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Gazza |
Interesting new interview (thanks Bjornulf from IORR for the link) in the new issue of "Jazzwise". Only part of the transcript is online, but other relevant parts of it have been copied and pasted at the end.
This interview was done in London in late April, so bear that in mind when Charlie talks about the Stones recording "in the next month or so".
Charlie Watts
To the Power of Ten
Charlie Watts is back this month with a new double album recorded at Ronnie Scott�s club in London three years ago. Watts and his tentet have just finished another two week stint at the club with a slightly different line-up which builds on his jazz work over the years completed as side projects to his commitments with the Rolling Stones. In this exclusive interview Alyn Shipton talks to Watts about the intimacy of Ronnie�s, the particular skills his band of A-list musicians bring to the table and the drummers past and present who Watts looks to for inspiration.
When we meet on a warm, April London afternoon, it�s already a couple of weeks since Charlie Watts and the Tentet ended their latest residency at Ronnie Scott�s, but Charlie�s having trouble getting his internal clock back to normal.
� Going to bed every day at four in the morning, or later, is a bit like going abroad,� he says. �During the fortnight at the club, I�d get up in the middle of the afternoon, get something to eat, and stroll down to Ronnie�s for work, and then drift back to where I was staying on Shaftesbury Avenue after the show had finished. Now I�m back on normal time, I�ve been having trouble sleeping. But those late hours are part of what makes Ronnie�s Ronnie�s. I can�t see Pete King changing them, even though we�d play our first set to a sold-out house and then watch the gaps appearing at the tables and in the crowd round the bar as we got into the small hours of the last set. By the end some nights, we�d be playing to almost no-one. But having said that, for me the fun about Ronnie�s has always been about dropping in � turning up at one in the morning as people are beginning to leave, and catching the last set by whoever happens to be on. It�s always been one of the great things about the club, to know that you can just drop in really late, and there�ll be something happening.�
The Tentet, which with the recent addition of Iain Dixon on reeds has now swelled in size to become a 12-piece band, has always made Ronnie�s its spiritual home, so it�s no surprise that the band�s first album was recorded there. Except that it wasn�t really planned to happen like that.
� I didn�t even know they had a recording desk set up there permanently,� says Charlie. �We�d done a recording at the club during one night of our 2001 residency for Steve Shepherd at BBC Radio 3, and David Green and Pete King just decided to keep the thing going for the next night, so everything we did was recorded upstairs. In the end we mixed the results there as well, so it was nice that the whole album was done in house. Being back there again recently after three years, the band seems to me to be even better. Of course, from the audience point of view I don�t know if it�s better or not, but that�s what people tell me. We�ve got a lot of new things to play, including some lovely arrangements by Gerard Presencer, and I think the band�s got a really clear direction now.� There was some speculation when I was down at Ronnie�s during this year�s run that the band would be staying together for some more international touring, as it did in 2001. Was this true?
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the rest of the interview isnt online, but only for subscribers or for those who have bought the magazine.
Bjornulf added the following piece which was also in in the interview :
Charlie: "It looks as if the Stones are starting in the next month or so".
Jazzwise: How far ahead does one have to start work on a Stones tour?
Charlie: "It takes a year, because of the huge amount of work we have to do. There's the making of a record, designing the stage, and then building it all, which takes a good year. Originally we weren't even thinking of starting until October".
Charlie also says he planned to take the Tentet to Japan for a month this summer, but the entite Tentet tour in Europe and other places in the world got cancelled because the Stones are starting recordings sooner, which means any day now. (Bjornulf)
http://www.jazzwise.com/magazine/060/
[Edited by Gazza] |
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corgi37 |
Charliee's holding his sticks backwards. Is he thinking of John Bonham? |
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Corto |
quote: corgi37 wrote:
Charliee's holding his sticks backwards. Is he thinking of John Bonham?
Charlie holds always his sticks like that...(since 1960)... Bonham is perhaps inspired by Charlie... |
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Joey |
Thanks Gazza . |
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jb |
Great article gazza!!! |
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Joey |
Great article gazza!!!
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parmeda |
Thanks gazza!
This is the best news I've heard all week |
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Joey |
Thanks Pam . |
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marko |
Looks like they are heading for spring 2005?Or either january 2005. |
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Joey |
quote: marko wrote:
Looks like they are heading for spring 2005?Or either january 2005.
Hi Marko |
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rogerriffin |
good news!!!
thanks Gazzita. |
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Joey |
Thanks rogerriffin
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thejuf |
anybody who bought Jazzwise?
I can't get a copy here in Amsterdam,@#!
I would like to know what the rest of the interview says.
the juf
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Monkey Woman |
Excellent news! Thanks a lot, Gazza. |
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Happy Motherfucker!! |
Has Charlie's album been released here in the states? If not, any idea when it will be? |
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Mottrush |
This is indeed great news! Good work Gazza!
Charlie's album is released in the U.K on 14th June. Not sure about the States but wouldn't be hard to obtain through mail order if you can't wait!
Cheers,
Mottrush |
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