DEIRDRE CARTWRIGHT GROUP | LOOKS LIKE JAZZ LIVE
Bonington Theatre April 24th 2003
HAVING heard the CD associated with this superb group I was well equipped to appreciate Deirdre’s new outfit before the event. In no way was I disappointed, the music was always melodic and accessible and the four musicians were absolutely impeccable throughout the whole performance. The Anne Robinson associated with this group was by no means its weakest link, in fact her unique visualisations provided striking kaleidoscopic images, blending in with the quartet’s ambient soundscape constructions.
Guitarist Deirdre Cartwright, making her first trip to Nottingham for more than four years has developed a rich mature sound, her ensemble work, including fluent chords as well as single lines,was flawless.
LOOKS LIKE JAZZ TOUR 2003
Interview with Deirdre Cartwright with Jazz Views
JAZZ VIEWS: Deirdre, perhaps we should start at the beginning. I believe your first instrument as a child was the piano, switching to guitar a few years later. What was the attraction to the guitar that prompted you to change?
DEIDRRE CARTWRIGHT: Well, I was always drawn towards string instruments (well ones you plucked, strummed with your fingers!). We had a mandolin in the house that belonged to my great grandfather and my dad brought home a ukelele banjo when I was about 3 or 4 and I can vaguely remember trying to play something on it. The Beatles were an influence – the guitar seemed very immediate and exciting and I finally got one for Christmas when I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, it was one of those cheap acoustic guitars – the strings were about 2 inches above the fretboard, impossible to keep in tune etc – it put me off for a couple of years
JV: Right from the beginning you embraced a wide range of influences and styles. Who were your early musical heroes/heroines?
DC: Well I loved classical music that I was playing on the piano – Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin etc also because we had older (often teenage)lodgers in our house I was aware of pop groups like the Beatles, Rolling Stones lots of groups in the charts.
JV: And what about jazz, was that something that appealed to you immediately, or something that developed later?
