Friday, December 20, 2013

Blow the Bloody Doors off!


Thur 6 Feb 2014 / 19:30, Barbican Hall, London

Tickets: £17.50-25
 
Blow the Bloody Doors off! is a celebration of the music featured in the films which cemented Michael Caine’s reputation as an iconic movie star. The four films singled out for concert performance in this Barbican event are classics with music composed by an exceptional quartet of musicians – “Alfie” (Sonny Rollins),“The Ipcress File” (John Barry), “The Italian Job” (Quincy Jones) and “Get Carter” (Roy Budd). Linked by Michael Caine, the films and composers represent a microcosm of sixties film music, bringing the grit, glamour and grooves of the sixties back to life and creating a snapshot of the decade. The performance is part of a series of concerts at the Barbican which explore the innovative ways in which film and music can interact.
 
The evening places the music centre stage, intercut with excerpts from the films for context. The first half of the performance showcases a range of compositions from these Caine films, while the second part focuses specifically on Roy Budd’s score for “Get Carter”. 

In recording the original soundtrack, Budd overcame the film’s limited budget by using only three musicians, including himself playing electric piano and harpsichord simultaneously. This Barbican production features new arrangements transcribed from the released soundtracks rather than the films themselves, offering a broader flavour of the music of the period. No score for these soundtracks previously existed and this is the first time that they have been performed live. Echoing the approach of Roy Budd and John Barry, the production reflects the instrumentalists involved, rather than sampling original recordings.
 
These featured compositions represent the best of British and American music of the time - “from The Elephant & Castle to Hollywood” to paraphrase the title of one of Caine’s biographies. To do them justice, musical director Terry Edwards (whose recent Barbican performances include Beck: Song Reader Live and Big Star’s Third) has assembled a crack team of versatile musicians from places as far-flung as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Polar Bear and Madness. As multi-instrumentalists, their versatility enables them to jump from structured orchestration to jazz and emulate the innovative nature of the original composers and the films themselves.
 
Featuring:
 
Terry Edwards - MD/trumpet/reeds
Seb Rochford - drums/tabla
Mark Bedford - electric & acoustic bass
Finn Peters - flute/tenor sax
Jack Pinter - flute/saxes
Rose Moore - hammer dulcimer/keyboards
Seamus Beaghen - Hammond organ
Steve Gibson - orchestral percussion
James Johnston - guitar/harmonica
Jenny Adejayan String Quartet
plus guest vocalists