Where are they now? - former Yes members
Where are they now? - former Yes members
This page last updated: 9 Mar 2021
Bruford has retired from performance (Oct
2017 interview: "I no longer perform, practice or teach on
the instrument."; 2015
interview: "I have not been playing any music. I've not
touched the drums for five years."). Instead, he does research,
writes and gives talks. His latest lecture series covered Denmark
and Norway (Mar 2018) and then the US
northeast and midwest in Apr.
He was awarded a PhD from Surrey University in 2016: his thesis, "Making It
Work: Creative Music Performance and the Western Kit Drummer",
is available here, which was based on interviews with a set
of drummers including Dylan Howe (Steve's son, worked with Yes), Cindy Blackman
Santana, Chad Wackerman, Ralph Salmins, Martin France, Asaf
Sirkis, Mark Guiliana, Thomas Stronen and Peter Erskine. He has
also turned this into what he describes as a "less formal" book,
out through University of Michigan Press, entitled Uncharted:
Creativity and the Expert Drummer.
The thesis abstract reads:
This study synthesises a range of views from cultural psychology, action theory and expert practitioners to illuminate issues of creativity and meaning in the performance of the Western kit drummer. Creativity and cultural psychology models are tested and critiqued, but require extension or adaptation to cast a more focused light on the meaning of creative performance for drummers. Aspects of the work of Csikszentmihalyi, Dewey, and Boesch are drawn together and developed to argue that the construct of ‘significant action in context’ provides the conceptual and methodological tool with which to begin analysis of this relationship of mind to cultural setting.
In seeking understanding of perception rather than objectively-determined facts, a qualitative interpretivist paradigm is adopted. Semi-structured interviews and autobiographical data of expert practitioners are used to generate rich data. Viewed from an action-theoretical perspective, the data are analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis, expanded here to encompass both autoethnographic and phenomenographical components. The agency of the researcher is assumed throughout, and the importance of scholarly self-reflexivity highlighted.
The purpose of the study is to construct a cultural psychology of the Western kit drummer which may reveal aspects of creativity in performance. It emerges organically from an ongoing sense of needing to know, or at least understand better, how drummers’ cultural psychology determines what they do. Such an explanation may not only contribute functionally to drummer practice, but also improve understanding of collaborative and creative interactional processes in music and related artistic spheres.
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Archives Bruford has a distribution deal with Cherry Red for his Summerfold and Winterfold labels. He is working with Daniel Earnshaw (QEDG Management, Peter Banks Musical Estate, works with Yes, Jon Anderson) and Cherry Red on refreshing the catalogue. They are working on new compilations, digital re-releases, vinyl releases and promoting the catalogue for film and TV. Out 7 Feb 2020 in the UK and a week later in the US was Double Time (Winterfold), a 2-disc release bundling two previous releases: The Winterfold Collection 1978-1986 and the long out-of-print documentary "Bruford and the Beat" as a DVD. Out 13 Mar 2020 in the UK and a week later in the US was Temple of Joy (Winterfold), which compiles the two Moraz/Bruford studio albums, Music for Piano and Drums and Flags, and the live album In Tokyo. There's new artwork and a booklet including material by journalist John Kelman. Earthworks Complete (Summerfold) is a 24-disc boxset of Bill Bruford's Earthworks' complete catalogue, including unreleased and little known material, all compiled and curated by Bruford. There is additional artwork by Dave McKean. Some initial stocks will come with a postcard of McKean artwork signed by Bruford. Contents: |
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Released 8 Nov 2019 in the UK and a week later in the US
was the standalone release of Heavenly
Bodies Expanded (Summerfold, BBSF029CD).
Tracks—CD 1 (which is the original 1997 release):
CD2 (the expanded element):
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Some of the early sessions for the Listen Now album [...] involved Bill Bruford + Phil, [Brian] Eno and me (not sure about Eddie [Jobson] though he certainly played on other sessions). These tracks were never used though I believe Phil still has the 24-track masters somewhere. Every now and then we talk about what we might do with them. We haven't come up with an answer yet.King Crimson
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The
most recent Collectors' Club release was Live
in Newcastle, December 8, 1972, a newly
discovered soundboard of the quintet with Bruford,
Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross and Jamie Muir.
Tracks:
Nostalgia
Progressiva is a new album by Maurizio
Brunod/Giorgio Li Calzi/Boris Savoldelli re-interpreting
the music of King Crimson, Soft Machine, Robert
Wyatt, Nucleus, Kraftwerk, Le Orme and The Beatles. It
includes "Matte Kudasai" and "Starless" from Bruford's
period in Crimson. The Crimson Guitar, A Tribute to
King Crimson (FMR030), now out, from Fernando
Perdomo (Dave
Kerzner, The New Empire)
includes covers of multiple Bruford-era tracks. |
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| Kaye has been working on
multiple projects with Billy Sherwood,
chiefly CIRCA: follow those
links for more details. Kaye, Sherwood
and Jay
Schellen guested on Crossover by
David Cross & Peter Banks. See
main page for details. Kaye and Sherwood have
recorded a song with Scott Walton: see
under Sherwood. Brian Chatton (ex-Warriors, ex-Flaming Youth, ex-Jackson Heights, worked with Jon Anderson) has a number of songs on his MySpace page that were produced by Kaye. Kaye has also been helping Chatton with some videos to accompany his autobiography "Rolling with Rock Royalty" (Facebook), out soon. |
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The
New Empire
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Before the album, they released two digital singles. On 4 Jun 2020, they released "Faraway Friend (for Peter)" (lyric video), written by Perdomo, produced by Murdock/Perdomo and performed by Koss (vocals), Perdomo (6 and 12 string guitars, bass, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Hammond organ) and Murdock (drums, keys, orchestral arrangement). Previously, they released a cover of Empire's "Out of Our Hands" through Bandcamp, also with Akiyama (keys, synths), produced by Murdock/Perdomo and mixed/mastered by Zach Ziskin. A Feb 2019 Facebook sampler also covered and sampled "Foundation", with second guitar by Preston Murdock.
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Other news |
I’m [...] planning to do some concerts by myself. More than ever, I’m back in the saddle to record. I have multiple projects in the pipeline, and they will come out as they come out. I also have some classic music in preparation, and some other new stuff that’s going to knock your socks off.In a Jan 2017 interview, he said, "I'm playing seven hours a day, and I'm also recording every day and every night[.] I've composed many hundreds of pieces of music."
[...]
I have other symphonic works [in development; in addition to A Way to Freedom] as well, including the completion of my “Children’s Concerto” for orchestra. I’ve added some orchestral colors to it…but I like to keep some mystery about what I’m doing!
I have also been expressing myself by writing poems, either in French or in English. And I’ve already recorded some of them. And I’ve almost completed a double CD with my other group in Switzerland [possibly a reference to Random Kingdom]; that’s going to come out..probably not this year [2015] or next year [2016], but after that. I have at least two other albums schedule to come out. But for now, MAP is taking priority
[...]
Because my children are grown up, and because I’m not committed, contracted yet – yet! [laughs] – to tour with a big band with my music, I have more time. And I’ve developed a very interesting studio here in Florida.
Solo shows
Moraz had a solo
piano show on 18 Nov 2019 in Sellersville, PA.
Moraz appeared at Moogmentum:
Synthesizing Innovation, Music, and Creativity, a
3-day event for the opening of the Moogseum in Asheville, NC, 13-5
Aug 2019. On 13 Aug, he performed and was in conversation with
Larry Fast; and he did a demo/Q&A/signing on 14 Aug, with a
VIP event in the evening.
The latest Moraz solo show was on 5 Aug 2018 in Sellersville, PA. He had a solo show in Winter Park, FL on 30 May 2018; the set included "Soon" and material from i. He next played at The Iridium, New York, NY on 26 Jul 2018and had another show, I think again The Iridium, on 30 Jul 2018. 30 Jul set: "Light Elements", "Aural Contact", "Soul Eternal", "Rite of Passage", "Temples of Joy", "Galatea", "Cachaça", "Imps Dance", "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Talisman—Caravan", "Isle of View", film scores medley, "For Mom", "Krazy Kapers", poem: "If YOU Think You Can...", "Nights in White Satin", "Soon", Variations and medley on Chopin/Mozart/Beethoven, 3-4-5-notes improvisation, "Modular Symphony". He previously played a solo piano Earth Day concert on 22 Apr 2018 in Sarasota, FL, when pieces included "Aural Contact I: Sacrifices".
Band projects
Random Kingdom (sampler;
promo
video) is a new album from Moraz & Friends. This
largely Swiss ensemble is based around Moraz (guested
with Panorama Syndicate; piano, synth, voice,
percussion), Gonzague
Ruffieux (Panorama Syndicate, worked with
Daniela Simmons; drums, Synclavier, Hartmann Neuron
synth) and Patrick Perrier
(Panorama Syndicate, Moraz Alban
Project, Antimatière, Pairs & Impairs; bass),
with Philippe
Aguet (worked with Joe Walsh; guitar),
Richard Pizzorno (Panorama Syndicate; solo synth), Johnny Visan (violin)
and Valentine (worked with Ruffieux; soprano
vocals). The project dates back to at least
2012, but it was released in early 2018. Moraz co-wrote all
7 tracks. Tracks include:
The album was produced, recorded, mixed, edited and mastered by
Ruffieux. It is available
from Perrier's website. Further release details are unknown.
In Mar 2019, Moraz posted a new song, "W.A.N.A. (We
are Not Alone)", to YouTube. The piece was written by Moraz
and arranged by Ruffieux, and performed by Valentine (vocals),
Moraz (Steinway piano, synth), Ruffieux (drums, Synclavier,
Hartmann Neuron synth), Perrier (bass) and Aguet (guitar).
Solo albums
It was a balance between the two [beginning with Moraz' compositions or not]. We played together and jammed and so on. The music was composed, first and foremost. Actually I composed more than nine pieces – at least fourteen pieces – and then I let him choose the ones that felt the most comfortable. [...]Moraz also said they are "discussing and planning how we’re going to do" live dates, continuing, "Not only promotional dates, but proper concerts."
Greg and I and John Avila, we can now play that music with our eyes closed! We can play it the way it is [written], but we can also jam. And that’s what we will do for the next album. We are really, really determined to put out a bunch of albums together. We had so much fun making this album
I want to keep it a surprise. But what I can tell you is that it’s not just one CD, one album. It’s a bunch of different works for myself at the piano, with a band, with a trio, orchestra and choirs. That’s why it’s taking so long. In this kind of work, you can never say exactly when it’s going to be ready.In an interview circa May 06 (Notes from the Edge #299), Moraz said:
A WAY TO FREEDOM seems to be taking a long time to come out. It's not the lack of material, but more about the inherent inertia which has surrounded the project from the beginning. I have lots and lots of recorded material already, but I never seem to be able to put the finishing touch to the production as a whole.
In an Aug
2013 interview, asked about the project, Moraz replied:
It’s still on the front burner, it’s just that I’ve got different projects and different productions that take precedence. [...] I’ve got several pieces that I’ve had rendered for a symphony orchestra and percussionists and a jazz brass band. All of the music is written and arranged; it’s on paper. It’s just that it takes time. I could have finished it and released it, but in some way I have been enjoying my right to be a little bit of a perfectionist. (Laughs.)
Asked about the project in the late 2014 interview, Moraz said,
"I am in the finishing stages of A Way To Freedom, because
I've got some other productions that take precedence. [...] that's
going to be my solo album. I've been working on that for several
years on and off."
A Jun
2014 interview described it as "due in the very near
future". It also describes as upcoming Cantata, a piece
for a soprano-alto-tenor-bass choir in 7 movements, "paying homage
to 'Our Planet.'" The latter was previously described on Moraz'
website as EcoCantata. His site website also said Moraz is
"progressing in the compositional development, production and
"finition" of a "Futuristic Ballet" and other works featuring
electronic arrangements as well as innovative, rhythmic
instrumentation and acoustic orchestrations."
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Refugee (Cherry Red, ECLEC32685) is re-released 30 Aug 2019 in an expanded 3CD box, including previously unreleased and previously released live recordings. Tracks: The album was as high as #57 in Box Sets on Amazon (UK) on 29 Jun 2019, and #411 overall. |
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Also out is a remaster of Mainhorse
(ECLEC2693), overseen by Moraz. Moraz guested on an album from actor and singer David
Hasselhoff. Entitled Open
Your Eyes (no relation to the Yes or Asia
songs of the same name), the album came out 27 Sep 2019 on
Cleopatra Records. Tracks:
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Moraz played "Hoedown" on A Tribute to Keith Emerson & Greg Lake, produced by Billy Sherwood: see on the main page for details. He also played on "Wonderful Christmastime" on A Prog Rock Christmas, produced by Billy Sherwood: see on main page for details. He is also due to guest on Sherwood's third Prog Collective album: see under Sherwood for details.
Moraz played a one-off show
in Mar 2011 at Bergen
Community College. This was about 1.5-2 hours long and the
set included a version of "Soon", the intro to "Sound Chaser",
"Jungle Alien", "Symphony of the Trees", "Gentle Storm", "Rite of
Passage", and a new piece written for the concert and dedicated to
his wife, as well as improvisations. Moraz' set-up consisted of a
grand piano, two keyboards, a computer and various percussion
instruments. Three guest musicians also made brief appearances.
The night before, Moraz did a free lecture/demonstration at the
same venue. A DVD of the show (possibly to include the lecture)
has been expected.
seven years ago, I had a project [...] “Seven Days a Week: Music on the Road From A to Z,” [...] I was seeing real people in real time, and the idea was to record in one week, in seven days — actually seven different CDs, one CD every day with a different theme every day. I kind of started to prepare production, because it’s a rough animal to do that, but as of yet I haven’t had the chance to complete such the project. But it’s still in the future works, as a future operation.
In the Oct 2010 Classic Rock
Presents... Prog, Moraz says:
I am so busy right on many
projects. They vary from rock to classical. Right now, I'm
working with some extraordinary musicians in Tampa, Florida.
Moreover, there are various reissues being planned. And I'm
currently writing my autobiography, when I will reveal the truth
of what happened with Yes.
Moraz played on sessions for bassist Dave LaRue
(The Dixie Dregs, John
Petrucci) for a second solo album that has yet to
appear.
Longer term plans
Moraz has talked of multiple further
projects, but many of these appear to be some way from producing
any output. He has plans for a third "Future Memories" show,
which he discusses in a new interview on a forthcoming DVD
release of the first two "Future Memories" TV programmes (see below). Moraz has also been
working on an album with Michel Sanchez (Deep Forest)
for some time. A report circa Feb 2005 said that Moraz has
two electronic albums close to completion, one of which seemed to
be the one with Sanchez. It is unclear whether the other was A
Way to Freedom, with Armen or some other project.
Moraz has expanded "Modular Symphony (1st Movement)" from his 1987 Human Interface album into an entire piano conerto, which he intends to release at some point according to a Mar 2005 interview.
Although he has no immediate plans, in his Mar 2005 interview, Moraz talked of his willingness to do a video or film project based on his solo album The Story of i. In his NftE interview (Jan 2001), he said, "I've also been writing and researching some stories. I'd like to do a movie of THE STORY OF I either in 3-D computer graphics, an animated version, or the real thing. I have also written a couple of other movie scripts; one is a science fiction story and the other is about the life and times of a composer who lived three hundred years ago." In an earlier interview (Oct 2000), he said: "I have just about 30 other projects that I have already composed, I've composed hundreds of pieces of music in the last 9 years. [...] I have also, maybe, studying to get a commission for a symphony orchestra perhaps in europe for next year [2001]." At some point, he has been planning to do a charity Christmas album.
In the 2005 interview, Moraz mentioned too
his desire to do some live shows with flautist Syrinx to play
music from their album Coexistence/Libertate, although
again there are no specific plans at present. Moraz has said he
may collaborate with Annie
Haslam in the future.
sorry i've been missing in action,,,.but I have been 24/7 on the new solo album, and it's turning into something pretty cool.In Sep 2014, Rabin said the album will have "some surprise guests" and described 3 drummers will be involved, Lou Molino (who had already recorded parts, and previously played on Jacaranda and with Anderson Rabin Wakeman), son Ryan Rabin and an as yet unnamed drummer. Recording sessions continued in Sep 2014. In Aug 2015, he posted to Facebook:
I was hoping i'd be closing in by now.
Ufortunately it'll take a but longer. It's just taking time to let it all happen the right way. But i'm quite excited with where it's going.
I'm about half way through and very happy. Bare with me.
Sorry there's been little on the new album.The next day, in response to a question, he posted, "BTW...Yes it is very much a vocal album". A Jun 2015 interview described him as "now writing an album of all-original rock material and considering a tour." However, in Feb 2016, he said (again on Facebook) that he was "just working crazy at the moment" and "putting my solo album on hold". This appeared to be connected to the ramping up of activity by Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman.
I'm had to take some breaks to fulfill some film obligations.
But it's going great, I wish it was happening a little faster.
I would say I'm half way there and will be back at it next week.
speak soon. all the best
I've completed 2 tracks for my next solo album.Journalist Jon Kirkman said on Facebook (Jan 2014) that Rabin is keen to get the rock album out within 2 years and he already has some material for it. On Facebook in Feb 2014, Rabin talked of having completed two songs in the style of Can't Look Away and 90125.
I wasn't sure what shape my voice would be in, as singing is something I do little of with scoring (or on Jacaranda), ... but voice exercises and singing a lot,....i'm in good shape.
Happy so far, ...long way to go!
Once this... we [ARW] do Europe […] and then we've got some time off and then we do 9, 10 [dates?]... They wanted to do a hundred dates and I said, 'I'm old. The singer's 10 years older than me.' […] I said, no, […] you can always call me, we can look at things and if I'm not busy, we can do things. But once that tour is finished, I'm actually going to start bookings [for film scoring]. So I've promised [new manager] Rich [Jacobellis] that when I come back, in between now and doing the next tour [26 Aug-9 Sep 2018] […] I'll agree to start taking meetings, speaking to people and I'll phone my friends [like directors Renny Harlin and Jerry Bruckheimer]However, in response to the hullabaloo online after that interview, his wife posted the following message to a fan Facebook group:
It has been suggested that YES(ARW) might be ending due to comments within this interview.Wakeman said in his Sep 2018 GORR that ARW are taking the rest of 2018 off as a group, while "Trev is doing the score for a new film".
I want to make it very clear that it is not the case.
Rick Jon and I didn’t come into ARW in a vacuum.
We were all very busy. Other career interests don’t just disappear. We all fully intend to carry on doing what we were doing while putting full energy into YES.
I’ve got two solo records which I’m scheduled to do and two scores which I’m not at liberty to mention [...] I pretty much signed on to them now, and so I’m pretty busy right up until the end of 2018 at this point.In a Jun 2017 interview, Jason Becker, who is having Rabin guest on a piece of his, said, "[Rabin] is working on a symphony now": I am unclear what that is, and whether it is related to solo work, film scoring or something else.
I did an instrumental album in 2012 [Jacaranda]. I wanna follow that up with another [instrumental] album, and I also do wanna do a kind of vocal rock album to follow up on [...] Can’t Look Away [...] obviously, a priority goal for us is ARW
I've had something on the burner for a long time, but I've never really got centered on it [...] I have an electric-guitar concerto. I'm calling it that, which might sound a bit posh, but it's just a classical electric guitar. What I have sketched out is for full orchestra and electric guitar. I've also included four bagpipes, which just sounded so great. It's a great combination, these very legato, almost sitar-ish guitars and the drone of the bagpipes, which is an extraordinary sound. I really want to come to terms with this guitar concertoAnd:
I'm also very determined to do a rock album, whatever that means, with singing on it.In a Jun 2012 interview, he said, "I will sing on a record in the future. I've started working on a followup to Jacaranda. I'm going to do a vocal." He also says, "I met with Robert Plant and we wanted to do something together, so I'd love to revisit that." And in another Jun 2012 interview, Rabin says, "I will sing soon! Yes, I will definitely be singing on my future albums and projects." And adds, "This album [Jacaranda] and the music I express on it is definitely a turning point for me. I will be far more creatively free from this moment on since creating Jacaranda." In my Jul 2012 interview with Rabin, he said: "I am so motivated by Jacaranda it certainly won't be 20 years between albums again." In an Aug 2013 interview, he said: "I am starting a new solo album as a follow up to Jacaranda".
The last two tracks are confirmed for the version in the boxset Changes
(see below). I am unclear if they are included in the standalone
release.
| Collaborations,
guest appearances & other news Rick Wakeman and Rabin have both mooted the possibility an album together at some point: see here for details. Rabin and Roger Hodgson worked together after Hodgson had turned down the idea of joining Yes, the collaboration yielding "Walls" on Talk. Some of that material is thought to have been recorded with Squire, White and Kaye. Asked in the Sep 2020 SOAL interview whether any of it might see release, Rabin replied that he and Hodgson "always keep in touch". He continued, "we really spent quite some time enjoying writing together and recording stuff. A lot of it just never got finished. [...] That's something that, y'know, maybe, at some point, Roger and I should... y'know, time's getting on, so we should do it sooner than later. [...] There's quite a lot of stuff that wasn't finished and, we've always talked about, we should get this done, finished, and forget about where, how it's gonna be done, let's just do it and get it done." Rabin said in an Aug 2013 interview that he "would love to do an album with my son, Ryan, at some point. However, he is very busy". Gary May (Trevor's brother-in-law) said on Facebook in early 2015 how he had had "Trevor produce, orchestrate and play on one of my songs", with a photo taken in Rabin's Jacaranda studio in Oct 2014. |
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Busy trying to finish the writing sessions for my new album which will hopefully be out later this year [2020]. Had a breakthrough today writing the middle section for a piece I’ve been working on for some timeI'm guessing this is the Cultural Vandals project: more on that below.
Nearly ready to start working on the arrangements. Then comes the recording!
I have continued to work on the collection of instrumental piano pieces based on music I have written for my family or commissions for other people's loved ones.Pieces on the album include "Lottie's Song" (for his daugher) and a new version of "November Wedding" (previously released on Trinity). In a Facebook broadcast in Apr 2020, Wakeman said he is currently working on the album, which will be called Works for Art. He is working towards a release for the end of 2020, with a cover by Rodney Matthews.
I have decided to include other musicians on the album (as it was originally going to be just myself on piano) as I feel that, with the way some of the pieces are developing, it feels more like the follow up to 3 Ages of Magick album I recorded in 2003. I think I have all the music now composed but the crafting and arrangement work has started in earnest. I am hoping that this will be out for Spring 2020.
Cultural Vandals is coming
along really well. We are currently discussing the options for
releasing it which will hopefully be towards the end of the year
[2011] or early 2012. I have been working on another project for
the last few months and I hadn't listened to it for a while. I
mentioned in my last blog that I always like to let albums sit
for a while and then revisit them to make sure that I am happy
with them. I sat and listened to it in full yesterday to see
what other work was required and it felt really good to me. I
can't wait to start recording [...] a finished version
Manzi was recording vocals with Wakeman in May 2012, presumably
for this project.
In a review of 2016 on his website, Oliver said, "There is my large scale musical project which I have been working on all year [2016] with a well known music producer and my business partner. We are confident that it will see the light of day this year [2017]." In a May 2018 tweet, he talked of "working on my next album rough mixes".
In a May
2009 interview, Oliver says:
I have a lot of solo material
that I'd like to record too – four very different albums' worth.
One will be a rock album, another Celtic rock, the third is a
rock opera, and the fourth is made up of piano pieces. I really
hope to start recording them before the end of the year [2009].
I like to use a studio in Virginia Water, Surrey, where I have a
great relationship with the engineer Karl Groom. I produce my
own recordings myself.
In the Jun 2008 interview, Oliver also said that he was "a fair
way through a solo project on the piano". Oliver had also started
work on a singer-songwriter-style album featuring various
musicians he has worked with over the years.
On 13 Mar, Oliver tweeted about being, "Back in the studio
working on the new @dexibellMI project..." Dexibell are an Italian
musical instrument company. Further details as to what this
project entails have not been forthcoming so far.
Oliver is available for writing commissions.
Work with Rodney Matthews
Trinity (Rodney
Matthews Studios, RMS003CD) is a 10-track, mainly instrumental
album from Rodney
Matthews and Jeff Scheetz with Oliver Wakeman, released 13
Dec 2019 on CD, 2LP and limited edition box set (100 copies) with
artwork. The album received a digital release on
Bandcamp in Jul 2020. Details
in Yescography. Matthews (drums, lyrics) is best known
as an artist, has worked with Oliver and Rick Wakeman, Asia, Thin
Lizzy, Magnum, Michael Moorcock and others, while as a musician,
he used to play drums in Squidd, who opened for Yes. Most tracks
on the album are based on a piece of Matthews' art. Performers
included Jeff Scheetz
(guitars, bass), Oliver (keys on 9 tracks), Rick Wakeman
(harpsichord and church organ, on "Trinity" only), John Payne (ex-Asia;
bass, vocals), Tony Clarkin (Magnum; bass),
Bob Catley (Magnum; vocals), Pete Coleman
(bagpipes, recorders, keys). Tracks:
The 2LP version has a side of bonus tracks: "I Saw Three Ships"
(a prior
Xmas single by Matthews, Scheetz and Friends, including O
Wakeman), "November Wedding (Piano Duet)" (performed by O
Wakeman), "Trinity (Vocals)". The album appears to be being mixed
by Matthews, Scheetz, Sheena Sear and Mark Stuart.
Rodney and his wife Sarah have re-done the 1978 children's book "Yendor",
originally by Graham Smith and Rodney. (Yendor is Rodney
backwards.) The book is now
out. There is a CD
release forthcoming through Rodney Matthews Studios
(approximately 11 May 2020) with narration by Sarah (recorded Mar
2020), some additional voice from Rodney, and a score by Wakeman,
largely on '70s style keys (Rhodes etc.), plus some guitar
and bass. Mastering was by Karl Groom (worked with
Yes). Tracks:
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Wakeman was asked to do some brief interludes between parts of the narration, but decided to do a full score instead, which he worked on without telling the Matthews of his plan. He then sent the whole thing over, fortunately to a positive reception. On 9 Apr 2020, Wakeman tweeted about playing bass on a piece for a Matthews project, which was this. The original plan for the narration had just been a download accompanying the book, but with a score, it was decided to do a separate release. (As they discussed in a Facebook broadcast in Apr 2020, if they could get funding, the Matthews would like to turn it into an animation.) There was a successful Kickstarter to turn the audio version, with Wakeman's music, into an animation. This reached its goal on 27 Sep 2020. Guest
appearances/sessions Oliver guests on Carrie Martin's
second album, Entity, released Oct 2020, having
previously appeared on her debut, Seductive Sky.
He appears on the track "Those Words" (streaming
audio). Gordon Giltrap (worked
with Oliver Wakeman, Rick Wakeman) also guests on
the album, which was produced by C Martin, Ben Martin and
Wayne Proctor. Oliver appeared on 3 tracks
of Lightspeed's
forthcoming album Delta, with further guests
including Jamie Glaser (ex-Anderson Ponty
Band), Theo Travis (Soft Machine,
ex-Gong), Sephira and Tommy Denander (ex-Radioactive, worked with Alice Cooper). Oliver worked on several
projects by John Vehadija, described on the main page as
they sometimes also involve Billy Sherwood: see
here for details. Both also appeared on two albums
from John Holden. Oliver was doing a commission for
Bill Sandalls. |
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Clive Nolan
(Arena,
Pendragon; keys, backing vocals) & Oliver
Wakeman (keys) had been working on a third album, based on the "Frankenstein" story, but this
was abandoned due to lack of record company support. Out
2021 is a 3CD boxset, Tales by Gaslight (ELR001CD; teaser
trailer), due 23 April through
Burning Shed, with remastered versions of their
earlier collaborations Jabberwocky (1999, with Peter
Banks—guitar, Rick
Wakeman—narration) and The
Hound of the Baskervilles
(2002, with Banks—guitar), plus a third CD, Dark Fables,
with >30 minutes of material from the "Frankenstein"
project and some further unreleased material. The box set
comes with a 16-page booklet and 3 art prints of the three
album covers. A limited edition (250 copies) initial run
comes with a fourth art print of the box set cover signed by
Wakeman and Nolan. Dark Fables tracks:
Also
appearing on Dark Fables are Gordon Giltrap,
Paul Manzi, Andy Sears (Twelfth Night)
and David Mark Pearce.
Oliver was on initial album sessions for Yes's Fly from Here, but Downes joined the sessions partway and recorded most of the keys on the album, although a small amount of Oliver's playing remained on the album. Oliver also co-wrote "Into the Storm". The band, with Oliver, had developed further material for the album that then wasn't used, as Howe discussed in a Jan 2012 interview by Anil Prasad. Some of this material was (co-)written by Oliver, as Howe explained:
I got the rights back to my songs which will see the light at some point. Plans in the pipeline! I also have lots of demos of stuff from the FFH sessions [...] [including] the 2 songs I wrote and the one I co-wrote with Chris - a cool 10 minute piece.Much of this material was then released on From a Page. It is unclear if anything not used on From a Page will be used now.
Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.