in 2015 out of a jam session in the intimate, basement testing ground that is Kansas Smitty’s Bar in London,UK.
This breakout show was a sell-out and transitioned the duo’s identity from jam band to ensemble. As long time sidemen with jazz trombonist and friend Dennis Rollins, Pedro and Ross have traversed thousands of miles together across the UK and abroad.
This decade-long friendship and musical bond guarantees their otherworldly and often telepathic performances will leave audiences speechless.
Their debut album ‘Live at Kansas Smitty’s, captures on tape, for the first time, a deep musical bond that at times borders on the telepathic.
Standout tracks include the uptempo hard bop of ‘Symbiosis’, with Stanley’s unstoppable left-hand bass lines punctuated by precise and aggressive hits from Segundo. ‘God Only Knows’, the Beach Boys classic, is given an inventive and heartfelt reworking here, highlighting Stanley’s mastery of the Hammond’s timbral possibilities and Portuguese folk song Senhora do Almortão having Pedro bring his strong Portuguese roots through it’s own drum: Adufe.
Review of their album launch for 2 completely sold out shows here:
http://www.londonjazznews.com/2017/10/review-segundo-stanley-hammond-organ.html
Album available on Bandcamp
or email Pedro@pedrosegundo.com for physical copy by mail.
Pre-order now LP
https://www.musicglue.com/judith-owen/products/rediscovered-signed-12-vinyl
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-look-of-love/id662045596
Had the privilege to play timpani on Chineke!’s first Album. It was recorded at the Royal Festival hall in September 2016 on the same weekend of the concert.
About:
The Chineke! Foundation was established in 2015 to provide career opportunities to young Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Chineke!’s motto is: ‘Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music’. The organisation aims to be a catalyst for change, realising existing diversity targets within the industry by increasing the representation of BME musicians in British and European orchestras.
The Foundation’s flagship ensemble, the Chineke! Orchestra, is comprised of exceptional musicians from across the continent brought together multiple times per year. As Europe’s first majority-BME orchestra, the Chineke! Orchestra performs a mixture of standard orchestral repertoire along with the works of BME composers both past and present.
schools across the UK, the Chineke! Junior Orchestra acts as a bridge between such schemes and higher education, giving its players experience, encouragement and confidence during their formative years, with the hope of increasing the numbers of BME candidates currently studying music at third level. This process has already begun, with several of the junior musicians having won national competitions, gained places at top music schools or been admitted to study at elite third level institutions.
Chineke! is the brainchild of Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, who has this say about the project: ‘My aim is to create a space where BME musicians can walk on stage and know that they belong, in every sense of the word. If even one BME child feels that their colour is getting in the way of their musical ambitions, then I hope to inspire them, give them a platform, and show them that music, of whatever kind, is for all people.’
Many cultural organisations such as the BBC, Association of British Orchestras, Royal Philharmionic Society and Arts Council England agree with this sentiment, and have supported Chineke! After its launch concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in September of 2015, the Chineke! Orchestra was
appointed as an Associate Orchestra of the Southbank Centre, and returned there to perform in September of 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall. After a sold-out debut at St George’s Bristol in April 2017, the Chineke! Orchestra has an exciting series of concerts lined up for the coming year, including appearances at the Brighton, Cheltenham and Salisbury Festivals, a return to the Royal Festival Hall, overseas tours to Ghent and Rotterdam, and an engagement at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
Chineke! has been covered extensively by national and international press and broadcast media, most recently by the New York Times, and the Foundation’s work is featured prominently in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s White Paper on Culture published in March 2016. The Chineke! Orchestra has been shortlisted for an RPS Awards in both 2016 and 2017, and later this year will release its first CD.
The aims of the Chineke! Foundation and Orchestra are certainly ambitious, and in words of Sir Simon Rattle: ‘Chineke! is not only an exciting idea but a profoundly necessary one. The kind of idea which is so obvious that you wonder why it is not already in place. The kind of idea which could deepen and enrich classical music in the UK for generations. What a thrilling prospect!’
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k-symphony-no-9-from-the-new-world-sibelius-finlandia/id1234730081
Hattie is a singer-songwriter-harpist releasing her solo album ‘To The Bone’ today, on 3rd June 2017.
Leonard Cohen called it “Flawless, uplifting and utterly original”.
Currently touring and performing with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on their 40th anniversary tour, Hattie has previously collaborated with Sting, Gotye, Glen Hansard, Steve Martin, Edie Brickel, Rick Rubin, The Avett Brothers & Natalie Maines and is featured on five of Leonard Cohen’s albums.
In their band ‘The Webb Sisters’, Hattie and her sister Charley have released three albums, receiving ‘Single and Record of the Week’ on iTunes and BBC Radio Two. Their song ‘Baroque Thoughts’ won The International Music Award for ‘Best Adult Contemporary Song’ and was produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Peter Asher.
The Webb Sisters were chosen by Leonard Cohen to join his band on his international tour, performing over 400 concerts around the world to 4 million people.
Hattie has played for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and The Spanish Royal Family at The Prince of Asturias Awards.
In celebration of the ‘To The Bone’ release, a live music event was held at St James’s London on Friday 19th May 2017 with sound engineer Marcel van Limbeek (Tori Amos).
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/to-the-bone/id1238769264?app=itunes&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Colourful jazz singer-songwriter and pianist Judith Owen is a sensitive and keen observer of human nature, exploring universal themes such as love, loss, compassion, bitterness and optimism. She has a taste for musical diversity and her fine 2014 album Ebb & Flow was critically acclaimed for its beauty and integrity.
Somebody’s Child, her eleventh album released on May 6th, 2016 on Twanky Records, is seductive and clever. It contains soulful songs that are snapshots of life and focuses on the idea that we are all “somebody’s child”. She chose the same excellent Los Angeles musicians as previously, Leland Sklar (bass), Waddy Wachtel (guitar) and Russell Kunkel (drums) and combined them with stunning British based ones, Pedro Segundo (percussion) and Gabriella Swallow (cello).
‘Somebody’s Child’ , the earthy opener and title track of the album, speaks with sadness about humanity and looks emotionally at our embarrassing state of denial. The song was inspired by a wintry day in New York when Judith saw a pregnant and beautiful young woman barefoot in the snow, covered with a rubbish bag.
‘Send Me a Line’ is a moody social commentary on people, including herself, “not being present but preoccupied by technology”. ‘Mystery’, possibly the most sincere love song that Judith has ever written, explores the difficulties of finding love and the curious riddle of how people stay together. She tries to explain: “It takes patience, it takes time, today we might quarrel, tomorrow we’ll be fine”.
The catchy and relaxed ‘Tell All Your Children’ has a dreamy Motown feel and Judith’s husband, humorist and actor Harry Shearer, joins to play an upright bass on lively ‘That’s Why I Love My Baby’. Her interpretation of Roxy Music‘s ‘More Than This’, endorsed by its creator Bryan Ferry, whom she opened for last year, is fresh and charming and ‘Aquarius’, a playful adaptation from the sixties counterculture musical Hair, transports the listener to an age of love, light and humanity.
Somebody’s Child is an album of considerable quality. It contains sharp, direct and personal songs, sometimes serious but often delightfully crazy and witty. They must be amongst Judith Owen’s best work so far.
“A GROUP OF JAZZ-ADDICTED
TWENTY-SOMETHINGS WHO
RUN THEIR OWN BAR”
This is their latest album that was recorded at Ronnie Scott’s live 20th February 2016
http://smarturl.it/KansasSmittysLive
The 11th Gate
Symbiosis
Ebb & Flow
In the Summertime – EP
Christmas With the Devil – Single
Peace & Celebration
Kansas Smitty’s
Jazz Classics
Hasta Siempre – EP
Protegid
Pen Voyage Chapter 1: Singing for Change