| |
 BIOGRAPHY |
"one of the most brilliant young jazz
musicians in the UK - an outstanding pianist and superbly
fertile composer"
Penguin Rough Guide to Jazz
|
Pianist and composer Andrea Vicari was born
in Miami (Florida) and grew up in Birmingham (England).
Educated at Cardiff University she won a scholarship to
study at The Guildhall School of Music in London. Andrea
was soon in demand as a 'side-man" working with bass
guitar legend, Dill Katz in a band that included the then
unknown guitarist Phil Robson. Soon after she formed her
first important group with Julian Argüelles on saxophone
& Stuart Hall, then of Django Bates' "Human Chain",
on bass. Other employers included GRP recording artist,
Phil Bent; jazz warrior David-Jean Baptiste with whom she
recorded her first commercially released CD; and the all-women
band "Birds" led by Kathy Stobart. She played
a successful season at London's sadly defunct jazz club
"The Bass Clef" with the late great American saxophone
innovator, Eddie Harris, broadcasting live on JazzFM radio;
and gigged with the US trumpet legend Art Farmer.
In 1994 Andrea was commissioned by The Arts
Council and the Peter Whittingham Trust to write music for
a new eleven piece jazz orchestra which became the Suburban
Gorillas project. A CD and Jazz Services tour followed
including a triumphant appearence at Brecon Jazz Festival
and a live BBC broadcast from the Newcastle Playhouse.
|
| "This
is one of the most impressive recording debuts to come from
the recent crop of young British jazz musicians. The writing
and playing are superlatively assured, and the music covers
a vast spectrum, from the elegiac "Awakenings",
to the African-inspired "Maibouye", the brittle
satire of "Pin Stripe Woman", and the tour de force
of "L'Orchestre des Fous", a ten minute outing in
5/4 time which swings beautifully"
IAN CARR (Miles Davis and
Keith Jarrett biographer) talking about Suburban Gorillas.
| Rapidly
gaining a reputation as a prolific and original composer
she followed up with a quintet CD "Lunar
Spell", featuring Mornington
Lockett (then of Jim Mullen, and Ronnie Scott's
groups) on tenor sax, and Phil
Robson (Partisans) playing guitar. The music again
consisted entirely of Vicari originals.
"As her previous
CD showed, Andrea Vicari is a composer of formidable
range. She moves easily from complex ear-tricking rhythmic
devices to a kind of pastoral lyricism while remaining
recognisably herself...the variety of texture and colour
(the band) are able to draw from this standard line-up
is truly remarkable"
DAVE GELLY (broadcaster,
"Observer" Jazz critic & Stan Getz biographer)
writing about "Lunar Spell". |
 |
|
In
2004 Andrea decided to explore the piano trio tradition with
the release of "Tryptych". Featuring
long time collaborator Dorian Lockett on double bass, the
drum chair is taken by Sebastian Rochford, recently winner
of the BBC jazz Award in the "rising star" category
for his work with "Acoustic Ladyland' and his own group
"Polar Bear". For the first time Andrea recorded
some arrangements of standard songs alongside her "atmospheric
and original" (Time Out) compositions.
Andrea also returned to the large
ensemble in 2004 performing and recording with "The
Vortex Foundation Big Band", an all women jazz orchestra
led by Annie Whitehead with a line-up including Deirdre Cartwright
and Carol Grimes. Their CD "Charybdis" was released
on Babel Records.
 |
Since
arriving in London Andrea Vicari
has worked with the cream of the UK jazz scene including:
Alan Barnes, Denys Baptiste, Don Weller, Dick Pearce,
Tim Whitehead, Tim Garland, Jacqui Dankworth, Dick Pearce,
Benn Clatworthy, Brian Abrahams, Jim Mullen, Alan Skidmore,
Patrick Clahar, Chris Tobin, Bryan Spring, Julian Siegel,
Paul Booth, Martin Drew, Dave O'Higgins, Jason Yarde,
Theo Travis, Trudy Kerr, Nick France etc.
She began teaching when
still at school and her experience and training includes
work with adults and children at all levels of ability.
Currently she holds a position as Professor of Jazz
Piano at Trinity College
of Music, London; one of Europe's leading conservatoires. |
|
|
|
|
PERFORMING AND RECORDING
Andrea Vicari Quintet 2007
with Pete
Wareham - sax, Steve
Waterman - trumpet,
James Maddren - drums, Dorian Lockett - bass (CD "MANGO
TANGO" 33JAZZ163)
CHET
BAKER SPEEDBALL MD, Composer and
arranger
Musical theatre based on the life of trumpeter
and vocalist Chet Baker.
Performances at The Oval Theatre and The 606 Club during
the 2007 London Jazz festival. ChetBakerSpeedball
Andrea Vicari Trio
with Sebastian
Rochford -drums, Dorian Lockett
-bass
(CD "TRYPTYCH"
33Records 33JAZZO99 )
Vortex
Foundation Big Band
Carol Grimes - voice, Josefina Cupido - drums, Alison
Rayner - bass , Deirdre Cartwright - guitar Andrea Vicari
- piano & keys, Issie Barratt- baritone sax, Angèle
Veltmeijer - tenor sax & flute, Diane McLoughlin, alto
& soprano saxes, Barbara Snow, trumpet, Kay Charlton,
trumpet
Annie Whitehead, trombone
(CD
"Charybdis" released on BABEL)
Jazz in The Round 2001-2006
House band leader for the south London jazz club.
|
|
|
Andrea Vicari Quartet / Quintet,
with (at various times) Pete Wareham, Ingrid Laubrock,
Mornington Lockett, Tim Whitehead , Julian Siegel, Tim Garland,
Julian Argüelles -Saxophone; Phil Robson, Mark Ridout,
John Parricelli -Guitar; Steve Rose, Stuart Hall, Dorian Lockett
-Bass, Scott Vicari, Tristan Mailliot, Simon Pearson, Nick
France, Seb Rochford, Mike Bradley, James Maddren-Drums
(CD “Lunar Spell”
33Records 33026CD)
Clare Hirst Quartet
(with Seb Rochford - drums, Ben Hazleton
- bass )
Sister Sadie celebrating the work of Horace Silver.
(with Barbara Snow -tpt, Clare Hirst -sax, Julie
Walkington -Bass)
New Perspectives big band inspired
by poet A E Housmann
with Jacqui Dankworth (CD “New Perspectives”
SpotliteSPJCD559)
|
Art Farmer Quartet
(1995)
Suburban Gorillas,
polycultural big-band project.
(CD “Suburban Gorillas”
33Records 33016CD)
David Jean-Baptiste Band, (CD
“Freedom in the Groove” BMG)
Philip Bent Group, GRP recording
artist.
Eddie Harris Band, US jazz legend.
Dill
Katz Band, UK electric bass legend.
|
 |
| Plus work with: Dick Pearce, Alan Barnes,
Tim Garland, Jim Mullen, Don Weller, Dave O’Higgins,
Tim Whitehead, Denys Baptiste, Mark Nightingale, Christine
Tobin, Alan Skidmore, Ingrid Laubrock, Steve Rubie,
Patrick Clahar, Bryan Spring, Kathy Stobart, Julian Arguëlles,
Dill Katz, Gill Alexander, Toni Kofi, Brian Abrahams,
Julian Siegel, Martin Drew, Mark Lockheart, Clare Hirst,
Jason Yarde, Paul Booth, Lee Gibson, John Paracelli, Ed
Jones, Theo Travis, Phil Robson, Dave Gelly, Phil
Lee etc. |
|
|
| JAZZ
EDUCATOR |
|
2001 - 07 Founder & Musical Director Dordogne
Jazz Summer School
2000 - 07 Professor of Jazz Piano Trinity
College of Music, London.
1998 -’05 Piano tutor Essex Jazz Summer School.
(adult)
1997 -’07 Member of Jazz
Services education advisory panel.
1990 -’05 Head of Jazz piano; Pimlico School Special
Music Course, London.
1995 -’03 Head of Jazz education at James Allen’s
Girls School, London.
2000 - '02 Arranger, Jazz Examination set pieces Associated
Board of RSM.
1999 -’02 Visiting Examiner in Jazz Piano, Associated
Board of RSM
|
|
|
|
