Tea Break
A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.
Simon Paterson
When I arrived at Café Le Rêve, Natalie, the waitress was taking down the Halloween decorations. I wondered whether I should be referring to her as a 'waiter' now that actresses are referred to as actors? I made a mental note to ask her. A big black fluffy spider fell to the floor. The spider, along with its webs, witches, ghosts, ghouls and plastic pumpkins were being laid to rest in a large cardboard box labelled 'Helman's Sauces'. The box would be taken down to the stock room and spirited away behind the Christmas decorations until next year.
Arthur and Jean were at their usual table by the window. Jean is a retired actress and has made it quite clear there is no way we should call her an 'actor'!
"Hello Arthur. Hello Jean."
"Jean is upset," replied Arthur. "She bought all these sweets for the children's trick or treat and nobody came!"
"It was my own fault." Jean explained. "Last year I found the puppet-like skull. You could put your hand in the back, fill the mouth with sweets and when the children went to take one, I could make the mouth close. It scared the heebie jeebies out of them, so I guess they didn't come this year."
Ferdinand, the owner of the café appeared. "What are heebie jeebies?"
Arthur: "You know. Heebie jeebies, colly wobbles, the creeps, the jitters. In the 1920s they even made a dance of it! Louis Armstrong sang about it."
Ferdinand looked totally confused. "So who are you meeting today, Ian? We've reserved the booth for you."
"Simon Paterson. He's a bass player who leads Sharp Little Bones, made up of members of the house band at Peggy's Skylight club in Nottingham."
Natalie: "Oh, Joe saw them when he went up to play in Nottingham. He said they were great - strange name though! This must be him coming in now......."
Natalie welcomed Simon and brought him over.
Hi Simon, great to see you. We have a quiet booth reserved at the back of the café. What can I get you – tea, coffee, something else?
Hi Ian – that’s very kind, I’d love a coffee - strong and black please.
Is that OK, Natalie? I'll have an Americano with cold milk please. Many congratulations on the new album, Simon. I have asked Natalie to play my favourite track, Portman Pie, while she gets the coffee. Unfortunately, they don’t serve Portman Pie here – is that a Nottingham speciality?
Thank you! Nottingham has been my home since I arrived here aged 18 to study at the University, and I quickly fell in love with the city. We have some excellent delicacies, including mushy peas and mint sauce, which is much nicer than it probably sounds, especially on a cold wintery evening, as ell as the original recipe for HP sauce – which is marketed as Nottingham Sauce, and is delicious. However, I was born and raised in Suffolk and, since you ask, a Portman Pie is a ‘delicacy’ served at the home ground of my beloved Ipswich Town FC. I think it’s just a re-branded Pukka Pie to be honest. I’m going to watch them play Forest on Friday night, as it goes, and a warm Portman Pie will be a welcome treat on a cold Autumnal evening! I’m fascinated by the many links between music and food. I have another project called Electric Gumbo, and this is the one tune that links both projects.
You have had the album launch at Peggy's Skylight, your band's 'home' in Nottingham - how did it go?
The launch went very well, thank you. We had two sold out shows, and two great audiences!
That's really encouraging. Talking of Nottingham, it has a great Jazz history. There used to be a club called the Dancing Slipper that became quite famous many years ago and still seems to be fondly remembered. I always imagined it was a large dance hall but I recently discovered it was just above some shops in Central Avenue, West Bridgford. Now you have Peggy’s Skylight. What is Peggy’s Skylight like and how you became the house band there?
Just before lockdown, I was in touch with Paul Adams from Fellside Recordings about a sizeable collection of reel-to-reel tapes recorded at the Dancing Slipper. As you know, it was well-known nationally on the club circuit – the MP Ken Clarke was a regular in his youth. The tapes were recorded by Allan Gilmour, who was the sound man. He used to build all his own equipment. There’s a cross-section of British Jazz of that era, although nothing too modern. It would make for an exciting project at some point, to digitise them all. Sorry, I digress – Peggy’s Skylight is more than just a Cinderella filling that slipper. They put on seven shows a week, representing all sides of the jazz spectrum, with a bit of blues and soul on the side. And incredible Middle Eastern food. It’s run by Paul Deats and his partner Rachel Foster; they’re both amazing musicians who had a dream of running a jazz club, and what a credit it is to the city. They call Nottingham the Queen of the Midlands, and Peggy’s is the jewel in the crown. The concept for the food is loosely based on the jazz ambassadors when the US sent jazz acts out through the Middle East and into Africa and so on, which is why the food menu is the way it is. I think I might be hungry. I’ve played with Paul for many years in various projects, so we’re incredibly fortunate to have this venue and to keep playing together.
Ah. Here is Natalie with the coffee. She is intrigued by the band’s name Sharp Little Bones – where does that come from?
Thanks Natalie. I used to sing in a band prior to Sharp Little Bones, and it turns out I have quite a ‘smooth’ voice. I wasn’t too happy whenever that word, smooth, was used to describe it, what with all the connotations and that. So I wanted a name that suggested a bit more of a punky, energetic spirit to represent the band. One of the first tunes I wrote for the band was called Sharp Little Bones (it’s now known as ‘Hook Up’, which we recorded for the new album) so I borrowed it from there.
When I first saw the album name, Step Up! Get Down!, I was expecting a dance album. That was confirmed when I played the first track, Trent Fields, which has some fine playing by saxophonist Tony Kofi, but I was wrong! The album is a really varied mix of music, as we heard with Portman Pie.
There’s a lot of variety on the album. Certainly, I was hoping the title might suggest some up-tempo, energetic and danceable tunes, but I don’t know about you; if I get the chance to go out dancing, I need a few slower numbers from time to time to catch my breath! Truth is, I love writing up-tempo stuff, I love swing, I’m a sucker for a Latin groove, I love me some half-time funk and I adore a good ballad. The meaning of Step Up! Get Down! is, beyond a musical description, an instruction for life and about getting things in balance. Whether that’s work and life, spirituality and science, what you feed your body (and mind) – a good balance is key for many things in life, and I aspired to make an album that has balance too.
How come you asked Tony to guest on the album? It was clearly a great choice – is he someone who you met through Peggy’s Skylight?
I met Tony back in the day in my early years as an undergraduate at Nottingham. I was just starting out as a bass player and had formed a band with George Double on drums, and we used to regularly go out together and watch Tony play at The Cookie Club when it was on Pelham Street. It was a small club and on a Tuesday night it was jazz night – a residency with DJ Mojo and Tony Kofi. When Tony left town to go to Berkeley, somehow our quartet got the nod to take over, and there was one week when we crossed over and jammed together. I can’t remember exactly what tune we played – possibly Straight No Chaser – but I will never forget how it felt; it was a feeling I’ve been chasing ever since. Our paths have since crossed a few times in studios and gigs. Then more recently I put together a Black Lives Matter gig at Peggy’s Skylight just as things were tentatively emerging from lockdown. Dennis Rollins was on it and Tony, and again, I had the best time onstage. I was writing tunes for the trio but with Tony in mind, so I was overjoyed when he agreed to be a part of the project.
The band itself has a real balance – your bass, Paul Deats’ keyboards; your bass and Andrew Wood’s drums – does everybody, except his Mum, call him ‘Woody’?
It’s such a great combination, and each member brings their unique character, musical and otherwise, to the bandstand. But whilst everyone’s individual voice shines through, there’s something magical about how it all sounds as one. It’s a beautiful jazz paradox.
I am intrigued by how the publicity notes describe the tunes in relation to whose music they are like: Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Ezra Collective, for example – “Step Up! Get Down! Reflects Herbie Hancock’s celebrated balance of groove.” Is that a written way of letting people know what to expect? Is there a suggestion of being derivative in doing it that way, rather than acknowledging this is Sharp Little Bones’ music?
I hope not. After all, I haven’t borrowed chords, changes or melodies, but I’m happy to admit that I’ve been inspired by these giants, their vibes and their ethos to composition and performance. But ultimately, we’re a relatively new act that plays all original material – it’s not like someone can pick up a CD or record and see there’s an interpretation of a particular standard that might pull them in. And more than that: we’re contractually obliged to contextualise our music! In an ideal world, just presenting an original body of work should be enough, but I understand why ultimately, it just isn’t. So in other words, this is all necessary, and standard practice for marketing! But hopefully it connects us to the right kind of listener too.
How about another tea/coffee Simon, and the café has a great selection of cakes – can I tempt you?
Perhaps we can share a slice of cake? Oh go on then, I’ll have a croissant. I’ll get these, Ian.
Thank you, I'll choose a chocolate twist I think ....... ah, you have just caught Natalie's eye. Going back to the album and the tune titles, I really like how the music of Snake Oil and Crystallise reflect their titles. Which came first, the idea and the music or the title? I think we should list to Crystallise while we munch on the pastries.
That’s great to hear. I enjoy coming up with suggestive or intriguing titles, but it’s always the music that comes first. As you mention Crystallise, the title of this tune is derived from the opening musical idea, which, among other things, attempts to musically describe the formation of crystals. The fact that the additional Moog textures ended up sounding like an otherworldly transmission picked up on a crystal radio set was, perhaps, merely a coincidence.
One fairly new approach to publicising an album is the ‘listening party’. How did that go?
It went really well, thank you! There was some really positive engagement, and it was a chance for us to hear the album back in sequence for the first time in a while. It was all hosted by Bandcamp, which is where we sell our CDs, vinyl and digital downloads, and I was inspired after attending my friend Jim Baron’s listening party for his new JIM album, which I played bass on.
You have such a personal investment in the album, composing, arranging, playing, producing, that must be quite challenging, particularly as you have your University work as well?
The writing and playing is quite spread out, and the recording itself was only over the course of two days. But sure, it’s the mixing and all the admin surrounding a release that is certainly very time-consuming.
Being Associate Professor of Music at the University must bring you into contact with young musical talent, how are our next generation of musicians coming through?
They’re great. And so many of them have really got it together in ways I certainly didn’t at their age. But I fear for their future. Whilst there are always exceptions, it takes most people many years of practice and practise to find the right voice, make the right connections, find the right opportunities to even be in with a chance of forging a successful career. I have to hold out hope that society will once again recognise the importance of culture to the quality of all our lives and wellbeing, and then it might provide the necessary support for young people to hone their craft and thrive, for all our collective benefit.
Does the course have any elements that prepare musicians for ‘the business’ when they finish? It seems to me that it pays off for those students who make good contacts during their time at Uni but they are not quite so prepared for the business side of things?
Yes and no. It’s complicated, and I perhaps need to be careful what I say. Although there does need to be more. The UK government’s own Creative Skills Audit that fed into the Creative Industries Sector Plan identifies gaps in skills that the creative sector employers have identified, and it’s up to educational managers now to work alongside those of us devising Music curricula to further build transferable business skills into teaching and assessment. When I took a course in studio engineering after graduation, the course leader, John Crossley, invited an accountant to give us all a lecture, and that was super useful.
I have to ask whether you have a favourite track on the album? Sweet Bitter Crush has a nice vibe too, perhaps we can have a taste of that before you go?
That track is special, and I have to thank Rachel Parkes, a singer and choir director of some repute, for having the idea to bring Sharp Little Bones to accompany the University of Nottingham Choir in a performance of William Todd’s Mass in Blue, and also commission two new pieces that would segue out of other pieces in the same programme. Sweet Bitter Crush was written to follow on from Poulenc’s ‘Vinea Mea Electa’, and plays with a borrowed fragment of rhythm that gets woven into an otherwise more orthodox jazz ballad. But it’s hard to pick a favourite – it’s whatever track I’m working on or playing at any given moment. Across both albums, I love that everyone seems to have a different favourite. But honestly, with my composer hat on, I’m so proud of all the music on this album.
Thanks for dropping by for a break, Simon. Very best wishes for the album – I have a feeling in my sharp little bones that it will do well!
Thank you, Ian. It was a pleasure!
Sharp Little Bones' album Get Up! Get Down! is available here, and Simon Paterson's website is here.
You will find Peggy's Skylight at 3 George Street, Nottingham, NG1 3BH and their website is here.
and here are Sharp Little Bones with Tony Kofi at Peggy's Skylight playing Stranger Danger:
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