This morning we welcome London-based saxophonist and composer, Camilla George, to select three Sunday morning tunes that include some of her inspirations and collaborations.
Born in Nigeria, Camilla George studied at Trinity College of Music and emerged from the influential Tomorrow’s Warriors and Jazz Jamaica bands to a Mobo nomination in 2013. Her tutors have included fellow saxophonists Jean Toussaint, Tony Kofi, Julian Siegel, Christian Brewer and Martin Speake.
Camilla George’s selection
Kenny Garrett – Charlie Brown Goes to South Africa
Camilla George: ” I am a huge Kenny fan and love his playing as much as his compositions. This is one of the first tunes of his that I heard and I have been hooked ever since! “
Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins & Sonny Stitt – On the Sunny Side of the Street
Camilla George: ” I love both Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt’s playing on this as well as Dizzy’s singing at the end! “
Zara McFarlane – Silhouette
Camilla George: ” I have worked with Zara a lot over the years and she is one of my favourite artists. I love this tune in particular from her new album ‘Arise’. Its melody is beautifully haunting. “
MailTape’s selection
Camilla George Quartet – Polkadots And Moonbeams
Sanjay: ” Jimmy Van Heusen’s track is presented in a languid ballad arrangement that features some tender and emotive playing from Camilla’s quartet. She is given sympathetic support by the quartet with Camilla herself flowingly lyrical on her own solo. Daniel Casimir’s richly melodic bass is a further highlight. “
Nicholas Payton – #BAMboula
Sanjay: ” Reminiscent of Miles Davis’s Afrocentric early-‘70s experiments, #BAMboula is an easy-paced groove built upon Nicholas Payton’s trumpet and Fender Rhodes. Based on the rhythm of the same name (by the renowned Louis Moreau Gottschalk), it also includes bits of interviews with Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey. Nicholas explains #BAM as an acronymic hashtag for Black American Music. “
Sarah Tandy – Timelord
Sanjay: ” A regular at the Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston, pianist and composer Sarah Tandy has recently released her debut album, ‘Infection in the Sentence’. This track is built around a nifty electronic motif, starting out pretty leisurely before the theme is tentatively explored with some sensitive sax and Zawinul-like sounds. “
Sarathy Korwar & Upaj Collective – Journey in Satchidananda
Sanjay: ” Previous MailTape guest, Sarathy Korwar, follows up his debut album ‘Day to Day’ with ‘My East Is Your West’ alongside the Upaj Collective. And it’s a fantastically good one. Alice Coltrane’s harp in the original version is substituted here by a sitar and santoor—creating a sweltering, exhausting and intense listen at every turn. “
That’s it for this morning. As always, thank you so much for joining us this Sunday. Much love and respect to Camilla George for her Sunday selections, and to Anthony Dujardin for his brilliant illustration.
