The Savage Five

The Savage Five

Thursday, 17 October 2019, 9.00pm

This group of five acclaimed musicians come together from Holland, Ireland and Germany to explore the meeting ground between songwriting, classical music, jazz, soul and Irish music.

Having released their critically-acclaimed debut album Sleepwalking in 2016, the band have toured throughout Europe and been nominated for the prestigious German Record Critics’ Awards (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik).

The Savage Five’s members have performed with the NNO (Noord Nederlands Orkest), Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony and Musica Antiqua Köln amongst others, and is headed up by charismatic Irish soprano, jazz vocalist and songwriter Suzanne Savage, described as ‘Ireland’s hidden music hero’ (BBC).

The collective and their music grew out of a long standing collaboration between co-writers Suzanne Savage and NZ/NL cellist Hugo Smit, who cite musical influences as broad as Cole Porter, Björk and Bartók.

With violinist Alwyn Westbrook (NZ/GER), viola player Rachael Yates (UK/NL) and double bassist Sven Otte (GER/NL), they use humour and pathos to create songs, a music that shifts from delicate stillness to full-blooded whirling orchestral dervish. Suzanne´s distinctive and soulful voice betrays the influence of her roots in Northern Ireland; the lyrics speak of a deep connection to the landscape, of standing stones; of love, war and fancying strangers...

REVIEWS

‘Belfast vocalist, violinist and composer Suzanne Savage is the singer they all call.. her unique voice and technical command have made her one of the first choice session vocalists on the island. But it’s when she leads her own projects that the real talent shows..a singer very much at the top of her game’.

Cormac Larkin, Irish Times

‘Musical agility through maximum flexibility..In the Savage Five’s thrilling pursuit in sound, listening habits are broken again and again..makes you curious for more’

Anke Zimmer, Fuldaer Zeitung

Absolutely stunning´

Paul Brady, songwriter

‘Definitely not something to cuddle up to. But you can hear they have a mind of their own. Soulful abstraction.’

Horst E. Wegener MoX ’

‘Intent on reinventing the “art song” with a fearless drive for exploration, they have made an exciting and enjoyable listen, incredibly dynamic and interesting. Savage’s expressive voice has something which is missing from many high voices: soul. The contrast of her voice to the darkly-shaded jazz chamber music is fantastic.’

Melodiva CD New

‘Wonderfully courageous! (...) Vibrato meets vibe, tremolo meets tamtam. And: you’ll be hard pressed to find a more spellbinding love song this year than “I still love you”

Kulturnews

Learn more about The Savage Five

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The Savage Five - Sleepwalking - Live In The Crypt

Published by redkeane on 30 September 2019

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