New Pacific Music Ensemble
“It was a pleasant shock, it was a kind of music I’ve rarely ever heard, I sort of imagined that it might exist, but I’ve never actually heard someone do it” (Keith Clancy – Radio New Zealand)
The New Pacific Music Ensemble formed in 1996. The idea came from Andrew McMillan's desire to pursue island rhythms and instruments in new forms and combinations.
The ensemble pursues the concept of inter-culture where cultural identities are brought together and combined or smashed together to produce a unique identity. Through embracing conflict and complication in the music relationships NPME aims to avoid layers of culture where sympathetic identities are stacked one on top of each other or side by side. In the case of the New Pacific Music Ensemble traditional Pacific music, jazz, free improvisation, contemporary Western music, and the avant-garde with other music culture is referenced within the music. The ensemble is only near the beginning of adopting this concept, and is excited about the prospect of the future as this further develops. Performances :
Vitamin S ten year anniversary festival Karlheinz Concert - Auckland University Wellington Jazz Festival - 2006, 2002 Tauranga Jazz Festival - 2006 Wellington fringe festival - 1998 Concerts in Parks - Auckland - 2000, 2008 Auckland Festival late club 2003 |
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review of Ratu P'au from Karlheinz concert 2010 from Keith Clancy on radio nz concerts upbeat with Eva Radich.
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Ratu P'au PERSONEL :
Tua Meti - pate/p'au/ukelele John Bell - vibraphone/xylaphone Finn Scholes - trumpet/conch Jacob Unuia - tokere/p'au mongo (bongo)/ukelele/conch Cameron Allen - baritone and alto saxophone Performed University of Auckland 2010 Karlheinz concert |
Audio links :A selection of demo recordings made at the Kenneth Myers Centre february 2013.
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DEMO PERSONNEL : Tua Meti - pate/p'au//ukelele Chris O'Connor - orchestral percussion John Bell - tuned percussion Jacob Unuia - tokere/p'au mongo (bongo)/ukelele Lyndsay Unuia - pate/ukelele Cameron Allen - baritone and alto saxophone Finn Scholes - trumpet/conch Rui Inaba - double bass |
Reviews :
GRAHAM REID - MAREUREU ALBUM REVIEW
"There is a growing genre of Pacific-influenced jazz: the Mamaku Project (see tag) has elements of it, and this album by the New Pacific Music Ensemble is another.
With saxophones and electric guitar alongside ukelele and log drums this has all the expansiveness of a jazz group but also the warm exoticism of island life.
Very hard to tear this one out of the stereo on a summery evening."
By Graham Reid, posted Feb 15, 2007
"There is a growing genre of Pacific-influenced jazz: the Mamaku Project (see tag) has elements of it, and this album by the New Pacific Music Ensemble is another.
With saxophones and electric guitar alongside ukelele and log drums this has all the expansiveness of a jazz group but also the warm exoticism of island life.
Very hard to tear this one out of the stereo on a summery evening."
By Graham Reid, posted Feb 15, 2007
"The album is successful because it goes way beyond ethno-musicological window dressing: the two source musics integrate really well. A real grower and well worth the investment."
Steve Kerr. (Sunday Start Times)
Steve Kerr. (Sunday Start Times)
"It could have been so easy for a project like this to have delivered corny, weak, clichéd material but this is a sophisticated and at times powerful set of tunes. The CD is wonderful, but the live gigs are even better."
Mark Robinson. (It's a Jazz thing)
Mark Robinson. (It's a Jazz thing)
Recordings:
these recordings were made in 2000/2001 - available from amplifier, click on title links below