Artist: Orchestra Mahatma

Date of Release: 01/10/2005

Catalogue no: BDV 2557

Label: Babel

Price: £12

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Track Listing

Appearances by

Paul Clarvis, Sonia Slany

One of the few truly original bands in modern jazz, Orquestra Mahatma cannot be shoehorned into a single category or genre. Combining musical influences from every corner of the globe; the group has a versatile and exciting sound that has gained them widespread critical acclaim.

Stay Cool – the group's third album - continues these jazz gypsies' exploration of music from around the world. The band's own compositions nestle between inimitable improvisations on songs native to Spain , Macedonia , France , Bulgaria and Venezuela amongst others. The passion and pleasure of these musicians make them fantastic travelling companions and guides. As with their two previous albums, Orquestra Mahatma introduce the listener to tunes and styles which they might not otherwise have been aware of, using melodies from every culture to entertain, enrapture, and entrance with its sheer enjoyability.

Orquestra Mahatma comprises Paul Clarvis on drums & percussion, Stuart Hall on strings (guitars and fiddle), Sonia Slany on violin and Thad Kelly on bass. The group has been together for over a decade, releasing their acclaimed debut album A Young Person's Guide on The Babel Label in 1996, and their follow up The Nightingale of a Thousand Joys - a collaboration with Sonia Slany's Solid Strings - in 1999.

Reviews

01/10/2005 The Sunday Times

"Stirring experiments in jazz without frontiers"

01/10/2005 The Independent

“A little miracle of home-grown British jazz”