some assembly required by Andre Woodvine

I started to think of all the elements of our daily existence that involve assembly of some kind or another, and how even my family's arrival in Barbados was due to my father starting an electronics assembly plant here. By having the luxury of recording at home, I was able to experiment with arrangements and song forms in the hope of breaking out of the usual musical paths that we tend to travel. I particularly enjoyed assembling contrasting rhythmic styles and tempos and making them work together.

'Sunsong' is a mixture of hip hop and reggae that to me evokes images of our sunny environment. The middle section of the song 'Some assembly required' was inspired by the Mazouk rhythm of the French island of Martinique. 'Blue in 3' is just that, a bluesy jazz waltz with an intro that never starts on the downbeat.

'Machine Code' was an experiment with odd time signatures, and was influenced by reading good science fiction, and listening to Pat Metheny - something I recommend highly. Count 7,7,3,3,3,2 when you listen to the song and you'll get the idea.

Over time, some of the songs developed strong associations with images and events. The songs 'In defiance', 'chemical blues' and 'waking down' became something of a suite for the events leading up to the war in Iraq. The tone of Chemical blues was inspired by the words of General Amir Al-Saadi who while surrendering to coalition forces said "I tell you for history, we have nothing" If you remember Mr. Al-Saadi was the Iraqi Government's spokesman on chemical weapons, and consistently denied there were any left in Iraq. What has the coalition achieved in Iraq? Was it worth the slaughter of so many thousands of innocents?

The cover photo is a picture of my son Liam investigating a yellow digger that was on the piece of land next to ours. For me this picture symbolises our pursuit of development, and the hope that we will never lose our child-like desire to be creative, grow and of course, assemble.

Andre Woodvine

May 2007

About Andre...

Jazz saxophonist and composer Andre Woodvine is a graduate of Berklee College Of Music (1986), where he majored in performance. His interest in woodwinds extends to the alto, tenor and soprano saxes and the flute. Over the past Twenty One years, André's music has taken him to stages across the Caribbean, North America and Europe where audiences have enjoyed his passionate tone, exciting improvisations and unique compositions.

André has produced Four CDs of original Caribbean Jazz, including his most recent release entitled “Some assembly required”. Over the years André has been featured on recordings by local and regional jazz artists including El Verno Del Congo, Adrian Clarke, Fal Frett and the West Indies Jazz Band.

André has composed music in a wide variety of styles including television sports themes, jingles and show tunes. In 1992 Andre's composition “Hold You In A Song” earned first place in both the Barbados and Caribbean Song festivals.

Other highlights of Woodvine’s career include his image appearing on Barbados phone cards recognizing local jazz musicians, and a special one-hour performance entitled ‘Jazz in the sun’ broadcast frequently on BET the cable jazz channel.

Woodvine’s musical interests have extended to the development of Caribbean Jazz through education. In 1998 Andre assisted in the formation of the first associate degree of music program at the Barbados Community College, where he now teaches part-time. For the past Four years, Andre has sat on the Board of directors of the Copyright Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (COSCAP), where he currently holds the position of Chairman.

André enjoys a close association with the music scene of the French Caribbean and has been a member of the group Fal fret for the past Eight years. Fal Fret have featured Andre's performances on their CDs 'Live at the Atrium' and 'Blue Outremer'.

Woodvine's recent activities include performances with regional Jazz groups Fal frett and Bluemango at festivals and concerts in St. Lucia, Martinique, Trinidad, Guadeloupe and French Guyana.

WWW.Andrewoodvine.com is now André's home on the Internet where fans of his unique music can purchase CDs, and learn more about his upcoming activities.

André resides in the Island of Barbados with his wife Louise and two sons Liam and Aiden.

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