Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 01:54 PM

Posted by William

The Robin Howard Theatre was the setting, last Thursday, for the latest project from artistic impresario Daren Vidal Montgomery Taylor. ‘The Horizon Venture’ is Taylor’s live imagining of his latest novel, of the same name.

Taylor, who is Editor of jazzreloaded and a celebrated musician within jazz circles, has timed this live production to coincide with both the London Jazz Festival and African History Month.

His original novel is an Afro-centric examination of humanity and citizenship and the implications these factors will have on our attempts to explore new worlds in the future. Taylor developed the concept to mark the 400th anniversary of the launch of Sea Venture, a ship carrying African slaves from England to colonise the New World. In 2009 it is an African American who is leader of the ‘New World’. This is also a time when the fate of our own planet is in question, leading nations and alliances to bolster their space programmes, aware that, in the future, colonisation of other planets may need to be a consideration. Taylor’s work aims to draw comparisons between these events in history.

The live version of this piece of sci-fi speculation is a multimedia assault on the senses. Taylor’s jazz band performs amidst modern dance, poetry readings and spectacular visuals that verge upon the cinematic. The combination of these artistic forms serves to tell the story of The Horizon Venture.

I met up with Taylor to discuss the theory, the concept and the production…

What is the message that The Horizon Venture trying to purvey?

The main message of The Horizon Venture is that we all have to be involved – or at least more of us – in imagining how the future will be, and what part we will play in it. Like the recent adaptation of Alan Moore’s and Dave Gibbon’s ‘Watchmen’, The Horizon Venture draws a picture of a future where the ordinary man accepts the future as already written, and explores some of the consequences of that.

What inspired you to tell the story in this manner?

A lot of things; the central characters include a man searching for his true identity in a post-industrial tapestry, which I think a lot of second and third generation migrants can relate to, and a woman who is searching for a man that can tell her companion who he really is. As clichéd as it sounds, history is exactly that; his story. Very rarely is there a comparable focus on the female perspective. The main thing about turning a book into a live show is that it instantly more participative – you share viewpoints and ideas on the characters and storyline, and people start to develop their own galaxies within your universe, or sometimes outside it!

Do you think you can still purvey a coherent message using surrealism? And by surrealism I’m referring to the plethora of mediums being performed simultaneously.

I think so. We live in a multimedia age and we are seeing the resurgence of the Renaissance man – or woman – Alicia Keys, Jamie Foxx and the Williams sisters are all examples of people who excel in two or more disciplines. So I think it’s important for “multimedia” to be multidisciplinary as well. The Horizon Venture is a combination of my work as an author of video, prose, poetry and music, which I also perform. My aim for the show next year is for film makers, dancers, visual artists and VJs to be able to bring ideas and content to the show, all based around the central themes of the ‘Venture’; a kind of Roots-meets-the animatrix but live.

How would you describe The Horizon Venture sound?

At its core is jazz, and what I mean by that is social discourse through improvised music and African rhythms. In the year 2009, that also includes pedals, synthesisers and weird looking string instruments like Sami Bishai’s six sting violin and my Electric Upright Bass. We live in a ‘global’ society now, and so the social discourse is inevitably about issues that affect us globally: resource management, the environment, migration, serfdom and servitude, and, how certain individuals regard these issues merely as business ventures.

Do you think music is an effective vehicle for telling a story?

Yes. Without John Williams’ work Luke Skywalker, Superman and Indiana Jones would be very different personalities and adventures.

Which guides which: the narrative or the music?

Well the bible says, “In the beginning there was the word…” But words are made of sounds, so…

Is dance a medium that you have worked with before? What made it work here?

Yes. Funnily enough, the first time was in the Place Theatre in 2003, watching the 10th anniversary of JazzXchange, a jazz dance company which was constructed and developed by a fantastic improviser named Sheron Wray, who I have since had the pleasure of working with on a number of occasions. In the last six years, Sheron has been doing things with jazz dance that, to be frank, my shows are just starting to explore.

The thing I like about Nicole Pschetz’s work is that there is a dramatic element to it; it’s not regimented dance routines for the sake of it. Her work moves in and out of the structure of the music, which for me is essential to the work. It’s not about slavishly following a beat; it’s about everyone working hard, preparing well, then doing their own thing and trusting that it will all come together in the end. For me, that is jazz.

Could you tell me a bit about your work prior to this?

Before this, jazzreloaded, which was a bit more populist and mainstream. We did live shows, and a record, but I quickly found that I was missing the social discourse. So jazzreloaded has now become a portal for jazz reportage and as the editor of the online magazine – when I’m not playing (with Courtney Pine, Omar Punete or the Mighty Jeddo) – I’m encouraging young people to learn about their history through jazz.

Are the political themes reflective of the music as well as the story, or is it distinct from your political ideology?

I’m not sure I could ever make a distinction between my music and my politics; if you listen to my music from the jazzreloaded project, it’s far more commercial. For me, that’s the politics of consumerism: ‘urban’ music often has a cultural ambivalence at its core. This in itself is a political ideology, as is the idea that it isn’t. The link between politics and music is intrinsic, which is why we have anthems. If Wagner did not write the way he wrote, he would not have had the gigs he got. When Beethoven started writing crunch chords for strings everyone said he was mad because, politically, people still wanted society to reflect and endorse the ‘purity’ of Haydn’s contapuntalism. Fast forward to 2009 and, with the benefit of hindsight, we can draw a comparison between late Beethoven and early Schoenberg. Some of this was absorbed by Herbie Hancock, who was part of the Miles Davis Quartet, themselves a big influence on my first band – J-Life. This is how it got to me.

Could you explain the pseudonym ‘Vidal Montgomery’?

No I can’t!! They’re my middle names. I think ‘Montgomery’ comes from Field Marshall Montgomery, a famous British WWII soldier. As for Vidal? You’ll have to ask my mum! I’ve never liked my first name so I tend not to use it. See? I’m not even going to use it here.

And finally, what is the link between sci-fi and jazz?!

Well, Buck Rogers had its infamous disco funk scene; Battlestar Galactica had the three-mouthed ladies singing jazz soul; the 2005 reworking of Battlestar… had Jimmy Hendrix’s reworking of ‘All Along the Watchtower’ as the Cylon battle call; Commander Riker has his trombone in Star Trek. And of course, Star Wars has its infamous cantina band.

I think it’s a good time for jazz in sci-fi because our future is being projected by the media as uncertain and discordant. Jazz is all about managing uncertainty and discord, with panache. I have a good friend who says, “A tree that has no roots has no future.” Jazz is a type of music that literally makes its immediate future from its past. Similarly, our visions of the future begin with what we already know. Or think we know at least…

Musically, I found the band and Taylor’s performance enthralling. Although sold as jazz, there elements of funk, bebop and soul pervading through. The production itself reminded me somewhat of a Kraftwerk concert. The visuals are captivating and, combined with the music, draw you into the story that is unfolding before my eyes. Because of the extra terrestrial aspect of the production, and the myriad of artistic element being conceived simultaneously, I found myself hypnotised and somewhat lost in the majesty of space.

You can next catch Taylor and his venture on Thursday 28th January at Rich Mix in Shoreditch.

Original article by William Mathieson http://www.williammathieson.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry091208-135456

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Thursday, 24 September 2009 09:24

The bassist in Courtney Pine’s band, Darren Taylor, unveiled his new innovative Horizon Venture last night at Jackson’s Lane Arts Centre in north London. Part sci-fi epic with Star Trek-like visuals art directed by his brother illustrator Des Taylor with the band playing in front of a specially created film with futuristic effects and motion picture-like presentation and the addition of a dancer and singer.

The Enterprise band itself sported two keyboardists, Chris Jerome and 3io’s Robert Mitchell, with Taylor on his high tech ultra slim upright bass wedged between congas and Daniel Crosby’s drum kit. Taylor’s glorious, deeply groove-heavy lines got plenty of space but did not dominate what was a well-integrated group performance.

While the narrative direction of the text beamed out from the screen was a little sprawling and more L. Ron Hubbard than Freddie Hubbard in its futuristic logic, Mitchell impressed with his well judged Nord staccato runs. In the latter portion of the hour-long set the group deepened into a Herbie Hancock-like electric episode flavoured by Jerome’s washes and finely judged runs reminiscent of the great Chicagoan’s album Thrust.

Perhaps the band does not need the extra congas and the flow of the piece could require the return of the singer at the end rather than the recorded outro, but nevertheless this showing heralds a welcome new departure for the talented bassist. Check Jazzwise for future dates. – Stephen Graham

Although Clone Colouration has been discontinued save for select programmes, their ongoing existence – particularly that of all MultiGen’s – will be closely monitored in line with Interstellar requests.

“Brotherly Hate”

“We didn’t ask for the destruction that was reaped upon us.
We were happy as we were, making the most of what we had
working for people who were kind and forgiving to us and our families.
We asked for nothing more than we ever received
but that was fine with us
wasn’t our place to shout out for more
Then these bretharen came and took all that away
Dragged our name through dirt and distrust and left us out to dry
And for what?
Some train of thought that makes a mockery of us all
Even now, I wake with the past in my throat
choke on this reality
that they gave us
No brethren of mine.”

“We made them first with skin translucent and white as ice”

It was intended that whilst being purposely retarded in intellect and skill, in order that they be traditionally understood and predictable the first MultiGen clones should have a mental stability and level of health akin to our own.
In order to absorb what little nourishment from sunlight as they could whilst engaged in duties that were more often than not, underground or away from direct sunlight of any kind, these first Clones were designed to be as ‘white’ as possible. For the initial mining operations particularly, it was felt that this ‘whiteness’ would be advantageous in this aspect. From a security perspective, the unique appearance of these clones was also seen as a positive that would influence the continuation of the programmes(see Sec.Doc.20006 for information pertaining to the Northern Territory Prosecutions).

Despite a productive history this was eventually discovered to be a mistake. There was in fact an unforeseen unpredictability to the behaviour of these clones, with ‘positive attitudes’, physical resilience and widespread familial reassurance eventually coupling with quasi-religious perspectives sparked in part by an unfortunate ‘accidental’ release of so-called ‘white supremacy’ artefacts from the late 20th century.
As much as the ‘Bretharen’ movement is still active (see Sec.Doc.20014), their general population is understood to be a stagnating and rapidly ageing one, and their continued use amongst Earth’s greatly diminished mining community, whilst still holding some fascination for the CultureEducation (CE) institutions is understood to be a secure pecuniary situation, with few safety concerns.

“Black as old coal”

The general visual impact of these shortlived clones quickly made it apparent that this clone type was not of use to any institution beyond the realms of the Higher Courts, Palaces and later, the Entertainment Quadrants.
Mistakes were undoubtedly made in rushing out the initial MultiGen versions for the highly questionable Mercurial operations (see Sec.Doc. 20807 for Issues regarding the negation of the Skotos & Gagates Colonies), however some use has since been garnered from limited operations of a polar and extreme terrain nature. Lessons have been learned regarding the involvement of CE in the decision making process.

“Emerald Shitty”

With the first of the NewColourClone’s (NCC) we were fortunate to achieve relatively instant success; the first true MultiGen success since the ‘Whites’.
Our requirement for a new standard, coupled with the impossibility of a continuation of the OneGen’s on any meaningful scale gave us little room for failure.

Despite the ongoing Eco07 situation (see Sec.Doc. 21230) they continue to be a mainstay in most significant mining facilities. Their exclusion from Earth and all major colonies on the advice of CE has so far been of great benefit to all concerned, with CE programmes aiding in reassuring our people of their safety and security.

“Bloody Clones”

At the time of the Scarletypes inception, they were thought of as a necessary evil. That view amongst those with influence has not changed. (see Sec.Doc. 21300 for expansion)

Polar Expedition

The Eco07 situation continues

I’ve always liked the idea of an epic journey through a range of landscapes, ever since Reading David Edding’s Belgariad and Malloreon series as a child, and so travelling through different environments in different galaxies seems a logical extension. I’ve been an avid follower of the storyline of the individual on a quest, who at first is unaware of his power, or reluctant to acknowledge it, then as circumstances dictate, taps into it and takes his place in history – with a little help from friends. I played a lot of ‘Beat ‘em ups as a younger person, and Street Fighter in particular ( though I was never much good at it!. Ryu’s “wandering soul” character and the idea of fighting scene in general have been an inspiration for the central characters in the book.

My brother is an illustrator and so we’ve always been in to the comic book style of telling stories. Manga from Akira to Appleseed have also been an influence, and I look forward to making a feature animation of the same or similar quality from the characters in and storylines in this book.

I’ve always been impressed by the pace of action in Japanese, Chinese and Korean cinema, in films like Hard Boiled, and Infernal Affairs. I particularly like the way the violence doesn’t explain itself, there’s no forewarning, no reflection after the event.

Of course, few people escaped the influence of Star Wars. For me, John Williams’ soundtrack was one of the reasons I became a professional musician, and I have always heard this epic soundscape in the background as I have written. Ditto Alan Silverstri ( Predator ) James Horner ( Aliens) and Richard Gibbs ( BSG 2003)

Being of African – Celtic descent I cannot ignore the politics effects of slave trade and traffic – whether indentured like the many of the irish or enforced chattel slavery, like many of the Africans – on my progeny. Whether my great great grandfather was an asylum seeker or an economic migrant is not known. I hope to find out someday. It is almost certain that the woman who became my great great grandmother was not a “free woman of colour”. So the politics of citizenship, identity, and the escape from opression will always strike a particular chord with me, and the theme is is central to the book. I’ve studied and run businesses for the last 20 years, and so it’s interesting to see how the social / economic polices of the Thatcher – Reagan era have left the world in a particular state. I have extrapolated some of the attitudes of the time in this book and posed the question of what will to happen if those attitudes were but transposed and compounded a hundred, a thousand years into the future.
In the UK, African history is most commonly celebrated in October; but this year, I found myself wondering about our collective African future.

A lot of African history in Europe is focused on the role that West Africans played in developing the “New World” Europe and the Americas – i.e as slaves or servants.

I wanted to put together a show that reflects on what we’ve learned – and what we’ve forgotten – about finding new worlds, meeting new civilisations, developing new societies – and how that will all come in to play when we discover life on planets beyond our own.

2009 marked the 400th anniversary of the launch of the Sea Venture, a privately financed ship which set sail from England headed for the New World, laden with enslaved African humans forced into establishing colonial settlements.

Today, the leader of that New World is of African descent. And, 40 years after the Apollo Space Program began its quest for the moon, that leader says “There is another generation of kids out there that is looking up at the sky and they’ll be the next Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin”.

As we take our first tentative steps in exploring worlds beyond our own, the Horizon Venture asks: Who will pioneer the next generation of space exploration ? How will we colonise new worlds when we find them ? Who will benefit? And who will do the dirty work?

The Horizon Venture follows the story of a few men who wish to prove to these new civilisations that mankind does have something positive to offer their galaxy, and that humans do want to advance themselves, and that as a species, Terrans do understand the relationship between power and responsibility.

The Horizon Venture follows this story from a point where our first contact with these new civilisations has gone disastrously wrong; After the Colonial Wars – an attempt by Man to dominate the new planet – a fragile peace now ensues.
Before these new civilisations share with us the technology to restore Earth to her natural beauty, men must first prove to these civilisations that they can handle this technology responsibly. However, this will take some time, and there are those who are not prepared to wait ……

The Horizon Venture Tour Dates:

Date: Thursday 3rd September 2009

Venue:Mau Mau Bar, 265 Portobello Road London W11 1LR

Time: 10pm

Tickets: £5

Box Office:07939902430

Web: www.jazzrefreshed.com

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Date: Wednesday 23rd September 2009

Venue: Jacksons Lane Theatre 269a Archway Road Highgate N6 5AA

Time: 8pm

Tickets: £10, £8 and limited £5

Box Office: 020 8341 4421

Web: www.jacksonslane.org.uk

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Date: October 209

Venue:  Hextable Dance 39 Egerton Avenue, SwanleyKent BR8 7LG

Time: TBC

Tickets:N/A  - PRIVATE SCHOOL SHOWING

Box Office: 01322 618618

Web:  www.hextabledance.com

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Date: Thursday 12th November 2009

Venue: The Place; Robin Howard Theatre 17 Duke’s Road, London,WC1H 9PY

Time:  8pm

Tickets: £10, £8 and limited £5

Tickets and information: 020 7121 1000

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Date: Thursday 28th January 2010

Venue: Richmix, 35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road London E1 6LA

Time: 8pm

Tickets: £10, £8 and limited £5

Box Office: 020 7613 7498

Web: www.richmix.org.uk