Julian Joseph

SHADOWBALL:
'This is a community and educational project more than a stand-alone musical drama, although Joseph's elegant mutations of 1930s Count Basie and Cab Calloway themes, as well as astute deployments of gospel music and blues, give the score fizz. Watkiss's sonorous tones and dynamic subtlety hit the right balance of magisterial and sympathetic, too, in his role as player/coach Satchel Paige.' John Fordham, The Guardian, July 2010.

'It says something about London’s artistic confidence that the first jazz opera about US baseball and its long years of racial segregation should have been conceived not in New York or Los Angeles but here in London. Even more remarkably, its world premiere was carried off brilliantly last night with 120 Hackney schoolchildren shouldering the bulk of the load... Hackney 12-year-olds rarely get a good press, either, so let it be recorded here that these all-singing, all-strutting, all-acting boys and girls were the stars of the show.' Jack Massarik, Evening Standard, July 2010.

Julian Joseph & The Sixteen: 'It was only when the jazz players felt able to ignore their “charts” and rely on gut instinct that things caught fire. Joseph’s harmonic side-shifts and cadences took on his usual energising swing, but also a Monteverdian “sigh” that seemed completely natural. The choir, too, loosened up; in one number there was a flamenco-ish tang at the end of a phrase, which Joseph was able to seize and run with. The final Salve Regina worked best, especially at its final flourish, where Joseph and Hodgson spun a superb riff over the concluding cadence. For a work in progress, this was impressive. Let’s hope it’s only the beginning.' Ivan Hewitt, The Telegraph, July 2010.

Dance of the Three Legged Elephants 5 star CD Review: 'This set of originals, improvisations, and takes on pieces by everyone from Jobim to Ravel are informed, inventive and defy all expectations... outstanding.' Roger Thomas, BBC Music Magazine, January 2010.

Julian Joseph & Mica Paris, Band on the Wall: Joseph got the party started, mustering an epic version of Chick Corea’s La Fiesta. He is a pianist capable of hinting at everything from the florid virtuosity of Oscar Peterson to the economy and angularity of Thelonious Monk... A smoky rendition of God Bless The Child hit the spot, as did I’ve Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good, with Joseph commending Paris’s version as equal to those of Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole... By the time the sinuous latin groove of The Ghetto struck up, the assembled company were up on the dance floor – parquet reclaimed from a south Manchester school – and singing along. Paul Taylor, City Life for Northern Souls, 28 September 2009.

Julian Joseph & Matthew Barley ('Xtreme Cello') @ King's Place, London, 23 & 26 September 2009: 'grooving chord patterns, double-time jazz variations and pushing swing... Joseph's own slyly displaced blues, Dance of the Three Legged Elephants... signalled the full-on release of the pianist's formidable fast-postbop powers.' John Fordham, The Guardian, 27 September 2009.

The British Piano @ the Vortex Jazz Club, London, 24-25 September 2008: 'at the end of the second evening, came Julian Joseph, a pianist who really does know how to shape a musical idea and make it more and more intense until you're practically jumping out of your seat with excitement. It had been a fascinating two days of music-making, but this was in a different class.' Ivan Hewett, The Telegraph, 26 September 2008.

BRIDGETOWER:
'A compelling night's drama.' 'The Times, July 2007.

'Seamless, inspiring bridges between jazz and classical, black and white. Every phase oozes instinctive musicianship.' The Stage, July 2007.

'Joseph's excellent score, touched by both blues and gospel, kept the action moving briskly... astute scoring brought bold harmonic shading... Cleveland Watkiss was simply made for the lead... However the real star of the show was Joseph. He has shown that his talent as a composer is more than up to his ambition as a conceptualist. Combining jazz and opera to tell a story of tremendous socio-political significance is by no means a simple task and Joseph has pulled it off with panache.' Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise, August 2007.

'Julian Joseph - opera star? Certainly. Britain's most storming jazz pianist is also a skilled composer and orchestrator, and his artful score for the story of George Bridgetower, a black violin prodigy feted by 18th-century high society, deserved its standing ovation last night. A detailed jazz opera of many rhythmic variations and mood swings, it was also richly melodic and as comfortable for classically trained singers to perform as any such work since Porgy and Bess.' Jack Massarik, London Evening Standard, October 2007.

'Joseph has done far more than write a jazzy opera. The score lets the nine-piece band breathe while tapping into orchestral colours, and seamlessly blends composition and improvisation. Joseph accurately references the compositional techniques of the period, merging the disciplines of classical opera and jazz. Supporting operatic vocals with walking bass worked a treat.' Mike Hobart, Financial Times, October 2007.

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'Julian is arguably the finest pianist of his generation - a brilliant, dynamic presence'. Time Out, April 2007.

'I regard Julian Joseph as one of the finest pianists since Thelonius Monk'. David Millward, Daily Telegraph, September 2006.

With Billy Cobham's Art of Five, Dingwall's, 6 November 2003: 'Last night's fireworks between Billy Cobham and pianist Juilan Joseph were spectacular... Joseph is a tiger at the keyboard... Rarely has Cobham found so many of his sharpest accents bouncing back at him with interest.' Jack Massarik, London Evening Standard, 7 November 2003.

With Don Braden, Pizza Express, February 2003: 'A scintillating partnership... Julian accompanied with a dazzling stream of countermelodic playing and harmonic challenges... Joseph's relationship with his regular drummer Mark Mondesir is so sympathetic that their performances merge into one intense and ecstatic voice.' John Fordham, Guardian Unlimited, 15 February 2003.

Julian Joseph Big Band, London Jazz Festival, November 2002: 'Julian Joseph demonstrated once again his sophisticated and broad view of large-scale, orthodox-tonality jazz. Later in the evening he showed a contemporary sensibility influenced by both classical music and soul in his big-canvas premiere, The Great Sage.' John Fordham, The Guardian, 18 November, 2002.

Al-Bustan Festival, March 2002: 'Julian Joseph captivated the highly attentive audience, in total symbiosis with his profound command of the piano, a very individual classical and modern repertoire, unquestionable "soul" and a contagious love for the music - the kind that speaks for itself and carries you away heart and soul". G.E. La Revue du Liban, 9-16 March 2002.

Recital with Carmen Lundy, Wigmore Hall, May 2000: 'Whooping and whistling in the Wigmore Hall? Not quite the audience behaviour they have come to expect in this temple of the arts… Joseph's meeting with American vocalist Carmen Lundy produced some exceptionally suave dialogues. All credit to the pianist for giving a platform to a mature singer who seems to have been overlooked.' Clive Davis, The Times, 12 May 2000.

'Julian Joseph is undoubtedly one of the finest inspirational jazz pianists and composers to emerge this side of the Atlantic. Admired for his accomplishments at weaving colourful textures and harmonies in his music… amazing dexterity… rapturous applause.' Sara Taukolonga, The Voice, 10 May 1999.

'Transforming [Billy Strayhorn's Take the "A" Train] from a lightly skipping theme driven by a subtly powerful rhythm into an altogether chunkier affair, and then segueing into one of his own compositions, Washingtonians, Joseph might have been serving notice on Ellington purists that this particular solo recital was going to be strictly personal rather than stiflingly reverential. Accordingly, Joseph's following selection, I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good, was played relatively straight and tender, but with occasional flashy runs alternating with absorbing explorations of the song's chord sequence which made it as interested in examining the structure and shape of Ellington's music as in simply reproducing it… East St Louis Toodle-oo re-emerged as a melancholy, almost bluesy piece tinged with the pathos of spirituals.' Chris Parker, The Times, 3 May 1999.

'Probably the most talented and exciting jazz pianist to have emerged from the UK.' The Guardian, 29 April 1999.

'One of Ellington's natural-born heirs… Charm pure and simple, coupled with absolute assurance. At the keyboard, these qualities weave a deliciously seductive spell.' Michael Church, Sunday Express, 25 April 1999.

Julian Joseph All-Star Big Band, Royal Albert Hall, August 1995: 'A true gentleman of jazz, Julian Joseph held the Albert Hall in the palm of both hands at last Saturday's late-night Prom, hypnotising us with laid-back asides between numbers of mesmeric brilliance.' David Hughes, Mail on Sunday, 27 August 1995.