March was totally exhausting but at last I am beginning to see the wood for the trees and King Arthur is truly taking great shape although it has become very obvious to all involved with the production that this is a musical project with a completely different set of challenges to that of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
It’s a lot longer for a start!
As I write this month’s GORR, Tony Fernandez, Matt Pegg and Dave Colquhoun have recorded their parts, ably engineered by Erik Jordan and Toby Wood. All the new pieces have slotted in very nicely and there is some fun stuff for Ashley and Hayley to sing and they will be doing their vocals over the weekend of the 9th.
Then I have an additional two days for solos and last minute keyboard additives before moving on to the next stage....the English Chamber Choir.
I have finished all the choir arrangements and they will be recorded on the 17th with Guy Protheroe in charge of the stick waving and after that it’s a mad rush to get prepared for the three days of orchestral recording and then after a few last minute tidying up there will be around three weeks of mixing and during this period I will be meeting up with Roger Dean again to see how all the artwork is coming along....it was fantastic when I last saw it and so am very excited about seeing the finished work.
Looking at the rest of this month, on Saturday 9th I will be at the Princess Theatre in Hunstanton for a sold out one man show which is particularly nice as the owner of the theatre is a very close friend!
On the 15th I will be at the Millfield Theatre in Edmonton for a one man show.
On the 19th and 27th I will be doing some more filming for the BBC 4 documentary on the history of the concept album. It’s really well written and there are some great interviews as well so well worth a look when it’s aired sometime in May.
Looking ahead into May, I will be at the Gordon Cray Theatre in Stevenage on the 6th and playing as part of a benefit tribute concert for the wonderful Mick Abrahams at the Border Line in London. If you can get along to support this, please do, as following three heart attacks and three strokes, Mick’s life has been extremely difficult and we all want to give back to him something for all that he has given with his music during his times with Jethro Tull and his own band Blodwyn Pig.
Anderson / Rabin & Wakeman continues to gain pace and all is looking tremendous. Performance dates are coming in thick and fast and the new music is just everything I believed it could be. Indeed, as I write this GORR I know that Jon is actually spending a few days with Trevor before Trev scoots off to South Africa for his son’s wedding.
...and finally on a sad note.........I felt honoured to be at Keith Emerson’s funeral at the end of March. So many people from the world of music there to pay tribute to this wonderful man. The eulogies from Carl Palmer, Mari (Keith’s fiancée) and Jim Davidson (a lifelong friend), said everything.
My drive home was difficult. I couldn’t help thinking that I had lost two great keyboard friends in Keith and Jon Lord, but thank the Lord that they have left so much wonderful music for generations to come.
Cheers,
Rick