Purbeck Guitar Festival Concert 25th May in Wareham
From music greats and royalty to a US President!.. read more about the illustrious careers of Martin Taylor and Alison Burns, who will be appearing in Wareham on the 25th May!
Martin Taylor, MBE
“My music is based upon emotion. I want to write, record and perform music that makes you smile, cry and touches you inside.” – Martin Taylor
Martin Taylor is widely considered to be the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz and finger style guitar playing.
Although completely self taught (beginning at the early age of 4), Martin Taylor has enjoyed a remarkable musical career. During that time he has invented and developed a way of playing the guitar that is admired and often imitated, by guitarists all over the world. As well as being a true guitar innovator, he is also a master concert performer. He dazzles audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion and humour.
He spends much of the year travelling the world, playing in concert halls in Europe, North America, Japan, Asia, and Australasia as well as presiding over the uniquely innovative Martin Taylor Guitar Academy Online.
A remarkable career...
With a remarkable career spanning five decades and a record-breaking 14 British Jazz Awards, Martin Taylor has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genres, including Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman, Stephane Grappelli, David Grisman, and George Harrison. He has recorded many albums, several which have been in the Top 10 in the USA and Europe.
From Stephane Grappelli to Queen Elizabeth...
From 1979 to 1990, he toured the world and recorded over 20 albums with the French jazz violin legend STEPHANE GRAPPELLI. Their album with Vassar Clements “Together At Last” won a Grammy Nomination in 1987. Monsieur Grappelli described him as “A great artist, rich in talent and elegance.”
In 2002, he was appointed an MBE “For Services To Jazz Music”, in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List, which he received personally from Her Majesty The Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace.
Prince William to the Proms...
In 2010 he was invited to perform a special private concert at Windsor Castle for Prince William on the eve of his engagement to Kate Middleton. With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics in 2012, the BBC made a special performance of the ‘Spirit of Django Suite’ by Martin Taylor and the Britten Symphonia part of their Proms concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Remember Nicole-Papa?
Martin Taylor has had a number of film and TV credits including that cult “Nicole-Papa” TV commercial for the Renault Clio!
When not touring, Martin Taylor divides his time between Scotland and California, where the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy is based.
Alison Burns
Accaimed Jazz singer...
Alison Burns released her debut album ‘Kissing Bug’ in 2007 to universal acclaim. This was followed by ‘1:AM, Last Train to Hauteville’ (where she sang in French), ‘Freternity’, and ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’.
She has toured all over the world and has performed as guest soloist with the BBC Big Band, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Guy Barker Big Band, and at legendary concert halls including London’s Royal Albert Hall, where she performed alongside Bill Wyman and Ronnie Woods from the Rolling Stones, Mick Hucknall of Simply Red and Mel C of the Spice Girls.
In the company of Aretha Franklin, Taylor Swift and Adele
Alison Burns has been featured in countless media outlets through her singing, speaking, and acting work and her fans range from tech CEO’s and movie directors, to royalty and billionaires. Alongside Martin, she sang at a star-studded concert for Prince William at Windsor Castle in England in advance of HRH announcing his engagement to Kate Middleton.
Alison Burns was recently awarded the International Brand Laureate Award whose other recipients have included Aretha Franklin, Taylor Swift and Adele!
Outside of her career as a jazz singer, Alison Burns also achieved success as one of the first female mechanical engineers in her native Scotland, as an actor for stage and screen, a BBC TV presenter, and an intellectual property lawyer working with biotechnologists and businesses. Alison is a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Society of the Arts (F.R.S.A.) whose Fellows have included other trailblazers and innovators including Marie Curie, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, President Benjamin Franklin, Bob Dylan, Adam Smith,Professor Stephen Hawking and Oscar award-winning actor Dame Judi Dench. As an animal rights campaigner she sits on the Scottish committee of the The UK Center for Animal Law (A-Law) and is a Patron of Beneath The Woods Sanctuary in Wales. She also hosts a podcast show and delivers keynote speeches on sustainability as one half of The Ethical Futurists.
Album and World Tour
Martin Taylor and Alison Burn’s soon to be released album ‘Songs For Nature’, is a moving, musical love letter to the beauty of the natural world and the jazz standards it has inspired.
Featuring award-winning jazz singer Alison Burns, and Grammy-nominated finger style jazz guitarist Martin Taylor MBE, the album is inspired by the diversity in nature. Marking its release on World Environment Day, on June 5th, the album promises a musical experience as lush and layered as the ecosystems it seeks to celebrate.
The album is engineered by Grammy-Award winner Dave O’Donnell (John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Kurt Elling), Cicely Balston (David Bowie, Tim Minchin, Soweto Kinch) and produced by James Taylor.
With songs ranging from Gentle Rain and Little Jazz Bird to Moon River and Nature Boy, the album will take you on a journey to explore our relationship to nature.
In these times, when every action towards environmental conservation counts, ‘Songs for Nature’ serves as “a heartfelt tribute to the beauty of the natural world and the creative souls it has influenced.” Alison and Martin hope the album emerges as a ‘beacon of hope’ amidst today’s environmental challenges and will reflect the ‘redemptive power of music’ as ‘a sanctuary of solace’
Tracks on the Songs For Nature Album
- The Gentle Rain
- Nature Boy
- The Best Things In Life Are Free
- The Folks Who Live On The Hill
- Hushabye Mountain
- Little Jazz Bird
- Lemon Twist
- Someone To Watch Over Me
- I’ve Got The World On A String
- Lullaby Of The Leaves
- A Foggy Day
- You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me
- Lullaby Of Birdland
- Moon River
See Martin Taylor and Alison Burns in Wareham
Martin Taylor and Alison Burns will be opening the Love It Local Purbeck Guitar Festival on the 25th May at The Priory Church of Lady St Mary from 7.30 pm. Tickets are £25.00 and can be purchased our website at www.visitpurbeck.co.uk
Tickets can also be purchased in person at AF Joy, North Street, Wareham.
