Mike Walker cool avantgarde jazz

[Tommy C]

I just want you jazz lovers to check out Mike Walker ,
just got his CD Madhouse and the Whole Thing There very cool album,
I love it !!

some clips here,
check out the short clip "In two minds" for some serious jazzguitar,
"I´ll tell ím" is cool, "Dad logic" is great stuff
the album has more cool guitar work thats not featured on the clips
highly recomended
http://www.mike-walker.co.uk/audio/

[mike walker]

Hey Tommy,
Thanks for this recommendation. It's touching you went to this effort.
I'm glad you're enjoying the CD. It's available at Amazon.co.uk now so if you pass it on they know where to get it. It'll also be available on Cd baby in a few months.
Gonna be touring next year so i'll drop you a line and see if i can play in Stockholm.

Kind Regards and thanks for this,

Mike

[ToneZappa]

From what Iv,e heard from Mike Walker I think he,s one of those very gifted guitarists who also has great writing and arranging skills with a real passion for music not just noodling on the guitar. :phones but he really can noodle.

[mike walker]

Bub,
thanks for those kind words. Trying to be more pro-active with this stuff. Not easy for me. Do you write your own stuff and can i listen to it anywhere?

Mike

[jb70]

really great stuff! thanks for the heads-up.

jack

[mike walker]

hey thanks jb,
i think it will be on cd baby from oct but it's on amazon.co.uk as we speak.

cheers amigo

Mike

[scottl]

Bump for one of my new fave players!

[gtrwrks]

Wow...

[Dave Wakely]

It's a great album - we were listening to it in the car on the way to WOMAD this weekend, and even my (self-confessed) tone deaf partner was saying 'this is nice - who is it?'. Speaking as a Brit, great to be able to thumb up something from a UK player to the rest of the world too. And don't wait quite so long to release the next one :-)

[stark]

Nice! Nice! Stuff. I'm a fan!

Adam Stark

[mike walker]

Thanks scott, that's a lovely comment.
Just played with a lovely drummer over here from your vicinity, Adam nussbaum. Great player!! I remember him from sco's 'rough house'. He was rockin.

[mike walker]

gtr and stark, thanks for the comments, much appreciate the support.

Dave,
Always great when we can get the mrs on board.
The next one is already written. I wrote for quintet and orchestra. Now, where do i know a guy with deep pockets!!??
Thanks for the support Dave.

Mike

[Lucidology]

Yea... Mike is a world class guitarist/musician ....& composer too,,,
Luv his diversity .. Mike is a truly major player in this world ..


BTW, I hope you get to play with my dear friend Weber Iago one of these days..
as he is a member of the International Musician's Union ..
Think you two would be a really great match ..(thought about this the first time I heard you Mike..)

Here's Weber in Belgium playing one of his compositions for string guartet and jazz band ..

YouTube - Weber Iago 4tet + Quatuor Thais : "Navegante" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuwyhlaBfe4&feature=related)

[mike walker]

You're too kind Joe.
I just listened. Really lovely. One of my favourite players is egberto Gismonti and i hear him in Weber's composition. I love music that isn't afraid of the dark. I love that fearlessness. Thanks for your comments joe, you really are so supportive in this community.

Mike

[bickertfan]

I've really been enjoying this cd as well. Very cool contemporary tunes and dynamite guitar moments - great stuff.

[mike walker]

Hey thanks so much.
Have i to assume you're in canada? It's the bickert thing. I love that guy.

[bickertfan]

Hey thanks so much.
Have i to assume you're in canada? It's the bickert thing. I love that guy.

Yup canadian and really dig Ed. The shipping on your Cd was quick and painless ( and free) to Canada too!

[mike walker]

That's good to know.
I'm glad you're liking it. If you're interested at all i did a gig the other night that was recorded by bbc Radio 3. It's some music i wrote for Strings and quintet.
I'll let you know when it's happening.

Cheers amigo.

[Dave Wakely]

If you could let us all know when R3 get round to broadcasting it, that'd be great - thank you. (Btw, if you catch any of the WOMAD broadcasting they have lined up, listen out for Orchestra Baobab - Barthelemy Attisso played magnificently. Although the setting made me smile - a wodded glade full of white people in African shirts and general 'ethnic garb' watching a Senegalese band playing in shirts and suits. There was a lovely irony there somewhere ...)

[mike walker]

Lovely image Dave, African shirts and suits wise.
I'll let you know but not sure where to post to do that. Is it a PM thing or is there a specific forum? I am extremely slow outside of music my man.
The music for Ropes is more compositionally centred so doesn't really have the soloing thing featured (actually there are solo's but my head just wasn't in that side of things when we played. I was concentrating on many other things that night). The sound was tough. coud't push the guitar past 1 on the loudometer and even then the strings got hammered. Tough call strings and quintet. How do you go for it without destroying them?

BTW,
any idea when that womad thing will be broadcast roughly?

Cheers Dave,

Mike

[AlexF]

Hey Mike, didnt you used to feature in a huge photo playing a 335 on the wall of the Lamb in Preston years ago when Shaun ran it as a really nice gig? I used to love playing there, I gather you were a bit of a legend even then...
Al

[mike walker]

I did. Imagine walking in to see your mug on the wall. Horrid.
You a guitarist Al? I'm also from manchester. (Salford to be precise)

Mike

[Dave Wakely]

Hi Mike

in terms of your broadcast, the easiest ways are to PM those who're interested, or if those reading this who would want to listen (all of us, I guess!) subscribe to this thread and you post an update when you know about it, we all get an email to tell us you've posted the details. (Isn't technology wonderful. I remember when all you had to do was read the Radio Times. No batteries, keyboard, broadbnd connection ...)

The WOMAD stuff is going out on Monday evenings on Radio 3 in the UK, or you can listen online through BBC iPlayer. Try http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/womad2008/

As far as playing with strings goes, it's a hard thing to pull off especially in a small setting. Options seem to be: hire a smaller amp; use an attenuator or power brake of some kind so you're not playing with the amp almost off and losing tone; play in an isolated (perspex for audience sake) booth so you can make it the sound engineer's problem. (I'm assuming you know the lovely BBC engineer quote about Jimi Hendrix?)

[jazzguitarplay]

Great stuff, very inspiring, so nice to see the bar raised on TGP with such gifted artists like yourself, thanks for sharing and looking forward to more, Ill go to CD Baby to purchase your CD

[mike walker]

cheers Dave,
The power soak is a good call. I really should have used one. Totally lost sound on the recording. Regarding the broadcast, I'll try and let people know in a few ways here.

Mike

[mike walker]

JazzGP,
thanks very much, The bar is pretty high hereabouts anyway, much inspiration.
CD baby will have my album fairly soon.
I'd like to hear your thoughts when you get it. All thoughts welcome.

[DaveinLondon]

That's good to know.
I'm glad you're liking it. If you're interested at all i did a gig the other night that was recorded by bbc Radio 3. It's some music i wrote for Strings and quintet.
I'll let you know when it's happening.

Cheers amigo.

Jazz on 3 will be broadcasting your concert on 5th September.

[AlexF]

I did. Imagine walking in to see your mug on the wall. Horrid.
You a guitarist Al? I'm also from manchester. (Salford to be precise)

Mike

Mike,
I'm playing just for fun in a covers band out of Northwich right now. Back in the Lamb days, I was playing blues in a half decent band called Killerwatts, which sadly only lasted a couple of years.
Al

[mike walker]

Hey Al,
I have a gig in altrincham in oct. Not far from you. Get down if ya can amigo. It's at the cinammon club. 31st i think.
Hope your still bendin a note or 2 mate.

[mike walker]

Dave i just saw your post, Thanks for that i'll try and spread the word.

Mike

[Pascal]

Jazz on 3 will be broadcasting your concert on 5th September.

And it'll be possible to stream it for a week from here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d6zx8

[Rob Livesey]

bump.

11.30pm UK time TONIGHT you can listen live at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d6zx8

I was there !

Rob.

[mike walker]

Hey Rob!!
Thanks for the bump! Hope all is well with you mate. Boy do they compress on the radio!!

Mike

[matte]

mike walker? great player.

[mike walker]

Thanks Matte,
Straight Back.

Mike

[Pascal]

Do you guys manage to play the stream from BBC Radio3's website?

When I click on the link, it opens the player, but shows last week's show (Hilmar Jensen's Tyft, etc), which is not available anymore.

[cdaloia]

I love Mikes playing/music!
Count me among your fans Mike.

Chuck

[DejavuDave]

I just purchased the CD on line and I look forward to its arrival. Always on the lookout for good new music...

[mike walker]

I listened and thought the sound suffered from radio compression. Also my playing was well below par. No excuses.
It was a difficult thing to fuse the two soundworlds together and form one organic union of sound. I think you can get it now Pascal.
I fully intend to record this music properly for the next album. Just need to beg for funds here there.

Mike

[mike walker]

Thanks chuck,
I'll be putting the cd on cd baby next month.
Also i'm playing in Boston with George Russell living time orchestra in a couple weeks.
Thanks for your kind words chuck, if i'm ever over your neck of the woods i'd love to throw down some rhythm and naughty harmony for you to slip and slide on.

Mike

[mike walker]

Hey cheers Dave.
Let me know what ya think when ya get it, comments, contructive criticism always welcome.

Thanks again man,

Mike

[Dave Wakely]

Mike

I think you're going to have to live with the fact that quite a few people thoroughly enjoyed it :-) (And count me in on their number!)

Reminded me at different times of different things (not a bad thing - it's how human beings come to terms with anything new, after all), and all of them good in my book - Niels Lan Doky's CDs with Scofield, Jim Hall's By Arrangement, Rypdal's orchestral moments, some Frissell CDs (Rambler, Have A Little Faith), Shane Cullinan (English, very obscure, worth checking out!) and Curious Paradise among them.

Some really great writing for the strings and reeds too - something indefinably English/European about it (waves a not-usually-jingoist thumb aloft at this point). If I had more classical references that might be more eloquently argued, but the only non-European name it made me think of was Charles Ives.

It's always difficult to hear something through speakers that you've been hearing in your head for a lot longer, as there's always a huge gulf. Bear in mind that we don't hear what's in your head - just what the BBC streams at us. And it sounds like we like it. I certainly did.

It'd be lovely to be able to hear it for me than a week, so I hope the capital to record it isn't too long coming.

All the best,

Dave

[mike walker]

That's a very encouraging post Dave.
I listened again to the bbc iplayer version thru headphones and it sounded better.
If someone hears it with a bit of clout financially we might just get there, but i'm not holding my breath.
We'll get there somehow,
hope all is well amigo

Mike

[Dave Wakely]

Talent deserves encouraging, Mike. And judging by the interview part of the programme, you've been through more than your fair share of wars. (Does the BBC have any kind of longer term online archive? - it seems a real shame to have something available only for such a short period. I'm guessing they can afford the server farm and the disk space! And the longer it's there, the longer you can point people to it.)

Just a thought, but have you tried some of the arts funding bodies (Arts Council, Gulbenkian and so on): given that you're involving orchestral elements here, you're opening a potential door to a wider range of sponsors than a 'jazz guitar' piece might do. Far too long since I worked at the Arts Council to know where to suggest you start, but it might be worth investigating?

Good luck with all.

(And I'm fine - plugging away slowly at a few pieces on a 10 year old Mac that doesn't really want to play - the lack of funding thing is pretty universal.)

Chin up, fella, and keep playing -

Dave

[mike walker]

Cheers again Dave,
I'll follow up the Gulbenkian. That's an interesting organisation that i totally forgot about.
Not sure if it'll be available after friday. I'll look into it.
A mac that lasted ten years? Never!!
Chin definitely up amigo, and i can at least celebrate that it's still only the one!!

Best,

Mike

[TNJ]

Sounds great!
Nice playing, and the compositions are very strong.

All the best, man.
S.
j

[mike walker]

Tnj,
Do you mean the album or the Ropes thing?
I ask coz i'm actually wondering if you can get Ropes where you are.
Whichever, i appreciate your comments man.
Thank you.


Mike

[TNJ]

I went to your site, and listened to the clips from the 'Madness' project.
I think all your stuff is listed there.
Sweet!

S.
j

[psklaroff]

Just to add my own thoughts here.....Mike is a genuine living legend amongst the jazz community here in the UK and is without a doubt one of the finest players this country has ever produced. I can also recommend his album without reservation...it's really terrific.

If you can though, check him out live. The last time I did - I was well aware that I was listening to someone of truly world-class standard.

I also carefully avoided going anywhere near my guitar for quite a while after hearing him...(he's that good...:-)

Pete

[mike walker]

Pete,
that's really very kind.
I'm glad you're enjoying the CD. I played at the puzzle last night and totally forgot to tell anyone about it via this new medium.
Keep up the great playing Pete,
I found great encouragement in your words by the way.

Mike

[psklaroff]

My pleasure Mike...and I meant what I said.

I would have come down to The Puzzle the other night (it's virtually my local anyway...) but I was down with a flu-bug.... :-(

Next time though for sure.

All the best,

Pete

[mike walker]

Hey Pete,
I'm at the Puzzle this tue coming. Just blowing some standards. Would be nice to see you if ya can make it.
Also, i'm not really doing the teaching at college thing this year so let me know when you're gigging and i'll try and get down.

Mike