a day for a reason

George Burt/Raymond MacDonald Sextet, featuring Keith Tippett

TRCD020 © 2005 TOB RECORDS

All rights reserved

This music was commissioned by Gordon Maclean of the An Tobar arts centre to celebrate the centenary of Tobermory’s Town Clock.

We had been in contact with Keith Tippett the year before, and we got on well with him, so we thought he would be ideal for this project. Keith had never been to the Islands, and we thought he would enjoy the experience. Thinking back, we were asking quite a lot of our collaborators; a week in the Isle of Mull in the off season in one of the rainiest parts of the UK. It’s a long and complicated journey from Keith’s home in Gloucestershire, and we didn’t have much money. Our regular drummer, Allan Pendreigh couldn’t do this trip so we were very pleased to get the great Alyn Cosker, who was just coming into his own as one of Scotland’s finest and most adaptable drummers.

Isabella’s books were compiled from the detailed letters she sent to her sister Henrietta, who stayed at home on the island. The lyrics for all the songs were adapted from Isabella’s writings.

Boohoo Fever

Produced by Gordon Maclean, Raymond MacDonald & George Burt

George Burt/Raymond MacDonald Sextet, featuring Keith Tippett

2005, all rights reserved

This recording 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.

Oh Hello

George Burt/Raymond MacDonald Quartet

produced by George Burt, Raymond MacDonald and David Galbraith.

This was our first album, funded by saving up money from gigs, and persuading friends and fellow artists to contribute on the assumption that we’d be able to return the favour at some point in the future. The songs and tunes were a mixture of pieces that had been accumulating for a number of years. Listening back now, I’m pleased that it all sounds so fresh and upbeat. The pieces are all strong and memorable, and the performances are bright and positive. (For guitar nerds: I’m a bit annoyed that I didn’t get the guitar serviced before the recording. There’s an irritating twang from worn frets that shouts out at me, but only the true gtr-obsessives will notice…)
Our guests perform brilliantly, and are still friends: Andy Shanks (voc), Graeme Wilson (flute), Allon Beauvoisin (bs cl), Bill Wells (piano), Rick Bamford (perc).

big brothers

Produced by Raymond MacDonald, and David Galbraith. Recorded by David Galbraith, Heartbeat Studio, March 25th & 26th, 2000.
Design & photography by Alex Burt

This was the second of our self-produced cds using the time-honoured method of saving all our gig money and trying to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. Robert Fripp used to say that being in a band was the best liberal education a young person could have, since very quickly you have to learn how to handle money, deal with people with conflicting and contradictory goals, and generally keep the peace when the Artistic Temperament manifests itself in fellow-musicians, club-owners, family members, friends and audiences. That was our experience in the early days; all this mixed in with much carefree fun, of course…