VARIOUS ALBUMS CAN BE DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE, OR VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BILLY'S BANDCAMP
YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
Retail
VOTP
1. White Van Man – from Blues Zero Two (recorded in 2002)
2. High Street/Part Pedestrianised - from Still Sound Like Bromley (1997)
3. Terraced Fast Food – from I Am A Man from Lewisham (2010)
4. Fat People – from Sounds Like Bromley (1981)
5. Corner Shop With Security Grills – from Suburbia (1999)
6. Crap Swedish Settee – from The Semi-Detached Suburban Home (1994)
7. Consumerism – from Uncommerciality Vol.3 (1991)
8. Peopleless Towns – from Ghost Music (2018) A Forty Years of Aural Art Sampler
Recycled sounds! Eco-friendly!
In 1992, the first CD release on Billy's then fledgling label VOTP Records, was the First
Aural Art Exhibition, a collection from the cassette and vinyl recordings released between1984 and 1991.
Now, to celebrate 40 years of Aural Art, VOTP are proud to present a sampler available only on the composer's own bandcamp site.
‘Retail’ is a carefully constructed 42
minutes of recycled (thus eco-friendly) sound, featuring eight
previously available recorded works ranging from 1981 to 2018.
Unsettled,
worrying but life affirming times deserve an unsettling, worrying but
life affirming soundtrack - enjoy some ‘Retail’ therapy!
Bandleader Jenkins, known for his work with Ginger Baker and nurturing
new generation talent who included notably altoist Nat Facey early
in his career, is a one-off.
BJ's zany humour, that sits nicely with the routines of Stewart Lee
these days (as it did as long ago as the 1990s), his astute ability to
lampoon and skewer sacred cows mercilessly as well as
delivering dazzling, anarchic, bluesy and avant riffs
into the bargain is second to none.
Twelve solo piano studies for background listening.
All music composed by Billy Jenkins (PRS/MCPS)
Engineered and produced by Charlie Hart at Equator Studios, London SE4 in early 2018
Edited at RMS Studios by Andy le Vien
Creative consultant – Andrew Leitch
Many thanks to Harumi Leitch for the use of her lovely piano for preparatory work
Photography by Beowulf Mayfield
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE, OR VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
Follows on from the 2015 download album Death,
Ritual & Resonation, which, in effect, was the funeral of the guitarist...
That guitarist is now a ghost... and is playing a piano, the instrument he last used exclusively on ‘Piano Sketches 1973-84’, the vinyl only album released in 1984. The guitar, it appears, is missing….
‘Ghost Music’ is created as background music – like distant wind chimes...
But it comes towards you, the ear drawing in, becoming mid- field music...
And then, as one starts to appreciate the overtones, ambient noises and piano mechanics, it ends up as near- field music...
Music that will haunt you. For after several plays, you will start
imaging you’re hearing it in the background. But it’s not playing....
And, believe it or not, cats really like it too! In fact, if you listen
closely to track one, you can hear Patsy, the studio cat approaching the
piano with a lovely purr...
Also, each theme has a hidden Morse code message..!
Listed at No.4 in Jez Nelson’s Somethin’ Else chart in Jazzwise Magazine July 2018
'Jenkins
is intent on making a societal statement here as well as a musical one.
As an extension of this, maybe he feels that the more reflective,
meditative approach he has adopted might be an appropriate antidote for a
modern, obsessively self-absorbed and materialistic world in which we
live.'
'One could muse on musical
associations: Chopin’s preludes, Morton Feldman and Marty Feldman,
shades of Messiaen, Mingus’ solo piano meditation, but Ghost Music is
simply all Jenkins. Well, except for Patsy the cat.'
Andy Robson /
jazzwisemagazine
'It is
difficult to imagine who might be the intended audience for this new
collection of mysterious piano reveries, so different from Jenkins’
raucous
and hilarious blues and jazz adventures. Perhaps he will discover a
new following among New Art Music aficionados. Let’s hope so.'
Music
for Low Strung Guitar - another
exclusive download only album.
1. Six Pallbearers Big and Strong
2. Shocked, Stunned & Disbelief
3. Thoughts on Life & Loss
4. We Grieve For Ourselves
5. Comfort & Pride
6. Rejoice That They Lived
7. The Affirmation of Life
8. Walk On In Eternal Gratitude
Eight improvised solo studies on low strung
guitar by Billy Jenkins
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE, OR VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
As with the ‘The
Semi-Detached Suburban Home’
(and, indeed, many of his compositions)
Jenkins turns to the universally accepted
and ancient energies of chakras, using the
primal vibration of sound and pitch as a
template for each study.
Billy Jenkins writes:
‘Too
many influential folks who are
responsible for music making and
planning know nothing about the power
of pitch. Most are well versed in
tempo and the effect of rhythm.
Yet, along with harmony, pitch is the
third element of music. That’s all
music is – rhythm, pitch and harmony!
Yet most remain naïve to the ‘whole’.
Not surprising then, that we live in a
‘crazy, mixed up world’….!’
The order of the eight pieces follows a
typical humanist funeral and although they
will always be played in the same order and
in the stated pitch, the player is free to
connect with time and place when
improvising. Thus, in the way that every
single person is truly unique, so is every
performance.
Although the chakra musical pitches concur
with Western perceived pitch, with the
guitar being tuned two tones lower than
normal tuning, the technical variations of
the fretting hand and fingers take the
player (and the listener) into a new, ‘out
of tune’ dynamic – much like the painful
discombobulation one feels when one loses
someone close to them…..
Give yourself 19 minutes of real music for a
meditative re-affirmation of the human
spirit.
'Few in jazz or blues have
defined themselves so particularly....
Each song is a
meditation, each breath and sigh as
intimately
recorded as each
stroked harmonic....
We could carp at
the brevity of this special release. But
as human
kind's never been
cool at bearing too much reality,
perhaps for now
Jenkins has given
us all we deserve.'
Andy Robson /
jazzwisemagazine
‘He's
the descendent of John Dowland here,
still playful and borderline feral, but
with an insistent coffin-tapping
emphasis on last things and the failure
of transcendence, which is a fair
working definition of humanism. Jenkins
has never been more rawly compelling or
relevant.’
Brian
Morton/ The
Wire
'Hypnotically addictive,
demanding frequently repeated plays, its
kaleidoscopic nature revealing
ever-changing tonal colours and moods.
A compact slice of musical brilliance.'
Roger
Farbey / allaboutjazz.com
Read
the detailed and knowledgeable full review
here.
'There
are no displays of virtuosity: just a quiet exploration of figures and
motifs, with powerful overtones of the country blues and occasional
piquant undertones of the English hymnal.
The playing is beautiful throughout, in both the tone Jenkins draws from
his instrument and the balance and development of his phrases.
Anyone still in mourning for the late John Fahey’s solo guitar meditations should find it particularly rewarding.'
Music for Low Strung Guitar -
an exclusive download only album.
1.
Steps & Front Door
2.
Reluctant 'How Do's'
3.
Halltalk
4.
Washing Hands
5.
Looking In The Mirror
6.
Wallpaper
7.
Gaps Between The Floorboards
8.
Adjusting The Aerial
9.
Crap Swedish Settee
10.
Ancient Antimacassar
11.
Dead Flower Arrangement
12.
Desk
13.
Studying A Tax Return Form
14.
More Paperwork
15.
Batik In Bamboo Frame
16.
Grease Stained Carpet
17.
Brown Oak Sideboard
18.
Tall Straight Back Chair
19.
After Dinner Talk
20.
A Toast To Absent Friends
21.
The Kitchen Sink
22.
The Plastic Bags Under The Stairs
23.
Traditional Kitchen Scales
24.
Tidying Up
25.
I Lock The Back Door
26.
Climbing The Stair
27.
Pee Stained Rim
28.
Brown Stained Towel
29.
The Stinking Sheet
30.
Bedtime
Billy
Jenkins - solo low strung acoustic guitar.
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE, OR VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
"Billy Jenkins 'new' album The
Semi-Detached Suburban Home (Music for
Low Strung Guitar) may date from
sessions in the 90's but you need
to
hear
it now. It’s my album of the year
already and I'm confident that its still
going to be at the summit when midnight
strikes on 31 Dec.
It’s a Semi-Detached
Suburban Home recording which takes you
round the house of Life itself, or at
least as close to Catford as you can be
on this
plane
of reality. The music is sublime, a
series of miniatures (i.e. always
captivatingly brief) which veer
from the reflective to the disturbing ,
the solo low strung guitar is a genius
re-invention/adaptation of the
guitar...indeed right across this divine
work the familiar becomes unfamiliar."
(Max Reinhardt, presenter of ‘Late
Junction’ BBC R3 March 2014)
Spank
the SoundCloud to hear extracts:
• Music expressly designed for
listening using the medium of the
digital download!
• A solo guitar recording made
available for concentrated listening as
a near field headphone experience!
• As a digital signal is based
on the simple binary formation: 1 or 0,
so the solo performance – music at its
simplest – can be expressed through the
digital medium whereas ensemble played
music loses out!
•
Includes the finest quality digital
silence between each track!
'These
are suburban hymns of despair for
Bromley pilgrims.
This could turn out to be Jenkins's best
loved album....'
Clive Bell / Wire Magazine
'What
seems set to be my album of the year.'
Max Reinhardt / ‘Late Junction’ BBC
R3
'Raise a
glass to a masterpiece in miniature!' Andy
Robson / jazzwisemagazine
'AN
UNDERGROUND TOP TEN ALBUM OF 2014'
IN MOJO!
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE, OR VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
A Billy Jenkins Calling Card
Collection CD
in digifile free standing card
wallet
1.
Jazz Give Me The Blues
2.
I’m Just A Lucky So And So
3.
Black Coffee
4.
Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
5.
God Bless The Child
6.
Travellin’ All Alone
7.
For All We Know
8.
I Ain’t Got Nothing But The Blues
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
Billy
Jenkins – electric guitar, voice,
harmonica
Finn
Peters - alto saxophone & flute
Jim
Watson – NORD organ
Mike
Pickering – drum kit
PRODUCED
BY CHARLIE HART IN ONE TAKE REAL TIME
'A 'Best
Release Of The Year 2011' - allaboutjazz.com
July
5 2011. Billy Jenkins turned 55.
What
could be more appropriate than a retro
'Fifties late night jazz album. Taking
tunes from, amongst others, the Duke
Ellington, Billie Holiday & Nat King
Cole songbooks - it's a celebration of
that thing called jazz - another cliché in
the land we call jazz. NO! STOP! We don't
want no more of that groovy dinner jazzy
lounge piano soft-focus wide screen smooth
talking tasteful jazz thang. Man, jazz
gives me the blues! Jazz is the blues.
Blues is the new jazz......
Whatever,
here we have a Billy Jenkins album of
standards (OK, so that's like a Lady Gagaguide to comfy cardigans but there we
go). Just to contextualise, the album
kicks off with a homage to the ultimate in
50s hipness - the Hammond organ trio -
yes, in the Jimmy Smith corner Mr Jimmy
Watson (not playing Hammond) and in
the Grant Green corner the heavy weight
guitar string champion of the world, let's
hear it for Mr B Jenkins Esq.! Mike
Pickering's in the drum seat (he
makes up the last third of the Trio Blues
Suburbia) and guest soloist and Jenkins
novice, lauded and award winning altoist
and flautist Finn Peters rocks in
with a bluesy chorus or two and some
kissing noises.
Billy
takes these old jazz standards and does
unmentionable things to them, lyrically
and musically metamorphosing them into
something new and strange - reinterpreting
the hackneyed old images, injecting anger
where anger never was, blueing the jazz.
The guitar, that guitar, still strikes
like lightning, illuminating as it
incinerates, but the emphasis here is on
mood - a fifties late night mood for a
fifty-somethin' guitarist.
'Billy can’t sing
and it really shows in the studio. Strip
out the vocals and this is a rather
groovy soul jazz accompaniment to your
chicken in a basket.'
Gary
Booth / Jazz Journal
'An intensely, joyously
visceral, up-against-the-wall album, and
one of Jenkins' recent best'.
Chris
May / allaboutjazz.com
'Memorably assisted
by a crack band, Jenkins taps into the
blues spirit of the likes of Jimmy
Smith, Fats Waller collaborator J. C.
Johnson (via his Ethel Waters/Billie
Holiday song 'Travellin' All Alone') and
the man of whose music Jenkins 'just
can't get enough', Duke Ellington,
to produce an album packed not only with
the Bromley bluesman's trademark
scrabbling, eloquent guitar playing, but
also with all the punch, power and
emotional urgency that have led Claire
Martin to comment: 'He mixes elements of
the blues with the spirit of punk rock
all beautifully gift wrapped with the
joy of jazz'.
Chris
Parker / londonjazz.blogspot.com
'....he
is abetted by his Trio Blues Suburbia,
the superb Jim Watson on organ,
saxophonist Finn Peters and drummer Mike
Pickering, who create the kind of
subdued groove that some other musicians
strive for and never quite achieve. My
favourite track is "I'm Just a Lucky
So-And-So", with Mr Jenkins essaying a
vocal-guitar unison which comes out
sounding like George Benson on acid'.
Dave
Gelly / The Observer
'...A standards set, give or
take a few rude noises, crunching
disonances and nightmare wailings, is
what this is. Jenkins enlists Jim
Watson's organ-grooving and cutting edge
saxist Finn Peters' ingenuity for his
personally demented take on low-lights
smooth jazz.'
John
Fordham / The
Guardian
'.....he teeters between
pastiche and homage (pamage?) but it’s
an absorbing tightrope act.'
John
Bungey / The Times
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BILLY'S BANDCAMP, YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
A Billy Jenkins Calling Card
Collection CD
in digifile free standing card
wallet
1.
Born Again (and the religion is the
blues)
2.
Ain’t Getting Married In the Morning
3.
I Felt So Guilty
4.
I Don’t Want Another Night Like That
5.
I Hate Dogs
6.
Looking For Mr Happy
7.
When The Parents Come To Stay
8.
Chained
9.
I Took A Walk
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
Trio
Blues Suburbia:
Billy
Jenkins -
electric guitar & vocals
Jim
Watson
- Korg BX3 organ
Mike
Pickering - drumkit
with
Carol
Grimes, Dorie Jackson, Louise Marshall –
backing vocals
+
special
guests including Dylan Bates (violin),
Richard Bolton (electric guitar), Thad
Kelly (electric bass), Roy Dodds (sidecar
drumkit), Dave Ramm (cruiseship organ) ,
Perry White (piano) & Sam
Pickering
(ukulele
& voice).
and
the secular gospel VOGC Junior League
Choir:
Chris
Batchelor, Ella Batchelor, Georgia
Batchelor, Dylan Bates, Richard Bolton,
Gary J. Brady, Roy Dodds, Thaddeus Kelly,
Tony Messenger, Kit Packham, Mike
Pickering, Carol Tighe, Gerry Tighe,
Katy Tighe, Sophie Tighe & Joe Wilkes.
Modern
morality suburban blues tales written over
the last decade and served up by Billy's
Trio Blues Suburbia with the usual
collection of wide ranging and 'must be
listened to' guests.
Award
winning organist Jim Watson provides the
unique sound canvas upon which Jenkins
lets rip with some terrifying one take
blues guitar - captured in all its sweat,
blood and torn sinew by recording engineer
and producer Charlie Hart.
Chris
Parker, writing for vortexjazz.co.uk
offers this pre-release review:
'Billy Jenkins's ability to
produce compelling, utterly convincing
but uncompromisingly English blues is
unrivalled, and this album contains some
of his finest work in the genre.
'The
form is addressed in all its varieties,
from the rollickingly gritty and
gospelly (the opening, title track),
through the defiant shuffle ('Ain't
Getting Married in the Morning') and
achingly slow confessional blues ('I
Felt So Guilty'), to the
slide-guitar-led 'I Hate Dogs' (Amen!)
and the cri de coeur that is 'When the
Parents Come to Stay', an unflinching
reaction to the problems arising from a
combination of the generation gap and
the effects of senile dementia (bathtime
staples: 'Steradent, Anusol, TCP,
Warfarin').
'Perhaps
its standout track, however, is
ironically the least bluesy: the
haunting closer 'I Took a Walk', which
is Jenkins's 'Not Dark Yet', a typically
dispassionate, unsentimental, yet
touching meditation on the suicidal
impulse.
'Jenkins's
own highly distinctive scrabbling,
blistering guitar is heavily featured
throughout, and his core blues trio
(completed by drummer Mike Pickering and
organist Jim Watson) performs impeccably
whatever the tempo and mood; with guest
appearances from violinist Dylan Bates,
guitarist Richard Bolton, bassist Thad
Kelly et al., this is another Jenkins
triumph, to be launched (at a Purcell
Room concert also featuring the BBC Big
Band) as part of the London Jazz
Festival on Sunday, 21 November 2010.'
Chris
Parker / vortex.co.uk
'Jenkins
is one of the most original songwriters
on today’s British blues scene. He
guitar work is unique, exhilarating and
manic as ever and Watson gets the chance
to stretch out in a manner that may not
go down too well on his other gig with
Katie Melua. Jenkins’ music may be an
acquired taste but one certainly worth
acquiring'.
Jon
Taylor / Blues in Britain
'With
the reissues of his 1980s
Uncommerciality recordings, this south
London blues guitarist and chronicler of
Lewisham's mean streets reminded
audiences how much substance as well as
suburban-nightmare comedy there is in
his work. If you aren't consoled by
Billy Jenkins's lyrics about maddening
dogs and parents, then Born Again – a
favourite melange of chugging boogie,
staggering guitar solos (in both
senses), cameos for family members, and
backing choirs of handy mates, relatives
and stars (Carol Grimes in this case) –
is unlikely to convert you.
'But
Jenkins regulars will love these blues
rants about lousy nights out ("I don't
want/ another night like that/ the
drinks were too expensive/ and the food
was crap") or suicide in the local duck
pond ("And there I'll be if I go
missin'/ you will find me when you're
fishin"), as well as some fierce
Hammond-organ bursts from Jim Watson,
and plenty of shrapnel-scattering guitar
solos from The Man from Lewisham
himself.' John Fordham / The
Guardian
‘Tremendously exciting, sometimes
unashamedly bracing, Jenkins takes old
clichés and refashions them with wild wit
and considerable charisma. He celebrates
the poetry of the everyday in a language
that completely lacks pretence or
affectation.
‘Musically, Born Again is a ferocious,
energised tour through what is in Jenkins'
hands the varied terrain of the blues. For
those who prefer the blues to be delivered
in blistering, abrasive, confident and
idiosyncratic form, Jenkins proves that
the form can still be more inspiration
than limitation’.
Daniel
Paton / musicOMH.com
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BILLY'S BANDCAMP, YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
A Billy Jenkins Calling Card
Collection CD
in digifile free standing card
wallet
1.
I Am A Man From Lewisham
2.
On (Catford) Broadway
3.
Francis Drake Bowls Club
4.
Deptford Market
5.
Church of the Ford Transit Mini Bus
6.
Terraced Fast Food
7.
Clock Tower of Power
8.
Throw Them Blues In The Recycling Bin
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
CD's AVAILABLE (UK ONLY) FROM MADE IN BROCKLEY.
Carol
Grimes – backing vocals
Ayanna
Witter-Johnson – backing vocals
Merlin
Hayward – backing vocals
Dave
Ramm – organ
Jim
Howard – trumpet
Charlie
Hart – violin
and
the VOGC Junior League Choir:
Nathaniel
Facey, Carol Grimes, Lesley Hayward,
Merlin Hayward, Caitlin Howard, Ella
Howard, Jim Howard, Phoebe Howard, David
Marshall, Oren Marshall, Ralina Marshall,
Rachel Marshall, Angela Menezes, Joe
Wilkes, Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
Coming
in like a kind of ‘evangelist group
therapy’ this is cross-genre
experimentalism from a crack team of
musicians. The band, held together by
Billy’s rabid guitar work, features
iconoclastic drummer Charles Hayward
originally known for his work with This
Heat and Oren Marshall on tuba who can
effortlessly cross from free form to
nailing a tight bass line. Innovative
improviser Gail Brand on trombone, Blues
Collective member Dylan Bates on violin
and pocket cornet, and Empirical band
member Nathaniel Facey on alto saxophone
(who met Billy when he was taught by him
at the Royal Academy of Music) complete
the line up. Spontaneously directed by
Billy, the ensemble rides and falls on his
ability to pick up on subtle inflections
from his players and to capitalise on
their instant creativity.
"They
don't make records like this any more.
Stuff a load of musicians in a recording
room, switch the red light on and hear
them resonate off one another, as they
scrape sounds out of the air. We need the
sound of people, not machines. Machines
break down, as do people, but when
musicians are a' buzzing it's the stuff of
life! And we all need more of it!”
-
Billy Jenkins 2010
'The south
Londoner's eruptions of punk-improv
guitar-playing, knack of assembling
gloriously incompatible ingredients, and
his underlying ire about the urban
downside always cut through. I Am a Man
from Lewisham is the surreal, chaotic
and disarmingly charming result.'
John Fordham / The Guardian
'One
of the great unclassifiable forces in the
British underground. His ever-fascinating
career takes a joyful turn on an album of
pubsy knees-ups, blues growling and
deliriously rude brass. He also
conducts
humanist
funerals. Versatile!'
Gavin
Martin / The Daily Mirror
'If
there were any second takes along the
way, it doesn't show. This is honest,
rough edged music of immense vitality
and charm. In a post-millennial world
tilted towards the bland and the
consumerist, Billy Jenkins is worth his
weight in gold. Anyone yet to encounter
him is in for a treat when they do so.'
Chris May
/ www.allaboutjazz.com
'Jenkins
teases
with his mastery of blues, ragtime, ironic
rock soloing and Carpathian folk, and
astounds, as he invites these various
forms to mate.' Stewart Lee / The Sunday Times
' The punk-ish
outbursts and spontaneous invention are
balanced by infuriatingly catchy tunes
and some tight ensemble work, and it's
all grand, inventive fun.'
Kenny
Mathieson / The Scotsman
'If you're a musician and you want to
learn the art of thinking and playing
differently, this album would be a great
place to start. Don't be put off by the
naff artwork.'
Robert
Shore / METRO
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BILLY'S BANDCAMP, YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
Brilliant
2.
Donkey Droppings
3.
Blues Is Calling Me
4.
First Time The Earth Shook
5.
Dancing In Ornette Coleman’s Head
6.
Bhopal
7.
Sunny
8.
Blues Stay Away From Me
Currently
unavailable on CD
Billy
Jenkins - guitar, shouting and
singing
Nathaniel
Facey - alto saxophone
Dylan
Bates - violin
Gail
Brand – trombone
Oren
Marshall - tuba
Charles
Hayward – drums
Recorded
very live and dangerous off the desk in
October 2006. A 'forward thinking
retrospective collection'. Jazz funk, free
form danger, corny pop tunes and serious
political work all wrapped up with a
blanket of blues....
4**** review in The Times 4**** review in Sunday Times 4**** review in Evening
Standard 4**** review in Jazzwise 5**** review in Time Out
'Blues has always
been a wonderfully cathartic music
that's captured here with the band and
audience sharing a kind of baptismal
group therapy. Jenkins is completely
non-religious but the life affirming
verve that one and all display is
nothing short of a devotional Sunday
session in the local parish church.'
Mike Flynn
/ Jazzwise
'This
live set by the guitarist, comedian and
bowls enthusiast is one of the finest of
his long career. The wayward world of
Jenkins has never sounded more enticing.'
John Bungey / The Times
'Featuring
one of the Bromley bluesman's most
inspired bands, this album preserves
what sounds to have been a great gig, at
Leeds's Wardrobe, for posterity. Like
much of Jenkins's work, Songs of Praise
is deadly serious at heart.'
Chris
Parker / Vortex Jazz CD Reviews
1.
In My Bones
2.
I Like Rain
3.
Get The Poison Out
4.
If I Where A Lollipop Man
5.
The Tide Is Out
6.
Blues Is Calling Me
7.
When Money's Really Tight
8.
Come Round And See Me
9.
Sitting On The Dock Of Ebay
10.
Trouble In Mind
11.
Everything's Too Fast
12.
This Room
13.
Cry Your Eyes Till They're Red
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
A
veritable blubfest from a bandleader
without any bookings for his wonderful
musicians. Armed with a handmade Lucas
Parlour acoustic guitar, blues harp and
rack, Billy sings how he feels. One minute
washed up, the next one drowning.
Isolation offset with the intensity of
commercial intrusion. The stark reality of
possibly seeking a non musical
subsistence.
Joined
by Steve Watts (double bass) and violinist
Dylan Bates on three tracks, this is
perhaps Billy’s most intense release,
recorded during the hot summer of 2003
with the complexity of new UK public
performance laws hanging heavy in the air.
The present is bleak for the practising
musician. The future is even more
uncertain.
But
ultimately, the warm vibrations of steel
string and bitter sweet vocal chord,
captured with fine sensitivity and
spontaneity by producer Pete Bennett leave
the listener bathed in optimism and
survival.
All
lyrics are reproduced in the CD booklet.
Blues
CD of the Week in the Birmingham Post.
Jazz
CD of the Week in The Observer.
'Billy Jenkins' latest release finds him
channeling personal angst into
self-penned
songs that let warmth temper pain. His own
'Blood On The Carpet Tiles' perhaps ?‘ Pete
Sargeant / Blues Matters!
‘His darkest record yet. The odd moment of
humour and the inimitable guitar playing
(notably Sitting on the Dock of eBay)
leaven the
message'. John
Bungey / The Times
'The guitar lines are so tightly wound
they may unravel in a premature heap. A
perverse pleasure, but a pleasure
nonetheless.'
Mike
Butler / City Life
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
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1.
I Wanna Be Connected
2.
First Day In Hell
3.
My Waters Run Clear
4.
There Is No Lord Up There
5.
Blues Stay Away From Me
6.
I Ain't Going Yet
7.
Bye Bye Blues
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
LIFE.
A tricky subject. BJ addresses this one by
tweaking the Blues Collective A-team and
adding shades of VOGC format madness. The
result is five new pieces of music and two
golden oldies from the 1930s and the '50s
- unleashed in a soundwall of Secular
Gospel, performed by an eight piece band
and the 16 strong VOGC Junior league
Choir.
Such
was the complexity of addressing such a
wide subject matter, Billy utilised no
less than ELEVEN(!) consultants, even
including an unconscious one!
Musician
and recording engineer Jon Franchi was in
a coma from a terrible bike accident when
sent mixes for his approval. The ruse was
simple. If John came round, the mixes were
fine. If he remained comatose - re-mix
until lucid.
We
are very happy to announce that:
a)
Jon has pretty much made a full recovery,
and,
b)
'LIFE' is definitely a life-enhancing
record!
'Only one in 20,000 English bluesmen
inhabits a recognisable reality.
Step
forward Billy Jenkins, anarcho
guitarmeister and arch-demythologiser.
Pure genius.' Mike Butler / City
Life
' 'Life' is essential listening from a man
well on his way to establishing himself as
a national treasure.' Chris Parker / Jazz
Review
'You probably need to see one of Jenkins’s
gently deranged shows to appreciate the
joke fully but this is the Blues
Collective’s best album
yet.' John Bungey /
The Times
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
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1.
Badlands
2.
Cliff Richard Spoke To Me
3.
Resting On My Bed Of Blues
4.
sadtimes.co.uk
5.
I'm Happy
6.
The Duke and Me
7.
I Love Your Smell
8.
Like John Lee Said
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
Blues
Collective touring band raise the studio
roof! Electric electric violinist Dylan
Bates, electric electric guitarist Richard
Bolton, electric electric bass guitarist
Thaddeus Kelly and the acoustic Mike
Pickering on drums, join BJ and friends
for what is already becoming a classic
release. 'I Love Your Smell', 'Cliff
Richard Spoke To Me', 'Badlands' - every
Jenkins-penned tune destined to become a
blues standard.
''His phrases smash through the iron bars
laid down by Thad Kelly (bass) and Mike
Pickering (drums) - eeerrrgh! - with a
gestural panache that has NEVER heretofore
been achieved by British electric
guitarists.'
Ben
Watson / The Wire
'Very bluesy, very guitary and also great
fun. As for the band, they are in perfect
harmony all the way.'
Laurie
Stead / Huddersfield Daily
Examiner
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
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1.
Ain't Gonna Play No Jazz No More
2.
Don't You Turn Your Back
3.
Pissed Off Boy
4.
Every Night You Turn Away
5.
Where Did I Stay Last Night?
6.
I'm On An Island
7.
Where Are You?
8.
I'm Stuck On You
9.
Walking Back To Crappiness
10.
Jazz Had A Baby (and they called it avant
garde)
11.
Give Me The Money Quick
12.
Goodbye Blues
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
The first
Blues Collective recording. BJ takes all
the solos, Thad Kelly and Mike Pickering
hold down the groove, whilst organist Dave
Ramm and harp player Whispering Gerry
Tighe gently caress the melancholia. The
Fun Horns of Berlin are just some of the
guests. Contains the classics 'Pissed Off
Boy', 'Jazz Had A Baby (And They Called It
Avant Garde)' and many others. In fact -
twelve tunes. One for each bar of the
blues.....
''Anyone who loves the blues well played
will enjoy this music, since Jenkins
consistently produces the goods with a
series of blistering guitar solos set
against a tight, vigorous band. S.A.D.
should be required listening for all
aspiring (and many practising) blues
musicians.'
Chris
Parker / The Times
'The album's a winner for style and quirky
British originality.'
Mel
Wright / Blueprint
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
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1.
(Not) Close To You
2.
And The Wall Came Down
3.
Wanderin' Star
4.
Trabants Into The Sunset
5.
We All Wear Socks
6.
Club Re-unification
7.
We All Eat Food
8.
Hopes
9.
Fears
10.
What A Wonderful World
11.
The Unquestioned Answer
12.
Commercialism Is A Cancer
Currently
unavailable on CD
The Fun
Horns of Berlin come from the old East .
The Voice of God Collective from the West.
Jenkins 're-unificates' an eleven piece
band that includes Huw Warren and Dave
Ramm on keyboards & Roy Dodds and
Steve Noble on drumkits. 'Close To You'
(yes, The Carpenters!), 'Wanderin' Star'
and 'What A Wonderful World' jostle with
mega ensemble scoring. It all ends in
tears.....
'Deliciously understated, so that when the
temperature rises during the improvised
parts, you feel the heat instantly.
Irresistible.'
Chris
Blackford / Rubberneck
'Even better than his live performances.'
Steve
Henwood / Venue
Magazine
'Suburbia
- how I love you, how I love you,
Suburbia
- there's no stars above you.
Suburbia
- dormitory from life,
Suburbia
- margarine for the knife,
Suburbia,
Suburbia - a place to come from......'
1.
Pointless Adornments
2.
Hello, I'm Your Next Door Neighbour
3.
The Perfect Lawn
4.
The Unknown Car Across Your Drive
5.
Corner Shop With Security Grill
6.
Coke Cans In Your Garden
7.
Silence Stalks The Sleeping Streets
8.
Suburbia (A Place To Come From)
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BJ directs
saxophonist Mark Lockheart, Dave Ramm,
Martin France, Roy Dodds, Steve Watts, The
Fun Horns Of Berlin, a string quartet,
screaming kids, a theremin, lawn mowers, a
washing machine and the kitchen
sink.......
'Lounge muzak, avant garde minimalism,
cheery music hall, 60's cellar-groove,
unclean blues and Faustian-pact heavy
metal are amongst the delightful elements
compressed into Billy's kinetic kick-ass
tumbleweed.'
Martin Longley / Birmingham
Post
'A
conceptual masterpiece... a concept album
about Bromley as a home of the blues, with
all its attendant irritations and virtues
alike. The music is vintage Jenkins, bits
and pieces from all over the place, fused
by great playing and sheer determination.
American readers will be baffled by him;
but he is, along with the Princess Royal
and Walthamstow dog stadium, one of our
national treasures.'
Penguin
Guide To Jazz On CD (5th Ed)
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
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1.
Arrival Of The Tourists
2.
Fat People/Clowning Glory
3.
Heavy Metal/Eurostern
4.
Cuttlefish
5.
Greenwich One Way System
6.
Bilbao (St. Columbus Day)/ 4.Saxophonie
Nr.3 - The
Mayfest
Variations
Currently
unavailable on CD
Live and
very dangerous. The Fun Horns of Berlin
had not played with BJ, Huw Warren, Steve
Watts and Martin France for half a year
when they stepped onto the stage of the
Old Renfrew Ferry on Glasgow's River
Clyde. Jenkins might not consider himself
a jazzman - but if pushed would agree this
is how jazz should be made.
A 'Jazz CD
Of The Year' in The Scotsman 1995
'An astonishing display. Sounds like it
was conducted by Carl
Stalling.' Stewart
Lee / The Sunday Times
'Alternating imaginative and idiosyncratic
ensemble arrangements with dazzling
soloing, incredible passages of free
playing, and large dollops of
humour.' Kenny
Mathieson / The Scotsman
1.
High Street/Part Pedestrianised
2.
Old Men In Flairs
3.
They Built A Ring Road In My Garden
4.
Barry Mitchell/Wing Music
5.
Suburban Socialising/Saturday Night
6.
Dressing Up For Church
7.
The Rust On The Screws Of The Churchill
Theatre
8.
We Don't Like There (Anymore)
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
'Sounds
Like Bromley' (Plymouth Sounds LBB1) was
released on vinyl in 1982. This is the
update, a decade later. Heavier, more
crowded, more metal, concrete and
commerce. David Vine's steel pans, Django
Bates' and acid king James Taylor's
keyboards form the aural backdrop for
saxophonist Iain Ballamy, trombonist
Roland Bates, bass guitarist Mark Mondesir
and drummer Martin France. Stylistically
set in the early Seventies, it is a
companion CD to the 'True Love Collection'
(Babel BDV 9821).
A 'Top
Twenty Jazz CD Of The Year' for the Virgin
Megastore 1997
'A zany but curiously touching portrait of
the Jenkins home town as it is now.'
Dave
Gelly / The Observer
'This is classic Jenkins material. Billy's
music may sound off-centre at times (well,
all the time really) but when listening
with a smile you can fully appreciate his
reasoning and enjoy his musical view of
life.'
David
Lands / Jazz Journal
Currently
unavailable on CD
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1.
Ronald Reagan
2.
Ray Charles
3.
Johnny Cash
4.
Doris Day
5.
Don King
6.
Oliver North/Twisted
7.
Charles Manson
8.
Elvis Presley
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
Back porch
ruminations on a far away country as
perceived from media and second-hand
information alone. Especially written for
alto saxophonist Martin Speake, who shares
the soloing with BJ playing a Squire
Stratocaster with whammy bar. Ex-President
Ronald Reagan sings the opening track.
Honestly.
'Only reveals its treasures on repeated
listening; Jenkins has a finely judged
sense of form, so when he twists country
and radio swing the results are morbidly
fascinating.' Ben Watson / Hi-Fi
News
'Some inspired alto saxophone work by
Martin Speake (fortunately Bill Clinton
wasn't available). Essential listening at
the White House.'
John
Lewis / Time Out
Currently
unavailable on CD
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
Brilliant
2.
Expensive Equipment
3.
Fat People
4.
The Blues
5.
Sade's Lips
6.
Johnny Cash
7.
Discoboats At Two O'Clock
8.
Cooking Oil
9.
Donkey Droppings
10.
Elvis Presley
Currently
unavailable on CD
Confused?
First time buyer? Start Here! Favourites
culled from the cassette and vinyl
collection 1984-91 by eighteen Jenkins aficionados.
Many of the regular Collective musicians
are featured, inc. saxophonists Mark
Ramsden, Mark Lockheart, Iain Ballamy,
Martin Speake; trombonists Ashley Slater
and Dave Jago, and drummers Roy Dodds,
Dawson Miller and Martin France.
A 'Top Ten
CD Of The Year' in GQ Magazine
1992.
'Billy Jenkins's music sounds better the
more you listen to it. His garrulous,
assiduously planned arrangements are an
inspiring assault on snobbery and
mystification. His musicians (and he has
managed to collect some of the best) have
no choice but to play more attentively,
more spikely - better.' Ben
Watson / The Wire
'Jenkins channels his wayward anarchy with
deceptive ease whilst saxophonist Ian
Ballamy is captured at close to his best.
Magnificent.'
Neville
Hadsley / Birmingham
Post
1.
Blues Zero Two
2.
This Is A Day To Forget
3.
I Wanna Stay Here
4.
Don't Eat That Cake
5.
White Van Man
6.
Down In The Deep Freeze
7.
A Virus Called The Blues
8.
I'm Staying In The Car
9.
I Want My Tea
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
The
2002 CD 'BLUES ZERO TWO' is hardcore Blues
Collective.
Trains,
consumerism, food fads, work ethics and
the socio-industrial infrastructure all
come under the microscope - and this time
we can guarantee there are no screaming
kids, cruise ship organs, or 'kitchen
sink' rattling.
Produced
by Jon Wilkinson at Steam Room Studios in
London's East End - BJ, Dylan Bates,
Richard Bolton, Thad Kelly & Mike
Pickering have been captured in all
their raw magnificence, as they serve up
another wry aural cartoon collection of
society's foibles.
All
pieces are BJ penned except Charles
Brown's 'A Virus Called The
Blues'.
A
'Pick Of The Year' in Blues In Britain
magazine 2002
'The fantastic Blues Collective drive him
along to new heights. His lyrics, as ever,
are full of wit, profundity and crap
jokes. This man should be knighted. Now.'
Martin Longley / Sheffield
Telegraph
'If you're a Jenkins fan, this update on
his Blues Collective is right in the
pocket. The guitar-playing is often
manically breathtaking, and tracks such as
I Wanna Stay Here touch the heart as well
as the head and the funny bone.' John
Fordham / The Guardian
'The
present Blues Collective line-up kicks ass
with Thad Kelly's pulsating, mesmeric bass
grooves and Mike Pickering's precision
drumming providing the perfect backdrop
for some vintage Jenkins guitar work (and
not a pedal board in
sight). Peter
Quinn /Jazzwise
'Throughout, Jenkins' angry guitar playing
is powerfully effective and the
contributions from Dylan Bates (violin),
Richard Bolton (guitar), Thaddeus Kelly
(bass) and Mike Pickering (drums) - all
outstanding musicians - are masterful. Trevor
Hodgett / Blues In Britain
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
'All
in all it is not only Jenkins's finest
hour, but a landmark in contemporary UK
jazz.'
****'
John Fordham / The Guardian
'Three sprawling, inspired sets - a
landmark in warped jazz pleasure.'
John Bungey / The Times
Billy Jenkins -
electric guitar; Iain Ballamy - alto +
tenor sax; Dai Pritchard - alto,
baritone sax; bass clarinet; Tim
Matthewman - electric bass; Dawson
Miller – percussion; Roy Dodds –
drumkit.
Plus: additional
voice on track 1 - James
Matthewman.
Recorded
Jan/Feb 1986 at Waterfront Studios,
Rotherhithe, London SE16.
Produced
by Tony Messenger.
A
milk chocolate music selection with easy
listening centres......
‘An impressive example of a man in
absolute command of his materials. Vibrant
in a way that often recalls the spirit of
the late Charles Mingus, Uncommerciality
is an accomplished and sometimes
provocative piece of work’.
Richard Williams / The Times
'South London free-jazz
catalyst Jenkins issued this large-scale
set of musical collisions – with UK jazz
giants including Django Bates, Iain
Ballamy, Mark Lockheart, Martin France and
many others – on vinyl and cassette in
1991. For all its outward lawlessness,
however, this is some of Jenkins's most
subtly conceived and orderly music'.
John Fordham / The Guardian
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP
PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
Commerciality
2.
Isn't It a Great World We Live In
3.
Girl Getting Knocked Over
4.
Black Magic
5.
I Will Always Love You
6.
Blue Broadway
'All
in all it is not only Jenkins's finest
hour, but a landmark in contemporary UK
jazz.'
****'
John Fordham / The Guardian
'Three sprawling, inspired sets - a
landmark in warped jazz pleasure.'
John Bungey / The Times
Billy Jenkins -
electric guitar, piano, voice; Iain
Ballamy - Soprano, alto + tenor sax;
Dai Pritchard - Trumpet, alto,
baritone sax, clarinet; Ashley Slater
- tuba, bass trombone, percussion;
Charlie Hart - electric bass,
accordion, violin; Roy Dodds –
drumkit.
Plus: Roland
Dartnell (electric drill + plates);
VOGC Junior League Vocal Chorus -
Choir Mistress Suzy M., Laura, Leanne
+ Nicola Dartnell; Grace + Roxanne
Messenger, Joanne Green, on track 3:
Steve Berry – cello, on track 4+5:
Steve Berry - double bass, on track 6:
Chris Batchelor – trumpet; Mark
Lockheart - tenor saxophone; Django
Bates – organ; Martin France - ride
cymbal.
Recorded
June/Aug 1988 at Waterfront Studios,
Rotherhithe London SE16 & Studio 99,
SE18. Produced by Tony Messenger.
A
dark chocolate music selection with
mysterious centres.....
'This
(Vol. 2 ) is jazz saying something to a
generation so used to music that doesn’t
say anything. If there are any jazz fans
at all under the age of sixteen it’s Billy
Jenkins’ fault. But where Hancock and
Davis were precious and po-faced about
their mysterious arts, Billy takes it into
the real world of car crashes and the
scandalous price of sweets.'
Richard
Russell / Billy Jenkins
webzine.com
'South London free-jazz
catalyst Jenkins issued this large-scale
set of musical collisions – with UK jazz
giants including Django Bates, Iain
Ballamy, Mark Lockheart, Martin France and
many others – on vinyl and cassette in
1991. For all its outward lawlessness,
however, this is some of Jenkins's most
subtly conceived and orderly music'.
John Fordham / The Guardian
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP
PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
Marching Into Middle Age
2.
Commuting
3.
Dancing In Ornette Coleman's Head
4.
Consumerism
5.
Expensive Equipment
6.
Land of the Free
'All
in all it is not only Jenkins's finest
hour, but a landmark in contemporary UK
jazz.'
****'
John Fordham / The Guardian
'Three sprawling, inspired sets - a
landmark in warped jazz pleasure.'
John Bungey / The Times
Billy Jenkins -
electric guitar, keyboards, violin,
electric bass voice; Mark Ramsden -
alto saxophone; Stuart Hall - electric
violin; Winston Blissett - electric
bass on tracks 1,2,5; Steve McManus -
electric bass on track 3, double bass
on track 4; Steve Watts - double bass
on track 6; Thebe Lipere - djembe,
calipers + clanging; Martin France -
quite a big drumkit.
Plus: Track 1:
Harriet Jenkins - spoken word; Dave
Ramm - Philicorda organ; Dad’s Horn
Section & VOGS Male Voice Choir:
John Eacott – trumpet; Mark Lockheart
- tenor saxophone; Frank Mead - alto
sax; Ian Trimmer - tenor sax; Dave
Jago – trombone, on Tracks 2+3: Maria
Lamburn - viola+violin; Huw Warren -
cello + piano on track 2, on Track 4:
Robin Aspland – piano, on Track 5:
Davo Cooke - heavy metal guitar, Robin
Aspland – piano, on Track 6: Steve
Nobel –bugle. Pre-recording research
tyrumpet by Chris Batchelor.
Recorded
May/Nov 1991 at Wood Wharf Studios,
Greenwich SE10. Produced by Tony
Messenger.
A
plain chocolate music selection with
vibrant aftertaste......
'Each
track (on Vol. 3) has a real edge, while
retaining the jazz vocabulary in mock
form, at times in free counterpoint, other
times as a Bonzo Dog show-band from hell.
While successive critics praise Billy for
his humour and what they perceive as
pastiche, the single most abiding quality
in Billy’s music is actually his anger,
his rage against our tepid and tedious
modernity in all its moulded plastic
forms.'
Richard
Russell / Billy Jenkins
webzine.com
'South London free-jazz catalyst Jenkins
issued this large-scale set of musical
collisions – with UK jazz giants including
Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Mark
Lockheart, Martin France and many others –
on vinyl and cassette in 1991. For all its
outward lawlessness, however, this is some
of Jenkins's most subtly conceived and
orderly music'. John Fordham / The Guardian
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP
PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
High Street/Saturday
2.
Fat People
3.
Parking Meters
4.
Sunday Morning
5.
Supermarkets
6.
Council Offices
7.
Growing Up In Bromley
8.
Exodus From Bromley
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
Billy Jenkins - Guitar,
Piano
Simon
Etchell - trumpet
Neill
MacColl - Guitar
Dawson
- percussion
Ian
Trimmer - tenor saxophone
Dave
Jago - trombone
Tim
Matthewman - bass
Roy
Dodds - drums
Executive Producer - John Steel
Originally
released as a 12" album in 1982
(Plymouth Sounds LBB1), the album has
been especially remastered by Andy Le
Vien at RMS Studios for digital download
direct from virgin vinyl.
Paul
Colbert, writing in the sleevenote to the
original release of Sounds Like
Bromley claimed “…the Voice of God
Collective are making a sound rarely heard
– their own.” Which is why, listening to
the album a millennium and several decades
later, we can say that the band still
sound fresh and modern.
That
alone would be a good reason to reissue
this, the first BJ and the Voice of God
Collective album, and the first of Mr
Jenkins’ series of pungent observations of
his South East London manor. Other good
reasons include the quality of the
musicianship (Billy has consistently
brought great young musicians together for
his recordings) and the talents of the
Trimmer/Jenkins writing team, already
almost a decade old by the early 80s.
It
is also instructive to reassess
'Sounds...' in the light of the current
interest in so called ‘punk jazz’.
You could make the argument that this was
the first attempt to make jazz with punk
attitude (the original press release
points out the ‘deliberate insertion of an
instrument performed by a musician
unfamiliar with it’s technique…). Billy’s
extraordinary guitar playing, all sharp
elbows, still sounds revolutionary today.
What
is extraordinary is that this
ground-breaking album has languished in
the analogue version of a Bromley lock up
for 25 years. It’s not before time that
Sounds gets a digital release, re-mastered
from the virgin vinyl, and that a new
generation get the chance to hear one of
the essential British records – of any
genre.
'A vastly underrated work
that manages to combine post-Ellington
composition, concrete effects, pop and a
world upside down version of English
pastoral'.
Brian Morton / The Wire
'Delightfully
witty, it contains some of the most
tongue-in-cheek instrumentals you have
ever heard.' Cedric Porter /
South London Press
'Brave and
serious to the point of madness - a
curious, at times stunning, slab of jazz
and humour'.
Gill Haydon / Bromley Advertiser
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BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1.
Greenwich One Way System
2.
Dreadnought Seamens' Hospital
3.
Rope
4.
Arrival of the Tourists
5.
An Empty River
6.
Meridian Council Estate (Vandalise Tourists' Property
Not Residents')
7.
Discoboats at Two O'Clock
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
Billy Jenkins (e gtr)
Iain Ballamy (a sax, t sax)
Dai Pritchard (a sax, bar sax, b clt)
Skid Solo (tpt)
Dave Jago (tbn)
Steve Berry (db)
Dawson (per)
Roy Dodds (dms)
with
the VOG String Trio - Andy McFarlane
(vln); Patrick White (vla) & Steve
Berry (cel).
Produced
by Tony Messenger
Originally
released as a 12" album in 1985(Wood
Wharf Records WWR852), the album has
been especially remastered by Andy Le
Vien at RMS Studios for digital download
direct from virgin vinyl.
The
1985 press release for Greenwich,
Billy Jenkins’ second Voice of God
Collective album, describes his
compositions as ‘Post Punk
Impressionistic’. The acerbic opener, a
peon to the ‘Greenwich One Way System’, is
certainly that… but more, with the
advantage of hindsight, it’s an indication
of just how unique Jenkins’ vision was and
is.
Following
the earlier and also reissued Sounds Like
Bromley, and predicting the latest I Am A
Man From Lewisham, Greenwich offered a
fiercely critical, furious, humourous
response to the area of South East London
that Billy has, and still does, call home.
While critics have concentrated on the
quirky themes and the left-field humour,
they’ve often overlooked just how
brilliant Billy’s music is and how
cleverly his fantastic Voice of God groups
have interpreted these tricky themes.
After
a quarter of a century Greenwich is once
again available, this time as a digital
download (but re-mastered from the virgin
vinyl), providing the opportunity to
reassess one of the landmark albums of the
1980s.
Billy
recalled his thoughts on each 'Greenwich'
composition for TheBilly
Jenkins Webzine - which can be read
here.
"Jenkins as tone poet. The aural imagery
is magnificent. All questions about the
guitarist's seriousness (in the sense of
viability) as a musician are settled by
'Greenwich,' which remains one of the most
distinctive British jazz albums of the
1980's."
* * * * The Penguin
Guide to Jazz on Record.
"Hugely
entertaining." Ron
Atkins / The Guardian
"'Greenwich One Way System' is notthe
most exciting title for a track
on
an
album."
Sarah
Ward / Capital Radio
"A
left field
stunner"
John Gill / Time Out
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
1. Invocation I
-
Mellow Yellow
2.
Invocation II -
Yesterday Once More
3.
Invocation III - Everybody's
Talking
4.
Invocation IV - How
Deep Is Your Love
5.
Invocation V - Feeelin'
Groovy
6.
Invocation VI - Sunny
-
Altercation
7.
Invocation VII
-
Dancing In The Street -
Consummation
En route back to the blues and his
guitar playing roots, BJ starts the reverse
trend by exploring Seventies Pop tunes. Originally
released on CD in 1998 (Babel Label
BDV 9821),
it has now been re-edited for
download release.
Django Bates, Iain
Ballamy, Martin France, Dave Ramm,
Christine Tobin, Steve Watts, Mike
Pickering, The Fun Horns of Berlin
and
others weave their unique skills over
'Mellow Yellow', 'Everybody's Talkin',
'Feeling Groovy', 'How Deep Is Your Love',
'Sunny' and other imitation paste gems.
'True Love Collection can only
work because, at heart, Jenkins, who's
pathologically
incapable of bullshit, has a real
affection, a real
caring for
the music. More, more, more please.' Andy
Robson / Jazzwise
'There is a kind of genius on
our doorstep. Don't let him die in
poverty.'
Stewart Lee / Q Magazine
'This fusion of piss-take with
passionate musicianship succeeds in laying
bare the process by which music
manipulates our emotions.
You know
you have been conned - and you loved every
minute of it.'
Lisa Gee / The Guardian
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM YOUR
FAVOURITE ONLINE STORE
1.
Monkey Men
2.
Cuttlefish
3.
Barcelona
4.
Benidorm Motorway Service
5.
Bilbao/St. Columbus Day
6.
Cooking Oil
7.
McDonalds
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
All compositions by Billy Jenkins PRS/MCPS
Bass Guitar [Fat Electric Bass Guitar] – Tim Matthewman
Bass Guitar [Skinny Acustic Bass Guitar] – Simon Edwards
Cello [Proper Cello] – Jo Westcott
Drums [Experienced Hand Drums, Midget Drumkit] – Steve Argüelles
Guitar [Heavy Metal Guitar] – Dave Cook
Guitar [Spaß Guitar], Violin, Composed By – Billy Jenkins
Keyboards [Doodle Keyboards] – Django Bates
Percussion [Excited Percussion], Drums [Spastic Drumkit] – Roy Dodds
Percussion, Drums [Experienced Hand Drums] – Dawson
Saxophone [Bigtime Saxophone] – Iain Ballamy
Saxophone [Spaß Saxophone], Clarinet – Dai Pritchard
Saxophone [Straight Saxophone] – Steve Buckley
Trombone [Grown Up Trombone] – Dave Jago
Trumpet [Spaß Trumpet] – Skid Solo
Trumpet [Straight Trumpet] – Chris Batchelor
Trumpet [Trad Trumpet] – John Eacott
Vibraphone [Golden Vibraphone] – Jimmy Haycraft
Vocals, Tuba, Trombone [Juvenile Bass Trombone] – Ashley Slater
Recorded By – Jimmy Haycraft at Waterfront Studios, Rotherhithe, London.
PRODUCED BY TONY MESSENGER
ART WORK BY NICK CORKER
Some call
this Jenkins' classic recording. From the
micky-take Miles cover spoof to the
pathetic trumpet playing of Skid Solo over
such gems as 'Benidorm Motorway Services',
'McDonald's, 'Cuttlefish' and 'Cooking
Oil' - it would be hard to disagree. Billy
does. But then he would.....
NOMINATED
BY THE GUARDIAN AS 'ONE OF THE 1,000 ALBUMS TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE'!
'The LP sleeve pastiched
Miles Davis, and the music served as a strange collision of post-punk
anger, Gil Evans-ish chamber jazz and bathetic English satire (sample
title: Benidorm Motorway Services). This convinced us that erstwhile
glam punk guitarist Jenkins really had become an inspiringly maverick
bandleader of great importance.'
~
'…Jenkins’s most celebrated single record…Jenkins has been
around on the British scene long enough now for pieces like Benidorm
Motorway Services and Cooking Oil to become minor classics, albeit
harder to hum than the adagio from Concierto De Arunjuez…' Penguin Guide To Jazz
'The ensemble is swollen, the intentions
are ambitious, the lunacy gets out of
control, and Jenkins succeeds in all his
target areas. This incredibly dense and
detail-stuffed epic feels like a
massive-budget project, even though it
almost certainly wasn't.'
Martin
Longley / Jazz on CD
'Oh no, it's Billy Jenkins. Listen and be
rudely awakened, or better still get blind
drunk and re-live those package tour
nightmares.'
Lindsay
MacRae / Q Magazine
'It's crazier than a box of frogs on LSD but more entertaining.'
Charles Waring / Record Collector
~
A 'Top Twenty Re-issued Album of 2017' in Jazzwise Magazine!
Vinyl + CD unavailable.
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE.
All compositions by Billy Jenkins PRS/MCPS
Motorway At Night -1 recorded in one take on 4th August 1987 with:
Mark Lockheart – Big Bollocks tenor saxophone
Frank Mead – Aerodynamic alto saxophone
Dai Pritchard – Midget Football Boot trumpet, baritone sax, clarinet
Dave Jago – Sore Bottom trombone
Django Bates – Wireless keyboards
Nick Page – Back Seat Driver five string electric guitar
Billy Jenkins – Navigator six then five string electric guitar
Simon Edwards – Crankshaft electric bass
Steve Berry – Real leather cello
Dawson – Final Drive hand drums, percussion
Roy Dodds – Back Wheels drumkit
Steve Argüelles – Tappets drumkit
Tony Messenger – Panelling producer
The VOG String Trio - Respect For Tradition Andy Mcfarlane (violin), Patrick White (viola) Steve Berry (cello)
Motorway At Night -2 recorded in one take on 7th October 1987 with:
Iain Ballamy – Heart alto, tenor saxophones
Andy Sheppard – Spark Plus tenor saxophone
Chris Batchelor – Fly In Car slide trumpet, trumpet with biscuit tin
Django Bates – Wireless Again keyboards, tenor horn
Neill MacColl – Another Back Seat Driver electric guitar
Billy Jenkins – More Navigation electric guitar
Simon Edwards – Crankshaft electric bass
Roy Dodds – Back Wheels drumkit
Steve Argüelles – More Tappets drumkit
Tony Messenger – Wax & Polish producer
The VOG String Trio - Respect For Tradition Again Andy Mcfarlane (violin), Patrick White (viola) Steve Berry (cello)
Recorded by Tony Messenger at at Waterfront Studios, Rotherhithe, London.
Followed by VOG String Trio and other overdubs and mixing.
PRODUCED BY TONY MESSENGER
ART WORK BY NICK CORKER & MARK WALLIS
Originally
released as a 12" album in 1988 (DCM Records 108-1), the album has
been especially remastered by Andy Le
Vien at RMS Studios for digital download
direct from virgin vinyl.
Said Billy to Wire Magazine:
‘I briefed the players for each 'Motorway' closely. Twenty minutes at
70mph, no U-turns, no stopping. I like to hear the person, the
potential, the inherent skills. Every player who records with me knows
that if they blow it, it will be documented forever.. We did no
re-takes, no editing. We over-dubbed the String Trio using 'real notes'
from 'real scores.
By having
a 160bpm click in the drummer's ear, we ensured a repetitive measure,
thus placing lateral improvising into an 'easier to absorb' vehicle to
those who might well turn off to improvisations less structured.’
~
‘Goddam but this cooks!’
Bill Tilland / Option
‘Hilarious, explosive, disarming - essential acid
jazz.’
Ben Watson /
Leeds Other Paper
‘The ‘real new Age’ sounds of ‘Motorway At Night’ throb to a decidedly
unrelaxing metronome setting
and chaotic instrumental mixes. Jenkins’s
Voice of God Collective draws on the work of his earlier Burlesque band
and on it successor, Trimmer &
Jenkins; ‘Motorway At Night’ also draws
on the laddish big band Loose
Tubes, who rehearsed at Wood Wharf
Studios, Greenwich, centre of Jenkins’s operations.’
* * *(*) The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Record.
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY VIA BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
BY BUYING FROM BANDCAMP YOU WILL BE HELPING TO SUPPORT HIS WORK!
Recorded by Tony Messenger on the 11th and 29th June 1984 at Waterfront Studios, Rotherhithe, London.
Mixdown at Gateway Studios, Wandsworth with the kind cooperation of Dave
Ward and Mick Parker. Original vinyl mastered by Mike Walker at Trident
Studios.
PRODUCED BY TONY MESSENGER
ART WORK BY MARK WALLIS
This Album Has Been Contour Edited
A Rock Against Rock Record
Music Not Business
Originally
released as a 12" album in 1985 (ALLMUSIC ALMS1), the album has
been especially remastered by Andy Le
Vien at RMS Studios for digital download
direct from virgin vinyl.
‘Beyond E Major’ was, in effect, the ‘album of the column’ that Billy
had been writing in the mid 1980’s for the monthly music magazine One
Two Testing.
Advocating, over thirteen months, the art of music and guitar study at the ‘school of self education.
Having come to the conclusion that ‘the written word is not a good
medium for musical tuition’, Jenkins, inspired by the album ‘East
Broadway Rundown’ by saxophonist Sonny Rollins (where his
trioextemporise at length from a simple theme) took the Loose Tubes
double bass player Steve Berry and (then) Working Week drummer Roy Dodds
into the studio to explore four distinct different styles of music –
Country and Western, The Blues, Heavy Metal and Rock and Roll.
The column ‘Beyond E Major’ and other articles Billy wrote for One Two Testing, can be found online here.
‘Certainly not for the fainthearted, the album is a gloriously uninhibited affair.’ Julian Cole / The Mercury
‘I
like it, I like it! It’s a brash, enthusiastic document, a lot of
humour and wistful improvisation in the playing, ensuring that the
undoubted
musical virtuosity of the players doesn’t lead to ego-tripping,
pretentions and superficiality. Here surely is the essence of a man who
not only knows the real power of music but also the evils of the big,
bad industry and the necessity of keeping your fee firmly on the
ground.’ Phil England / Elephant Weekly
‘Cast
in ‘Rockschool’ format in four generic chunks, the performances treat
genres as if they were ‘standards’ in themselves, bases for
improvisation. To call the results unpredictable is to miss the point
somewhat.’ * * * The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Record
‘Surely
the worst record ever released. ‘Beyond E Major’ is a staggering
testimony to the bankruptcy of contemporary jazz musicianship. Jenkins
might fancy himself as the thinking man’s Billy Bragg, but to me he
sounds more like a lobotomised Al DiMeola after a year’s intensive
training at the New Musical Express school of pseudery…’ Garry Johnson / Sounds
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1. A Cup of Tea
2. Donkey Droppings
3. My Dead Cleaning Lady
4. Slimming Advert
5. Helsinki Waking Up
6. Cooking Oil
7. Ragtime
8. Fat People
9. 2nd April ‘78
10. Snowbound
11. Young Lovers
12. Laban Dance School Early Morning
13. A Quiet Sunday Afternoon
14. Jack Loussier’s Beard
15. The Unborn Child
16. The Unborn Child Of The Comedian
17. Invention
AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD FROM BILLY'S OWN BANDCAMP PAGE!
Originally
released as a 12" album in 1985 (Wood Wharf Records WWR841), the album has
been especially remastered by Andy Le
Vien at RMS Studios for digital download
direct from virgin vinyl.
Recorded by Julia Carney
COVER ART BY COLIN BROSTER.
DIGITAL COVER LAYOUT BY MARK WALLIS
On
the 18th March 1984, using a majestic Bösendorfer 9 and a half foot
grand piano and beautifully recorded and engineered by Julia Carney,
guitarist Billy Jenkins laid out his stall playing, what he described
as, ‘composer piano’, bringing into the session compositions created
between 1973 and 1984. Amongst them where two of them scored in his
teens, one co-composed with Ian Trimmer and seven improvised on the day.
One of these improvisations, ‘Donkey Droppings’, he later scored for the
VOG Collective. Thus, the moment when heart, hand and mind combine can truly be heard on this recording.
Invention.
In your ears.
Then.
And now….
This recording startlingly bookends the ‘Ghost Music’ album, the solo ‘composer piano’ album recorded 34 years later.......
~ ‘Billy Jenkins is a musical anarchist. Notably resistant to ideology, he
espouses a version of the kitchen-sink Situationism which lay behind
the British punk movement. If
music has become business (an equation he
rejects), then the only refuge is a kind of unselfconscious anti-technique
which encourages the retention of ‘wrong’ notes and false starts.He calls
his own compilation of Piano Sketches ‘the result of musical suppression’.
A response to certain assumptions about ‘professionalism’ and
marketability. The themes are simple, unoblique, stripped of irony.’
* * (*) The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Record
‘Unlike
the shaded stillness of dockland wastes which adorn the album sleeve,
‘Piano Sketches 1973-84’ buzzes with unbridled energy – and a
penetrating dry wit. It’s a hop, skip ‘n’ jump from early ‘Tune-A-Day’
style ‘correctness’ to a now less evenly-polished finish – frenzied
ivory chases and protrusive discords jammed into spartan structures from
all odd angles. ‘Erik Satie meets Les Dawson’ suggests Mr Jenkins.
I’d plump for Steve Beresford vs Blue Gene Tyranny with Fats Waller as ref!’ David Ilic / City Limits
‘In a sense, in a hand-made, working-class, South-East London sense, the 'Piano Sketches' is a composer's note-book made real,
like Bach's 'Art of Fugue' or Bartok's 'Mikrokosmos.' Richard Russell / Billy Jenkins Webzine
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A
delightful, gently crafted 45 minute film,
made by Dave Eyre and Peter Cordwell
celebrating the centenary of Francis Drake
Bowls Club, Hilly Fields, Brockley, whilst
also inviting other people to play the
'gracious game'. Music in the film and the
narrative is voiced over by jazz/blues
icon Billy Jenkins, who is also captain of
Francis Drake BC.
Three
Jenkins compositions are featured:
The
title track 'Ain't Going Yet' is taken
from the Blues Collective CD 'LIFE' (VOTP
2002) and the first half of the match
itself is accompanied by 'Benidorm
Motorway Services' from 'Scratches of
Spain' (reissued by Babel 1994 but
currently out of print) - featuring
Bollywood Brass Band trombonist Dave Jago
and keyboard gymnast Django Bates.
The
second half of the match is edited to 'The
Perfect Lawn' from 'Suburbia' (Babel
1999), which features Polar Bear lynchpin
Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Dave
Ramm on keyboards and drummer Roy Dodds.
The
film has been made by Plumstead film-maker
Dave Eyre and local journalist Peter
Cordwell, editor of Greenwich Council's
newspaper, Greenwich Time.
The
DVD also features the three music tracks
set to bowls images as stand alone
extras. All proceeds go to the bowls
club.
'Lovely, gently eccentric and utterly
charming' Mike Flynn /
Jazzwise
'I absolutely loved it. Incredibly well
done and put together.Really should be
sold to the BBC as an quintessentially
English Docu-drama.' Helena Argüelles / Essential
Time Out
1.
opening titles
2.
The Duke And Me
3.
I'm Happy
4.
This Is A Day To Forget
5.
White Van Man
6.
I'm Staying In The Car
7.
There Is No Lord Up There
8.
Thaddeus' bass solo
9.
Jazz Had A Baby (and they called it avant
garde).....
10.
....continued & credits
Captured
for the first time on video! The master
stage performer tells it 'like it wasn't,
isn't and never will be' as the Blues
Collective startle unsuspecting
lunchtime picnickers at London's Victoria
Embankment Gardens.
By
filming in the daylight, director Phil
Vallentin fully captures the way Billy and
his band bring one and all into their
strange blues world of suburban
melancholia.
Great
playing, great sound and great
directing.
Running
at 41 minutes, the film sees the band
execute wonderful renditions of Jenkins
classics such as The Duke And Me, I'm
Happy, This Is A Day To Forget, White Van
Man, I'm Staying In The Car, There Is No
Lord Up There and Jazz Had A Baby (and
they called it avant garde).
The
format is DVD/PAL Region 0 - which means
it should be playable worldwide.
'Catches the band at their chaotic,
deadpan best. Touches the heart, the funny
bone and the soul in equal measure.'
John L. Walters /The
Guardian
'The Blues never felt so
good.' Cedric
Porter / South London Press
'
Not for the faint hearted, or those
suffering a humour bypass, Jenkins' very
British take on the blues is never boring,
full of unabashed playing, rich lyrical
irreverence: overall, hugely
entertaining.'
MIke
Flynn / Jazzwise Magazine
