CROWTHERS PROUDLY PRESENTS NIGEL KENNEDYS LATEST ALBUM WHICH INCLUDES A SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE BY BOY GEORGE

The latest Nigel Kennedy Quintet album, Shhh!, recorded in November 2009, confirms the maverick status and omnivorous musical taste of one of Britain's finest and most unpredictable musicians. I am a natural improviser. I can't just always stand up and follow a score, says Kennedy, the virtuoso violinist who has been ploughing his own furrow ever since as a 16 year old student he joined the jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli on stage at the Carnegie Hall to the alarm of his classical teachers at the Juilliard School.

Following his 2008 excursion into the self-penned tracks of the NKQs A Very Nice Album, Kennedy's latest collection reveals an even more eclectic character. It was recorded at one of rock's fabled residential country studios, Rockfield in South Wales with the Polish musicians which make up the NKQ: Tomasz Grzegorski (tenor sax, soprano sax & bass clarinet); Piotr Wylezol (piano & Hammond); Adam "Szabas" Kowalewski (contrabass & electric bass) and Krzysztof Dziedzic (drums).
Collaborating on one of the album's outstanding and most surprising tracks is Boy George, an old mate and near neighbour of Kennedy's in North West London who shares his passion for the songs of the late Nick Drake. George's delicate vocal on River Man points to another new direction for Kennedy's music a gentle chamber pop which brings out the understated lyrical tone in his violin playing. There were a few singers whose voice I thought might work well on River Man but I just knew that Georges voice would sound amazing, and his beautiful, very touching interpretation and style adds a completely different dimension to the song.

The other songs on Shhh! are all Kennedy originals, ranging from the long instrumental opener, Transfiguration - reminiscent of the fusion-ary flights of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra - to the dirty funk rock outro Oy! The moods along the way vary from the sparse and desolate calm of The Empty Bottle to the uplifting Silver Lining. I love moving from one style to another - its what makes life interesting for me as a musician. Its a kind of trip were all making together Kennedy observes, cheerfully."
1. Transfiguration
2. Riverman
3. Silver Lining
4. Sssshhh!
5. Empty Bottle
6. 4th Glass
7. Oy!