Sarah Gillespie Quartet
Sarah Gillespie (g, voc) Gilad Atzmon (reeds etc) Josh Blackmore (b) Ben Bastin (d)
Sarah Gillespie predominantly grew up in the UK, although as her mother was from Minneapolis, her childhood was peppered with trips to the States. With an eclectic set of musical influences, she began writing songs on the piano at the age of nine, graduating to guitar at fifteen. Her first gig came about three years later in Madison, Wisconsin. Snow-stranded and happily drunk (thanks to a fake ID that later landed her in jail) after a Bob Dylan gig, she bumped into members of Dylan's support band, Over the Rhine, who invited her to open for them at sold-out shows in Cincinnati. Upon returning home to London, she turned her attention to academia, gaining a first class degree in film and literature from the University of Greenwich and a Masters in politics and philosophy from Goldsmiths.
Bursting with character, her voice is strong and provocative, yet at the same time full of vulnerability - and it is this that makes her such a compelling performer. Musically it’s a mix of emotive ballads (Don’t Be Sorry; Million Moons), raucous gypsy swing (How the Mighty Fall), blues (Malicious Simone/Stalking Juliet) and vaudeville (Houdini of the Heart/Ahmed and Dangerous) - not to mention some wild Arabic-infused flourishes courtesy of Israeli-born Atzmon. However, within all of this, the influences of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and the Velvet Underground can clearly be heard. Her dynamic band not only includes her album’s producer Gilad Atzmon on accordion, clarinet and sax.
She's an incandescent new presence who matches her imposing delivery with superior lyrics."John Fordham, **** The Guardian
Abbreviations: as alto sax; b acoustic bass ; bjo banjo; bsax bass sax; cl clarinet, ct cornet; d drums; eb electric bass; eg electric guitar; fl flute; flg flugel horn; g guitar; org organ; p piano : sousa sousaphone; t = trumpet; tr trombone; ts tenor sax; viol violin; voc voice.