16th January 2023
I promise myself I’m not going to cry. As the lights go down and the circle of musicians are illuminated, points of light emanating from their music stands, everyone falls silent. We hear the faint quavery voice of an old man singing, hardly audible, as if from the bottom of a well. The voice becomes […]
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10th June 2020
Keeping creativity flowing Say what you like about Zoom, but it does help you make things happen quickly. In May, Andy Hayes of the writers’ collective 26 organised a ‘creativity in lockdown’ session with his friend Sam Griffiths. Sam’s a designer who delights in being playful and enjoys turning labels into robots, and cardboard boxes […]
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20th April 2019
Photo: Dimitri Djuric Profile of Percussionist Angela Wai-Nok Hui The first time I see her, percussionist Angela Wai-Nok Hui cuts an arresting figure. She’s standing in the dark against a black background in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As she hits a snare drum, lights spark from the side of […]
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4th August 2014
If you go to a jazz or free improv gig and see a woman up on stage in amongst the musicians, not playing but drawing, it’s probably Julie Pickard. Julie’s an artist and writer who produces extraordinary expressionist drawings that are a response to her experience of live music. Details of instruments and musicians emerge from the […]
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