'the results of this guitar encounter are special…a superbly poised mixture of influences, from West African dance rhythms to Django-esque swing and delicate elaborations on baroque themes..' Sunday Times (UK) Jan 2007
'Together they made charming music that bridged their different worlds while allowing scope to display their individual skills', Evening Standard, (UK) Jan 2007
Together, they perform solo and duo works in a surprisingly eclectic mix from classical to rock. This stunning program includes music from Africa, Madagascar, South America and Cape Verde, plus Bach and a specially commissioned three-part 16 minute suite, Peace, Love And Guitars, a homage to Leo Kottke composed by American composer, Benjamin Verdery. The program draws on repertoire featured on their recent release Places Between: Live in Dublin (Sony Classical). This is the first live recording from John Williams and his first in four years.
Whilst in town, John Williams will also perform works by Takemitsu and Sculthorpe with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (6,7,8 March) in his only orchestral appearance worldwide for his 07/08 season.
Melbourne-born, John Williams is regarded as one of the foremost ambassadors of the guitar. He was taught by his father, afterwards attending summer courses with Andres Segovia at the Academia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, and studying music at the Royal College of Music in London.
Williams collaborates regularly with other leading musicians, most notably with Julian Bream, Itzhak Perlman, Andre Previn, Cleo Laine, John Dankworth and Daniel Barenboim. His other musical activities have included the groups SKY, John Williams and Friends, Attacca, The National Youth Jazz Orchestra with Paul Hart, Paco Pena, the Chilean group Inti-Illimani, and various collaborations with Richard Harvey.
In 2007 John Williams was presented with an Edison lifetime achievement award. John Etheridge burst on to the jazz fusion scene in the 1970s when he joined Soft Machine. Since then, he enjoyed a memorable stint in the quartet of legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grapelli, and he has collaborated with such diverse artists as Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Mundell Lowe, Birelli Lagrene, Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Williams, Yehudi Menuhin, Pat Metheny, Andy Summers and Nigel Kennedy.
He plays regularly with several outfits, including his 'hot club' style band Sweet Chorus, a personal homage to Grapelli which takes the gypsy jazz form to new heights; Soft Machine Legacy, made up of members of the original band with Theo Travis replacing the late Elton Dean; and The Zappatistas, an eight-piece line-up playing the music of Frank Zappa. -- www.mso.com.au
