Southern
Jazz Guitar Society
"Dedicated
to foster the art and craft of the jazz guitar"
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Guest
night: Rob Koral & Zoe Schwarz |
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Zoë
and Rob's musical partnership has been going strong
these past four years, during this period they have
covered a lot of musical ground, initially performing
in local wine bars and progressing quickly to established
gigs such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express-Dean St.,
Stables-Wavendon, Lighthouse-Poole etc.. Coming from
different musical beginnings, Zoe's being from a formal
classical background and Rob from a bluesier upbringing,
seems to work to their advantage in that it creates
a chemistry in terms of combining musical sensitivity
and sensibility. This has manifested itself in their
careful choice of standard tunes and their ability
to write strong and concise original compositions.
“... the real meat of this recording is to be found
in the nine originals. … The two Billie Holiday-inspired
tunes ‘Let’s Explain’ and ‘Give Him Up Girl’ both
pack powerful emotional punches (who says no one’s
writing good lyrics these days) ……” by Peter Quinn
Jazzwise April 2005 |
In
Zoë’s words: “Performing jazz is about having a conversation;
the same song is different every time, totally depending
on the mood of all the other musicians involved and
the atmosphere around. The spontaneity is tantalizing;
creativity personified. I adore performing; the
communication thing is addictive. I adore recording,
and love the pressure of wanting the sound to be perfect,
the discipline required for the production, and calling
on an even more creative and open mind for mixing.
But to top it all I am thrilled by the challenge of
writing songs, what a privilege (of which all of us
could do there’s no remit) to have an open forum
to be able to express opinions and emotions.” |
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Rob Koral - been on the jazz scene for a couple of
decades, and has played at Ronnie Scott’s, The Barbican,
Festival Hall, 100 club, 606 club, Vortex Jazz bar
among others and at the country’s top jazz festivals.
Bruce Crowther wrote in Jazz Journal Intl "Rob Koral,
whether filling, adding rhythmic support, or soloing,
is superb. His is a talent of world class proportions".
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Soundclip: |
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More information about Rob and Zoe can be found by
following the links on the links page.
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