Hello, as i am suddenly away this week I've been busy today to prepare next weeks posts, looks like I made it. Well Sundaze starts of the week with a group I've seen live many years ago, have to admit I lost sight of them, upon preparing for this post I understood why. The main man/bandleader died almost 14 years ago, very sad, I'm sure he still had lots to offer the world, his son has taken up his staff but how far this brings him remains to be seen.
After a foodpoisoning Simon Jeffes had a disturbing recurring dream/delirium. All was silence. Everyone had been neutralized, made grey and anonymous. " The scene was for me one of ordered desolation. It was as if I were looking into a place which had no heart. Next day when I felt better, I was on the beach sunbathing and suddenly a poem popped into my head. It started out 'I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random' and it went on about how the quality of randomness, spontaneity, surprise, unexpectedness and irrationality in our lives is a very precious thing. And if you suppress that to have a nice orderly life, you kill off what's most important. Whereas in the Penguin Cafe your unconscious can just be. It's acceptable there, and that's how everybody is. There is an acceptance there that has to do with living the present with no fear in ourselves".
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The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was founded by British composer Simon Jeffes (born February 19, 1949; died December 10, 1997). Born in Sussex, England, and raised in Canada and around Europe, Jeffes began playing the guitar at the age of 13 while attending boarding school in England and then studied classical guitar, piano, and music theory at Chiswick Polytechnic, but dropped out before graduating. While living in Japan in 1972, he developed an interest in ethnic music, particularly African styles, and decided to try to merge those styles with more traditional Western sounds. He launched the PCO as an outlet for his compositions with this eclectic hybrid approach. He always said that the "Penguin Cafe" concept was one that came to him in a dream while he was suffering from food poisoning in the summer of 1972, after which he wrote a poem that began, "I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random." He described the music of the group as "modern semi-acoustic chamber music."
The PCO was organized as a fluctuating unit in which Jeffes and cellist Helen Liebmann were the only permanent members. At first, when it began playing in London, England, in 1973, it was called the Penguin Cafe Quartet. The members of the group, not yet performing publicly, were Jeffes (on electric guitar), Liebmann, violinist Gavyn Wright, and Steve Nye on electric piano. In 1974, they made their first recordings. Nye, who knew producer Brian Eno, introduced Jeffes to him, and Eno invited the group to record for his Obscure Records. They did, adding university lecturer Neil Rennie (ukulele) and Emily Young (vocals), a painter who gave the group a visual style with her cover painting for the album, Music from the Penguin Cafe (1976).
The first concert by the ensemble was an opening slot for (Man Machine) Kraftwerk at the Roundhouse in London in 1977, and the group expanded further to include Geoffrey Richardson (viola), Peter Veitch (accordion), Giles Leaman (woodwinds), Braco (drums), and Julio Segovia (cymbals). Now boasting far more than four members, the band was too big to be called a quartet, and it was christened the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
In 1979, Jeffes converted a garage in North Kensington into a recording studio and in 1980 began working on the PCO's second album, released as Penguin Cafe Orchestra in 1981. Afterwards, composer Marcus Beale joined the group on violin in time for the first European tour. As the PCO prepared its third full-length LP, Broadcasting from Home (1984), personnel came and went, the additions including Annie Whitehead (trombone), Dave Defries (trumpet), and drummers Fami, Trevor Morais, and Mike Giles. After the album was released, the group raised its profile by touring extensively and appearing on television, and the fourth album, Signs of Life actually reached the British charts in April 1987.
Continuing to tour, the PCO recorded a full-length live album at Festival Hall on July 9, 1987; it was released in 1988 under the title When in Rome .... Jeffes next accepted an invitation from choreographer David Bintley of the Royal Ballet to adapt some of the PCO's music for a dance piece, resulting in the ballet Still Life at the Penguin Cafe, which was performed at Covent Garden and elsewhere in the U.K., as well as in Germany and Australia.
The PCO also toured, primarily in Europe, during the late '80s and early '90s. For their next and final studio album of new material, Union Café (1993; released on Jeffes' own Zopf label), the group consisted of Jeffes, Liebmann, Maidman, Rennie, Richardson, Segovia, and Whitehead, although many guest musicians also contributed. Their 1994 tour was commemorated with another live album, Concert Program (1995), recorded July 23, 1994, at Wool Hall in Somerset, England. The PCO continued into the mid-'90s, although Jeffes gradually became less active, moving to Somerset in 1996 and concentrating on solo piano. The band's formal dissolution was confirmed by his death from a brain tumor.
Members of the group reunited ten years after Jeffes' death for concerts on December 11, 12, and 13, 2007, at the Union Chapel in Islington, North London. This commemorative edition of the PCO included Helen Liebmann (cello), Neil Rennie (ukulele), Geoffrey Richardson (viola/clarinet), Peter McGowan (violin), Steve Fletcher (piano), Barbara Bolte (oboe), Annie Whitehead (trombone), and Jennifer Maidman (bass/percussion), with guest appearances by Steve Nye and Jeffes' son Arthur Jeffes.
After those concerts Arthur Jeffes wanted to form a new group without any of the original PCO members. This he initially called "Music from the Penguin Cafe", later this was shortened to simply "Penguin Cafe". This all-new ensemble, often inaccurately billed as 'The Penguin Cafe Orchestra' in the press, played at a number of festivals in 2009, combining Penguin Cafe numbers with new pieces and in 2010 appeared at the BBC Proms. With the 'Penguin Cafe' trademark owned by Arthur's company, the original Penguins who wanted to continue playing their music looked for an alternative title. Four of them, the multi-instrumentalists Geoffrey Richardson and Jennifer Maidman, trombonist Annie Whitehead and pianist Steve Fletcher have since played some festivals under the name 'The Anteaters'.
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Music From The Penguin Cafe was the debu album by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded between 1974 and 1976, and released in 1976. The line-up for much of the album consisted of the original Penguin Cafe Quartet: Simon Jeffes (electric guitar), Helen Leibmann (Cello), Steve Nye (electric piano), and Gavyn Wright (violin). The piece entitled "Zopf", which consists of seven individual "movements", had a slightly different line-up, which included the members of the quartet as well as Neil Rennie (ukelele), and Emily Young (vocals). The album tugs from two very different directions: the avant-garde and the innocent (the cerebral child inside). The executive producer for the album was Brian Eno, who released this album on his experimental Obscure label, with catalogue number "Obscure 7". The cover painting was by Emily Young.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Music From The Penguin Cafe (flac 206mb)
01 Penguin Cafe Single 6:20
Zopf
02 From The Colonies (For N.R.) 1:38
03 In A Sydney Motel 2:28
04 Surface Tension (Where The Trees Meet The Sky) 2:22
05 Milk 2:22
06 Coronation 1:33
07 Giles Farnaby's Dream 2:17
08 Pigtail 2:44
-
09 The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter 11:46
10 Hugebaby 4:47
11 Chartered Flight 6:43
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Penguin Cafe Orchestra was the second album by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded at the Penguin Cafe between 1977 and 1980. By this time the line-up for the band had expanded greatly, with contribution including Simon Jeffes, Helen Leibmann, Steve Nye, Gavyn Wright of the original quartet, as well as Geoff Richardson, Peter Veitch, Braco, Giles Leamna, Julio Segovia and Neil Rennie.
While drawing compositional and textural inspiration from both English folk and chamber music, it manages to sound like neither and a wondrous hybrid of both. "Walk Don't Run," a cover of the Ventures' classic, turns from a surf tune into a merry jig of sorts, with the violins and cellos playing the melody backed by drums, bongos, and shakers. "Telephone and Rubber Band" turns a busy signal into something full of beauty and joy. Unfailingly romantic, sunny music and an album that set the tone of all further PCO releases.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Penguin Cafe Orchestra (flac 252mb)
01 Air À Danser 4:30
02 Yodel 1 4:07
03 Telephone And Rubber Band 2:28
04 Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter 3:09
05 Pythagoras's Trousers 3:18
06 Numbers 1-4 6:57
07 Yodel 2 4:34
08 Salty Bean Fumble 2:11
09 Paul's Dance 1:45
10 The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas 4:01
11 Walk Don't Run 3:01
12 Flux 1:48
13 Simon's Dream 1:48
14 Harmonic Necklace 1:12
15 Steady State 3:36
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Bandleader Simon Jeffes composed the leadoff track "Music for a Found Harmonium" on a harmonium he found abandoned on a Tokyo street, which offers an inkling of the musical inspiration that sprang from this remarkable Englishman. As usual, he gathers a loose aggregation of musicians who create stunning, free-flowing acoustic sounds that defy categorization. Jeffes includes brass here for the first time on a Penguin Café Orchestra recording. Recorded over three years, the band's third album is worth the painstaking studio overdubbing by its leader.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Broadcasting From Home (flac 249mb)
01 Music For A Found Harmonium 3:36
02 Prelude & Yodel 3:51
03 More Milk 3:10
04 Sheep Dip 3:57
05 White Mischief 5:48
06 In The Back Of A Taxi 3:21
07 Music By Numbers 4:41
08 Another One From The Colonies 3:04
09 Air 4:20
10 Heartwind 4:11
11 Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots) 4:29
12 Now Nothing 2:59
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Signs of Life was recorded at the Penguin Cafe between 1985 and 1987. The PCO's last proper studio album of all new tunes also wound up being their last for EG Records, but the group shows no sign of slowing down or of boredom (the album title is certainly not ironic). In fact, the jokiness of some of the earlier albums (particularly in song titles) is totally absent here as well, suggesting Jeffes and company worked at considerable length to make this a mature effort. The centerpiece of the album is the brilliant "Perpetuum Mobile" -- which unfortunately went on to be used in several television ads for telecommunication companies, brokerage houses, and other yuppie pursuits -- a simple repetitive melody put through several tonal and textural changes, building grandeur as it goes. The album has a general bittersweet air, more sunset than sunrise, and balances its foot-tappers with its moments of quiet repose the lengthy closing number "Wildlife". in short, one of their finest hours.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Signs Of Life (flac 241mb)
01 Bean Fields 4:24
02 Southern Jukebox Music 4:38
03 Horns Of The Bull 4:35
04 Oscar Tango 3:13
05 The Snake And The Lotus (The Pond) 2:55
06 Rosasolis 4:20
07 Dirt 4:48
08 Sketch 3:18
09 Perpetuum Mobile 4:28
10 Swing The Cat 3:22
11 Wildlife 10:58
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After a foodpoisoning Simon Jeffes had a disturbing recurring dream/delirium. All was silence. Everyone had been neutralized, made grey and anonymous. " The scene was for me one of ordered desolation. It was as if I were looking into a place which had no heart. Next day when I felt better, I was on the beach sunbathing and suddenly a poem popped into my head. It started out 'I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random' and it went on about how the quality of randomness, spontaneity, surprise, unexpectedness and irrationality in our lives is a very precious thing. And if you suppress that to have a nice orderly life, you kill off what's most important. Whereas in the Penguin Cafe your unconscious can just be. It's acceptable there, and that's how everybody is. There is an acceptance there that has to do with living the present with no fear in ourselves".
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) was founded by British composer Simon Jeffes (born February 19, 1949; died December 10, 1997). Born in Sussex, England, and raised in Canada and around Europe, Jeffes began playing the guitar at the age of 13 while attending boarding school in England and then studied classical guitar, piano, and music theory at Chiswick Polytechnic, but dropped out before graduating. While living in Japan in 1972, he developed an interest in ethnic music, particularly African styles, and decided to try to merge those styles with more traditional Western sounds. He launched the PCO as an outlet for his compositions with this eclectic hybrid approach. He always said that the "Penguin Cafe" concept was one that came to him in a dream while he was suffering from food poisoning in the summer of 1972, after which he wrote a poem that began, "I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random." He described the music of the group as "modern semi-acoustic chamber music."
The PCO was organized as a fluctuating unit in which Jeffes and cellist Helen Liebmann were the only permanent members. At first, when it began playing in London, England, in 1973, it was called the Penguin Cafe Quartet. The members of the group, not yet performing publicly, were Jeffes (on electric guitar), Liebmann, violinist Gavyn Wright, and Steve Nye on electric piano. In 1974, they made their first recordings. Nye, who knew producer Brian Eno, introduced Jeffes to him, and Eno invited the group to record for his Obscure Records. They did, adding university lecturer Neil Rennie (ukulele) and Emily Young (vocals), a painter who gave the group a visual style with her cover painting for the album, Music from the Penguin Cafe (1976).
The first concert by the ensemble was an opening slot for (Man Machine) Kraftwerk at the Roundhouse in London in 1977, and the group expanded further to include Geoffrey Richardson (viola), Peter Veitch (accordion), Giles Leaman (woodwinds), Braco (drums), and Julio Segovia (cymbals). Now boasting far more than four members, the band was too big to be called a quartet, and it was christened the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
In 1979, Jeffes converted a garage in North Kensington into a recording studio and in 1980 began working on the PCO's second album, released as Penguin Cafe Orchestra in 1981. Afterwards, composer Marcus Beale joined the group on violin in time for the first European tour. As the PCO prepared its third full-length LP, Broadcasting from Home (1984), personnel came and went, the additions including Annie Whitehead (trombone), Dave Defries (trumpet), and drummers Fami, Trevor Morais, and Mike Giles. After the album was released, the group raised its profile by touring extensively and appearing on television, and the fourth album, Signs of Life actually reached the British charts in April 1987.
Continuing to tour, the PCO recorded a full-length live album at Festival Hall on July 9, 1987; it was released in 1988 under the title When in Rome .... Jeffes next accepted an invitation from choreographer David Bintley of the Royal Ballet to adapt some of the PCO's music for a dance piece, resulting in the ballet Still Life at the Penguin Cafe, which was performed at Covent Garden and elsewhere in the U.K., as well as in Germany and Australia.
The PCO also toured, primarily in Europe, during the late '80s and early '90s. For their next and final studio album of new material, Union Café (1993; released on Jeffes' own Zopf label), the group consisted of Jeffes, Liebmann, Maidman, Rennie, Richardson, Segovia, and Whitehead, although many guest musicians also contributed. Their 1994 tour was commemorated with another live album, Concert Program (1995), recorded July 23, 1994, at Wool Hall in Somerset, England. The PCO continued into the mid-'90s, although Jeffes gradually became less active, moving to Somerset in 1996 and concentrating on solo piano. The band's formal dissolution was confirmed by his death from a brain tumor.
Members of the group reunited ten years after Jeffes' death for concerts on December 11, 12, and 13, 2007, at the Union Chapel in Islington, North London. This commemorative edition of the PCO included Helen Liebmann (cello), Neil Rennie (ukulele), Geoffrey Richardson (viola/clarinet), Peter McGowan (violin), Steve Fletcher (piano), Barbara Bolte (oboe), Annie Whitehead (trombone), and Jennifer Maidman (bass/percussion), with guest appearances by Steve Nye and Jeffes' son Arthur Jeffes.
After those concerts Arthur Jeffes wanted to form a new group without any of the original PCO members. This he initially called "Music from the Penguin Cafe", later this was shortened to simply "Penguin Cafe". This all-new ensemble, often inaccurately billed as 'The Penguin Cafe Orchestra' in the press, played at a number of festivals in 2009, combining Penguin Cafe numbers with new pieces and in 2010 appeared at the BBC Proms. With the 'Penguin Cafe' trademark owned by Arthur's company, the original Penguins who wanted to continue playing their music looked for an alternative title. Four of them, the multi-instrumentalists Geoffrey Richardson and Jennifer Maidman, trombonist Annie Whitehead and pianist Steve Fletcher have since played some festivals under the name 'The Anteaters'.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Music From The Penguin Cafe was the debu album by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded between 1974 and 1976, and released in 1976. The line-up for much of the album consisted of the original Penguin Cafe Quartet: Simon Jeffes (electric guitar), Helen Leibmann (Cello), Steve Nye (electric piano), and Gavyn Wright (violin). The piece entitled "Zopf", which consists of seven individual "movements", had a slightly different line-up, which included the members of the quartet as well as Neil Rennie (ukelele), and Emily Young (vocals). The album tugs from two very different directions: the avant-garde and the innocent (the cerebral child inside). The executive producer for the album was Brian Eno, who released this album on his experimental Obscure label, with catalogue number "Obscure 7". The cover painting was by Emily Young.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Music From The Penguin Cafe (flac 206mb)
01 Penguin Cafe Single 6:20
Zopf
02 From The Colonies (For N.R.) 1:38
03 In A Sydney Motel 2:28
04 Surface Tension (Where The Trees Meet The Sky) 2:22
05 Milk 2:22
06 Coronation 1:33
07 Giles Farnaby's Dream 2:17
08 Pigtail 2:44
-
09 The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter 11:46
10 Hugebaby 4:47
11 Chartered Flight 6:43
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Penguin Cafe Orchestra was the second album by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded at the Penguin Cafe between 1977 and 1980. By this time the line-up for the band had expanded greatly, with contribution including Simon Jeffes, Helen Leibmann, Steve Nye, Gavyn Wright of the original quartet, as well as Geoff Richardson, Peter Veitch, Braco, Giles Leamna, Julio Segovia and Neil Rennie.
While drawing compositional and textural inspiration from both English folk and chamber music, it manages to sound like neither and a wondrous hybrid of both. "Walk Don't Run," a cover of the Ventures' classic, turns from a surf tune into a merry jig of sorts, with the violins and cellos playing the melody backed by drums, bongos, and shakers. "Telephone and Rubber Band" turns a busy signal into something full of beauty and joy. Unfailingly romantic, sunny music and an album that set the tone of all further PCO releases.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Penguin Cafe Orchestra (flac 252mb)
01 Air À Danser 4:30
02 Yodel 1 4:07
03 Telephone And Rubber Band 2:28
04 Cutting Branches For A Temporary Shelter 3:09
05 Pythagoras's Trousers 3:18
06 Numbers 1-4 6:57
07 Yodel 2 4:34
08 Salty Bean Fumble 2:11
09 Paul's Dance 1:45
10 The Ecstasy Of Dancing Fleas 4:01
11 Walk Don't Run 3:01
12 Flux 1:48
13 Simon's Dream 1:48
14 Harmonic Necklace 1:12
15 Steady State 3:36
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Bandleader Simon Jeffes composed the leadoff track "Music for a Found Harmonium" on a harmonium he found abandoned on a Tokyo street, which offers an inkling of the musical inspiration that sprang from this remarkable Englishman. As usual, he gathers a loose aggregation of musicians who create stunning, free-flowing acoustic sounds that defy categorization. Jeffes includes brass here for the first time on a Penguin Café Orchestra recording. Recorded over three years, the band's third album is worth the painstaking studio overdubbing by its leader.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Broadcasting From Home (flac 249mb)
01 Music For A Found Harmonium 3:36
02 Prelude & Yodel 3:51
03 More Milk 3:10
04 Sheep Dip 3:57
05 White Mischief 5:48
06 In The Back Of A Taxi 3:21
07 Music By Numbers 4:41
08 Another One From The Colonies 3:04
09 Air 4:20
10 Heartwind 4:11
11 Isle Of View (Music For Helicopter Pilots) 4:29
12 Now Nothing 2:59
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Signs of Life was recorded at the Penguin Cafe between 1985 and 1987. The PCO's last proper studio album of all new tunes also wound up being their last for EG Records, but the group shows no sign of slowing down or of boredom (the album title is certainly not ironic). In fact, the jokiness of some of the earlier albums (particularly in song titles) is totally absent here as well, suggesting Jeffes and company worked at considerable length to make this a mature effort. The centerpiece of the album is the brilliant "Perpetuum Mobile" -- which unfortunately went on to be used in several television ads for telecommunication companies, brokerage houses, and other yuppie pursuits -- a simple repetitive melody put through several tonal and textural changes, building grandeur as it goes. The album has a general bittersweet air, more sunset than sunrise, and balances its foot-tappers with its moments of quiet repose the lengthy closing number "Wildlife". in short, one of their finest hours.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra – Signs Of Life (flac 241mb)
01 Bean Fields 4:24
02 Southern Jukebox Music 4:38
03 Horns Of The Bull 4:35
04 Oscar Tango 3:13
05 The Snake And The Lotus (The Pond) 2:55
06 Rosasolis 4:20
07 Dirt 4:48
08 Sketch 3:18
09 Perpetuum Mobile 4:28
10 Swing The Cat 3:22
11 Wildlife 10:58
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
3 comments:
PCO releases re-uppable per chance? Surprised to see no one seems to have asked yet. Until now, that is! Thanks as always.
PS - Wouldn't happen to have Union Café also, would you?
Hi Rho, thanks for everything for so long, appreciate it. Hopefully not too soon to request another PCO re-up? Thanks again!
Thank you for the re-up, Rho!
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