In 2005, George & Raymond were commissioned by An Tobar, the Tobermory Arts Centre on the Isle of Mull to create new music to celebrate the centenary of Tobermory’s Town Clock.
The Clock commemorates a pioneering traveller of the Victorian era, Isabella Bird. Isabella’s sister Henrietta was the recipient of Isabella’s letters recounting her travels, which were later compiled into a series of bestselling travel books; “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains”, “The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither” and many others. On the strength of these works and her indomitable spirit she became the first woman to become a member of the Royal Geographical Society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Bird
When we started the Burt/MacDonald band, Raymond and I had a list of players we wanted to work with. High on the list was Keith Tippett. An astonishing musician, easily bestriding the seismic changes of sixties pop, the development of Rock music in all its forms (including a stint in the ferocious hothouse of early 70’s King Crimson) and being hand-picked by Stan Tracey to be the house-pianist of Ronnie Scott’s. In his later years, he wrote classical influenced works for string quartets and the BBC Singers.
We read Isabella’s books and turned some of her words into song lyrics, and composed songs and instrumental pieces to illustrate some of her adventures. We recorded the music, did some workshops with local schoolchildren, and performed the new material at a sold-out concert on the Saturday night. Here’s an introduction to the project including some excerpts from the album:
We made two CDs of the material: A Day for a Reason featured the songs and jazz-flavoured material, Boohoo Fever, later released on the LEO label, featured the more abstract and impressionistic pieces.
Buy Day for a Reason here:
https://georgeburt.bandcamp.com/album/a-day-for-a-reason-bmacd6-featuring-keith-tippett
The reviews in Jazzwise and Herald praised the folkish melodies, brief abstractions, and noted Keith’s integral place as a contributing member of the band, not just as a “special guest”.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the project, and to commemorate Isabella, Henrietta and Keith and they way they all enriched our lives, the band are proud to re-release these albums on Bandcamp. They will also be available from your favourite independent record shop and members of the band. Come and say hello!
A selection of reviews:
Jazzwise:
Records like this are just too few. It’s amazing how often a theme, idea or concept can lift material and musicians out of the ordinary through the simple expedient of telling a story. Commissioned by Tobermory on the Island of Mull to celebrate the centenary of the town clock, this is a thing of charm and delight. The album tells of two sisters, one who travelled widely and boldly and another who waited on her letters from afar and it succeeds in capturing both heart and imagination. With longer pieces punctuated by brief abstracted fragments, it’s never afraid to experiment whether in the displaced tones of Keith Tippett’s prepared piano or the spidery scrapings of George Burt’s guitar. Yet its soul lies in its beautiful folk-ish melodies. From the opening “Sisters” with just piano and melodica and the lovely “Isabella in 1873” with Nicola MacDonald’s captivating voice, this record hardly falters. Its emphasis lies in bebop, and there’s an almost pop feel to some of the tracks such as the jaunty “In Transit” and soft and tender “She’s Gone”. I can’t imagine that many Jazzwise readers won’t love this album, whether their starting point is Jamie Cullum or Kenny Wheeler.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise February 2006
LIST
The latest disc from this prolific group led by guitarist George Burt and saxophonist Raymond MacDonald features pianist Keith Tippett in a project commissioned buy An Tobar arts Centre on Mull, inspired by the town clock in Tobermory. Created and recorded in March [2005], the music features the group’s characteristic mix of tuneful, melody driven songs and instrumentals with no-holds barred free improvisation.
As in earlier live work in Glasgow, Tippett brings massive experience as well as artistic clout to the project, and it fits seamlessly into the group aesthetic. A strong contender for their best work yet on disc.
Kenny Mathieson, the List, 24 July -4 August 2005
THE HERALD
Even by their productive standards, Scotland’s own Burt – MacDonald team have been prolific lately in their work with British jazz luminaries.
A Day for a Reason resulting from a project with Keith Tippett at Tobermory’s progressive An Tobar arts centre, is almost a companion piece to their Hotel Dilettante album and continues their collaboration with saxophonist Lol Coxhill.
A musical portrait of two Victorian sisters who lived on and travelled far beyond Mull, A Day for a Reason succeeds admirably in conveying a sense of place and of personalities. It features a variety of moods, including straight-ahead jazz, Burt’s attractive melancholia, Nicola MacDonald’s atmospheric songs and brother Ray’s freewheeling saxophone improvisations, with Tippett making an inspired contribution as an integral member rather than simply a guest.
Rob Adams The Herald, 16.07.05
Boohoo Fever continues the story of our visit to the beautiful Isle of Mull and the creation of our music in celebration of the centenary of the Tobermory Town Clock.
Our previous album (A DAY FOR A REASON, also on Bandcamp) told the story of the pioneering Victorian traveller and writer Isabella Bird, and her sister Henrietta.
This album is a more introspective and abstract work, with less emphasis on describing Isabella’s adventures and is more concerned with evoking the atmosphere of Tobermory and Mull, its seascapes, mountains and silences.
The line-up is the same as before, Raymond MacDonald (saxophones), George Burt (guitar), Nicola MacDonald (voice & melodica), George Lyle (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums), with our special guest, the great Keith Tippett on his first visit to the Western Isles.
Buy Boohoo Fever here:
George Burt 