A Quiet Gathering Stuart McCallum

• 1 Alice In Wonderland 03:36
• 2 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered 04:06
• 3 My Ideal 05:02
• 4 Wouldn't It Be Loverly 02:16
• 5 When I Fall In Love 05:09
• Total Runtime 20:09

Info for A Quiet Gathering

A Quiet Gathering is a new five-track EP from Stuart McCallum - British guitarist and co-founder of The Breath - conceived and produced with immersive listening at its core. The music was written and recorded to live first in Atmos, focusing on beloved jazz standards touched by folk colour, including Alice In Wonderland and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. McCallum regards these songs as melodic anchors that have shaped his musical voice.

Rather than foreground dense jazz harmony, he pares each piece back to its melodic essence and rebuilds from there. Guitar sits at the centre, surrounded by bodhrán, flutes, trumpet, whistle and double bass - subtle folk textures woven into familiar repertoire. The harmonic language nods to jazz while the atmosphere leans towards folk directness. Recorded at home and across collaborators’ studios, the arrangements are shaped to move in space, allowing textures to circulate and breathe. The immersive mix, developed with Grammy-winning engineer Hans Martin, places the listener inside the ensemble.

With his distinctive guitar sound, Stuart McCallum shaped the sound of the legendary Cinematic Orchestra for many years. Between 2004 and 2012, he contributed as a guitarist and co-writer to the acclaimed albums *Ma Fleur* and *Live at the Royal Albert Hall*, and also worked on the award-winning Disney soundtrack *The Crimson Wing*. His atmospheric guitar lines, which float effortlessly between jazz, ambient and orchestral richness, became an integral part of the Cinematic Orchestra’s signature sound.

In his solo project, McCallum continues to explore this sonic world whilst simultaneously opening it up to new directions. His music combines expansive harmonies, floating reverb and delay textures, and virtuoso, melodic improvisation to create a sonic space that feels both intimate and cinematic. Acoustic guitar tones meet ambient soundscapes, whilst folk melodies blend with jazz harmonies and electronic nuances.

The result is music of a special atmosphere: music that opens up time and space, that breathes between silence and sound, and discovers new colours in every moment. Inspirations drawn from old English folk songs, jazz standards and classical music coalesce in McCallum’s work into a sound that is entirely his own and unmistakable.

Stuart McCallum is also in demand as a collaborator: he has worked with artists including Jordan Rakei, Richard Spaven, Manu Delago, John Surman and the band Slowly Rolling Camera, and contributed guitar parts to Peter Gabriel’s Grammy-winning album i/o.

McCallum’s solo releases – including the acoustic EP series Solitude and the intimate live recording Vinyl Room Session – showcase the full range of his guitar playing. On his latest project, Rain Is Coming, McCallum combines improvised guitar lines with generative soundscapes, creating music that is constantly evolving.

Stuart McCallum, acoustic and electric guitars, synthesizer, programming
Ben Nicholls, double bass
Martin O’Neill, bodhrán
Graeme Blevins, alto flute
Neil Yates, trumpet
Michael McGoldrick, whistle

Stuart McCallum - Guitars, Keyboards & Electronics
From jazz beginnings to DJ culture, Stuart McCallum’s music is ‘alternative jazz’ – a distillation of influences, creating a sound that is concentrated and distinctive. Not wanting to hide behind over complicated harmonic and rhythmical structures, angular and forgettable melodies, Stuart’s music is a new hybrid of composition, production and performance. It embraces simple, memorable melodies, bass lines and drum beats, with electronica and improvisation enriched by elegant orchestral writing.

Stuart has a wealth of experience in many different musical environments and genres. After being invited to join the Cinematic Orchestra in 2004, Stuart has performed on and contributed to the writing of the band’s critically acclaimed albums, ‘Ma Fleur’ and ‘Live At The Royal Albert Hall’. In addition he has contributed to the award winning Disney nature documentary soundtrack, ‘The Crimson Wing’, and the remix of Radiohead’s ‘Exit Music For A Film’ for Radiohead’s remix compilation album, ‘Exit Music: Songs For Radio Heads’. Memorable performances with the band include The Royal Albert Hall with the Heritage Orchestra and The London Metropolitan Orchestra, headlining The Big Chill in the UK, and playing at Montreal Jazz Festival and Coachella festival in Palm Springs.

‘Distilled’, Stuart’s third solo album is the culmination of Stuart’s guitar playing, production and composition experience to date. The sonic palette of instruments and electronics used is a development from his 2 previous solo albums ‘Echo Architect’ and ‘Stuart McCallum’. Stuart’s guitar playing is the main feature of the music - the vocalist in the instrumental lineup. His interest in exploring different sounds from both electric and acoustic guitars is apparent in the music, from the innovative use of delays and filters, to hitting the guitars with hands and drumsticks! The guitar plays alongside electronic and acoustic drums, double bass, keyboards, synths, percussion, harp, celeste, strings, woodwinds and horns.

Over the past two years Stuart has worked closely with internationally acclaimed British artist Linder. ‘The Dark Monarch’, performed at Tate St Ives in 2009 has resulted in a Tate DVD and book to document the piece. The 13 hour improvised performance piece, ‘The Darktown Cakewalk’, performed at the 2010 Glasgow International Festival resulted in Stuart being awarded a nomination for ‘Best Music in Theatre in Scotland’ by the Scottish Theatre Critics Association. Stuart and Linder also collaborated to create a visual ‘soundtrack’ to Stuart’s ‘Distilled’ album launch.

In 2007 Stuart was invited to take part in the PRSF artist development scheme ‘Take Five’. A week of workshops with legendary UK saxophonist, John Surman, lead to Stuart being commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival to write a suite of music to be performed by John and Stuart and a 10 piece chamber ensemble. The suite was performed in the beautiful setting of St Annes Church in Manchester’s City Centre and was acclaimed by both audience and critics. Stuart wrote a new suite of music for Manchester Jazz Festival in 2010, this time for a solo set which was performed live on BBC Radio 3′s flagship jazz show ‘Jazz On 3′. The music was so well received by the show that it was included in its ‘Best Of 2010′ review show.

As well as John Surman, Stuart has also performed and recorded with some of the most prominent jazz artists of today, including Kenny Wheeler, Mike Gibbs, Gwilym Simcock, Tim Garland, Laurent Robin and Laurent De Wilde.

This album contains no booklet.