Prom 7: Jacob Collier and Friends - 19.07.18

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30
ON TV
Royal Albert Hall



Jacob Collier
Sam Amidon
Take 6 ensemble
Metropole Orkest
Jules Buckley conductor

Since becoming an online sensation with his one-man, multi-tracked arrangements of songs such as 'Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing' and 'Fascinating Rhythm', vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier has been forging a lightning-quick path through the musical world. Last year, aged 22, he picked up two Grammy Awards for his debut album In My Room.
Having made a guest appearance at the Quincy Jones Prom in 2016, Collier once again teams up with conductor Jules Buckley and his Metropole Orkest in a special collaboration for the Proms, featuring a host of new tracks and a smattering of special guests.

[teamsaint]

So, um, anybody know his stuff ?
A new jazz messiah according to the Guardian ( ). I've had a brief dabble, and there is not much doubt that he is smart, slick, and potentially appealing, and may do some interesting things with arrangements.
Hopefully I have missed the essential stuff, but I did rather think...... well, so what ?

[Quarky]

See comments on Jazz thread:

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?18106-Bach-down-the-Ole-Cole-Hole-for-a-Barnestormer

[teamsaint]

See comments on Jazz thread:

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...a-Barnestormer

Thanks for that.

[oddoneout]

The trailers for this prom have put me off wanting to listen - sounded like a vastly inferior version of Jamie Cullum. Can't be doing with breathy slightly off pitch vocalising.

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm wondering if a work composed by Jacob Collier using serial methods would be likely to employ a Collier Row.

Sorry for that to the peoples of north Romford, to which I once took a girlfriend to see the birthplace of Graham Bond. "Not surprising he became the mixed-up rebel he did, coming as he did from a place such as this", I said snootily. "But it's no different from most other places", she replied.

[Serial_Apologist]

The trailers for this prom have put me off wanting to listen - sounded like a vastly inferior version of Jamie Cullum. Can't be doing with breathy slightly off pitch vocalising.

All I have to do to avoid having my ears syringed is listen to Jamie Cullum singing.

[oddoneout]

All I have to do to avoid having my ears syringed is listen to Jamie Cullum singing.

My son and I agreed to disagree about Jamie Cullum quite some time ago - I don't like his singing, my son does. I think the problem was that I preferred the 'original' versions/performances of what he was singing.

[Serial_Apologist]

My son and I agreed to disagree about Jamie Cullum quite some time ago - I don't like his singing, my son does. I think the problem was that I preferred the 'original' versions/performances of what he was singing.

That's part of it for me, the other part being that I just don't get on with the grating tone of his voice. If he'd just stuck to the piano playing...

[oddoneout]

That's part of it for me, the other part being that I just don't get on with the grating tone of his voice. If he'd just stuck to the piano playing...

I think that may be part of the appeal for some, and yes his piano playing has merit.
Does this Collier chap have genuine talent or is it no more than an ability to do several things to an adequate standard - and perhaps effective promotion?

[MrGongGong]

I'm not convinced by the enthusiasm so many folks have for him
He IS tremendously clever and articulate
but the music does little for me
Though I struggle to find Jazz singing (with a few exceptions) engaging at the best of times

I'm a bit tired of being told how he has "invented" the harmoniser which, along with the nonsense about the "Theremin" on Good Vibrations, is a good story but not really true.

[Quarky]

One very positive review from the Prickle:

Is it too early to call this a highlight of the Proms season? 23-year-old music prodigy and YouTube star Jacob Collier, “jazz’s new messiah” (The Guardian), stunned the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall in this overwhelming, luscious extravaganza with Jules Buckley and the Metropole Orkest.

It’s hard to know where to start with such a jaw-dropping evening of music, but Collier’s rambunctious and unhinged “Everlasting Motion” in the second half, featuring renowned Gnawa musician Hamid El Kasri (with a percussion entourage) in his U.K. debut, sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy. Collier’s “Once You” may be the greatest break-up song ever written, enriched with breathtaking orchestration (Stefan Behrisch) and a violin solo by Collier’s mother.

Take 6, widely regarded as one of the greatest a capella groups in the world, wowed us with Collier’s YouTube-famous arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “You And I”. A thrilling arrangement of folky “Pat Do This, Pat Do That” had singer-songwriter Sam Amidon plucking banjo and singing along with col legno strings and tubular bells.

Collier’s soaring, choral falsetto in real life, without being digitised and perfected, is immensely more human than his studio recordings, and the same goes for hearing his masterful songs performed by an extraordinary ensemble of musicians, rather than just Collier multi-tracked. But we got solo Collier too, in a ten minute vocoder encore riffing on Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird”, with audience participation. Highlight of the season yes, and a Prom for the ages too.

What a wonderful evening that was...the crowd going wild for @jacobcollier encore which was a magical rendition of… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

[teamsaint]

" Genre Fluid" apparently.

Well I suppose it is possible that this stuff is more exciting/interesting live than on the radio.
And its easy to see why he is the darling of the London media.

To be a bit critical, it seems a pity not to use his undoubted talents to produce something that is somehow more relevant.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

" Genre Fluid" apparently.

Sounds like a euphemism for "diarrhoea".

Well I suppose it is possible that this stuff is more exciting/interesting live than on the radio.
And its easy to see why he is the darling of the London media.

To be a bit critical, it seems a pity not to use his undoubted talents to produce something that is somehow more relevant.

They were probably all having fun and enjoying themselves. So that's all right, then.

[Constantbee]

They were probably all having fun and enjoying themselves. So that's all right, then.

Sounded like it. Couldn't listen to a voice like that for long, I'm afraid Where are all the good jazz voices these days btw? Proms Plus Talk about the Metrolpole Orkest was worth listening too, though. Didn't realise it had such a long and distinguished history and seems to have adapted well to survive It features interviews with horn player and HO marketing Pieter Hunfeld and viola player Isabella Petersen. Fascinating insights into Buckley's conducting techniques and a brief description of the advanced In Ear System the players use. Always wondered what its function was. The interview starts at about 50'13" on Listen Again.