LEADING French horn player Jim Rattigan is currently touring his critically acclaimed album When - and he’ll be putting in appearance at Ashburton Arts Centre this Sunday.
Jim is one of the UK’s leading French horn players and widely recognised as a pioneer of the jazz French horn.
‘Having had a career in classical music and now playing jazz, I thought that I would write some music that would combine the two worlds,’ explained Rattigan.
‘This is not crossover music but a juxtaposition - the two styles working side by side. I worked with Julian Tear for many years in the Academy of St Martin’s chamber orchestra and asked him to record the music with his quartet. The quartet becomes a quintet when I call on the double bass to play ‘arco’ and the French horn is a bridge between to two genres.’
The eloquently inventive composer and arranger will be accompanied at the venue on January 30 by Alcyona Mick on piano, Phil Donkin on bass, James Maddren on drums and the Tear String Quartet, which means the performance will feature a double quartet - a jazz one and string one.
Most of the ten original compositions on the album were written five years ago.
‘They seemed a little sad and reflective at the time so I put them in a folder and forgot about them,’ continued Rattigan. ‘The irony is that the title When could be applied to the times we’re living in now.’
Tickets for the 7.30pm concert are priced from £7 and can be booked at http://ashburtonarts.org.uk