Veryan Weston

Veryan Weston - pianist, composer, arranger and improviser.

Born in Sussex, UK, 3rd September 1950.

He received a fellowship from the Digswell Arts Trust in Hertfordshire that allowed him to continue his work exploring piano improvisation which included his research in to pentatonic scale relationships. While at Digswell, he co-founded and composed for the group Stinky Winkles who were voted 'Young jazz Musicians of 1979' by Greater London Arts Association. He performed music for film, the most notable being his work with Lol Coxhill on director Derek Jarman's Caravaggio (1986).

Weston's interest in collaborating with artists from other disciplines led him to earn a degree in performance art from Middlesex University and he also earned a master's degree in music composition from Goldsmith's College University in London. In the '80s and '90s, he worked with (among others) the Eddie Prévost Quartet, Lol Coxhill and Trevor Watts.

Trevor’s preoccupation with rhythmic structures and the inclusion of Ghanaian musicians in Moiré Music suited his own interests in the importance and beauty of rhythmic relationships between musicians which is also traceable later in virtually all his work as an improviser. They continue their very fruitful long-term relationship with concerts worldwide that also include other performers. The new Quantum Illusion project involves Veryan Weston on 'keystation' which is a relatively new departure for him in to the world of digital keyboard sound generation. It takes their shared 'Dialogues' project in to new places of exploring improvisation. There is still a jazz feel and sensibility about it, but because of the fact that they are both composers of some note, the improvisations always have a strong sense of structure

In the '90s, collaborations with Phil Minton included: the Ways duos consisting of a sizeable repertoire which has evolved after more than 20 years together; the three “Ways” recording projects has produced a diversity of songs by Schubert, Ives, Dolphy, Sullivan and Elvis Presley, Songs from a Prison Diary choral project commissioned for the Europa Festival in Le Mans which was awarded the Cornelius Cardew composition prize, a Taktlos Festival (Switzerland) chamber choir commission based on the life of Anarchist – Nestor Makhno, a quartet performing extracts from Joyce’s Finnegans wake, and 4Walls with Luc Ex and Michael Vatcher which was a strange synthesis of punk and contemporary jazz but which, like all the projects with Phil combine improvisation with songform. Most recently - Ways for an Orchestra was commissioned by the Angelica Festival (Bologna, Italy – 2017) and included selected material from their Ways projects arranged and composed for a chamber orchestra.

Other peripheral excursions have included working in Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill big band project, the Cobra game piece with John Zorn in Berlin and most recently a Lindsay Cooper memorial project which included many of the original members of Henry Cow (2014).

‘Tessellations’ is an ongoing composition project and has produced: 1. Tessellations for piano (EMANEM 4095), 2. a commissioned piece for Austrian singers - the Vociferous Choir (EMANEM 5015), 3. a string quartet (as yet unperformed) entitled Inspector Montalbano's Holiday, and 4. 'The Make Project' – an ambitious Toronto-based project for solo singers, two choirs, strings and a jazz rhythm section commissioned by Canadian Arts (Released – January 2018).

Awards

Awarded a residency and fellowship at the Digswell Arts Trust (Welwyn Garden City) 1975 - 85, working with young local musicians and forming a band called 'Stinky Winkles' who were: Voted 'Young Jazz Musicians of the year' (1979) - Greater London Arts Association Winners and voted 'best band' at the Dunkirk Jazz Festival (1979) Winners at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival 1980 Winners at the Wroclaw 'Jazz on the Odra' Festival 1981 __________________ Songs from a Prison Diary for 25 singers. Commissioned by Europa Jazz Festival - awarded Cornelius Cardew Composition Prize for 1991. Peter Whittingham Foundation Award - 2001.

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Album Review

Discoveries on Tracker Action Organs by Alberto Bazzurro
Discoveries on Tracker Action Organs by John Eyles
Tuning Out by John Eyles
Different Tesselations by John Eyles
Different Tessellations by Raul d'Gama Rose
Allusions by John Eyles
Gateway to Vienna by John Eyles
Tessellations for Lutheal Piano (2003) by Glenn Astarita
Five Shadows by AAJ Staff

Raul D'Gama has written of this: “Veryan Weston is one of the most creative musicians in recent times - or, perhaps, ancient times would be closer to the truth, for what is new emanates from the old and what is old gives birth to the new. Weston presides over this conundrum like a medieval apothecary concocting brilliant and powerful and magical potions that take the form of musical scores invented on the spot where time and space collide.” ALL ABOUT JAZZ 2012.

Review by Massimo Ricci of “Make”: Among several notable intuitions, pianist and composer Veryan Weston has been working for decades on the concept of tessellation

Review by Massimo Ricci of “Make”: Among several notable intuitions, pianist and composer Veryan Weston has been working for decades on the concept of tessellation. To quote from his website, “visual interlocking symmetries and geometric shapes are transferred to the audible world of pitches, rhythm and counterpoint, with the spirit and energy of jazz, improvisation and folk music always at the heart of the performance”. Nothing rings truer after having lent our ears to this brilliant album, in which Weston presents the newest version of an existing work with the help of vocal conductor Christine Duncan and drummer Jean Martin. Other musicians involved are Felicity Williams and Alex Samaras (vocals), Jesse and Josh Zubot (violin), Anna Atkinson (viola), Andrew Downing (bass and cello), plus two vocal ensembles: Hidden Meanings Voices — a tentet — and The Element Choir, a unit featuring 45 improvising singers.

The aforementioned creative tool is especially highlighted in the 32-minute “Tessellation IV — Make”. Instruments and voices generate a somewhat Wyatt-esque patchwork of stratifications, ramifications, vacillating chordal structures and, in general, luminescent humanity. The whole revolves around selected phrases by activist women, linked by the presence of the word “make”. Beyond the meaning, these excerpts create an impressive rhythmic complexity not deprived of unadulterated melodicism. Across the extended duration, relinquishing any pretense of “studying” helps a listener to a better enjoyment. The acoustic architectures retain an implicit clarity that made us feel at home throughout, at the same time able to discern the individual sensibilities of the participants.

It's difficult to detail in a review the myriads of expressive subtleties and the sheer aural gratification derived from a plunge in these transparent waters. While Weston's pianistic value is renowned, for some reason he appears to be slightly overlooked when listing the best of Britain in terms of compositional strategies.

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