Billy Jenkins
Discography
Biography
As a boy, Billy Jenkins (b.1956, Bromley, Kent) sang in occasional choirs at St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, toured and recorded as a teenager with art rock band Burlesque (1972-77), performed as a young adult with 'alternative musical comedy' duo Trimmer & Jenkins (1979-82) and drummer Ginger Baker before founding (in 1981) the VOGC ( the Voice of God Collective - 'The voice of the people is the voice of God' [Plato] - to which BJ adds, '...and the religion is music!' ). Since then he has produced a large body of over 30 recorded albums including 'Scratches of Spain', 'Motorway At Night', 'Entertainment USA' and 'Music For Two Cassette Machines'. Some of his recordings are about his SE London environs and include 'Sounds Like Bromley', 'Greenwich', 'Still Sounds Like Bromley' and 'Suburbia'. From 1983 - 93 he lived and worked at Wood Wharf Rehearsal Studios in Greenwich, where he welcomed an average of 26.6 musicians through the doors every day. Projects have included recording and performing with The Fun Horns of Berlin, improvised musical boxing Big Fights, Music For Low Strung Guitar, directing Anglo-Belgium and London Meets Vienna ensembles, improvising to film, collaborating in words and music with Ian McMillan, Ben Watson, Kate Pullinger a.o., composing and performing with The Gogomagogs, compositions for six guitars, 'The Drum Machine Plays The Battlemarch Of Consumerism' for six drumkits and sporadic festival and club appearances on the continent and UK. In education he was Visiting Tutor in Guitar Techniques at Lewisham F.E.College (1990-96), guest lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music '95, Guest big band director at Middlesex University '96. Ensemble Masterclasses at the International Summeracademy Freie Kunstschule, Berlin '97. 'Moving On' music workshops with Andy Sheppard a.o., Belfast '99. Musical Director and workshop leader for Greenwich Young People's Jazz Orchestra, Blackheath 2000. School Workshops with the Pied Piper Project, Yorkshire, March 2001. Visiting Guest Lecturer on both the Jazz Faculty at Trinity College of Music (2001-2) and currently at the Royal Academy of Music since 2001. Member of the Arts Council of England Improvised Touring panel from 1993 - 98. In 2002 he created and presented over forty two hour Sunday lunchtime radio shows in London on Resonance 104.4FM. Entitled 'One Way Single Parent Family Favourites', the show still continues with other BJ recommended presenters. He currently prefers performing live with his Blues Collective (formed 1995) or solo. Celebrating his 50th birthday and looking to the future Billy presented his new band
Press quotes
“I'd like to put in a word for someone who has proved to be a tireless proponent of uncompromising, dazzling music, live and on record, for very little return, for a very long time. Billy Jenkins. Watch out for him. Listen out for him. He's not new on the scene, but boy he deserves more widespread recognition.” (Who to look out for in 2008 - Keith Shadwick, Jazzwise)
"Billy Jenkins has the priceless ability to merge serious musicmaking with absolute lunacy, and make one feed off the creative energy of the other." (Kenny Mathieson, The Scotsman)These sentences encapsulate an exciting and stimulating musician whose compositions challenge existing conventions. Critical comparisons range from Frank Zappa to Groucho Marx!
He describes his music as 'Spazz', or alternatively as 'New Rage Music.' Billy Jenkins began his career as a professional rock musician at age 14 (most notably with the group Burlesque). He started moving away from this style at around the time of his work with drummer Ginger Baker in 1980, followed by work with the Comic Strip, such as Ben Elton, and Alexei Sayle.
His Blues Collective is an opportunity to return to these 'roots'. The CD of this band, 'S.A.D'. drew reviews such as 'required listening for all aspiring (and many practising blues musicians') from The Times.
In 1981 Billy Jenkins formed The Voice of God Collective. Over the years, it has included the cream of the younger British jazz scene. It has now performed widely at festivals in Hungary, Germany, Austria, Italy and Canada. His last CD with the VOG Collective, 'Still Sounds Like Bromley' (Babel BDV9717), has also been widely acclaimed, gaining a **** review in Q magazine in October 1997.
In September 1995, he was one of the main featured artists at a 10 day 'London meets Vienna' festival, and ran a series of workshops in Berlin in July 1997. He was invited to participate in a special project of 'Switzerland meets Europe' at the opening of the new concert hall in Lucerne in August 1998. TV appearances include a live performance of his True Love Collection at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival in 1997 and on BBC's Jazz 606 in April 1998.
A collaboration between Billy, the Voice Of God Collective rhythm section and the German quartet The Fun Horns of Berlin undertook an Arts Council CMN tour of the UK in early 1996. The first release by this group ('Mayfest '94) reviews such as 'fantastic' from BBC Radio 3's Mixing It and was a CD of the year in the Scotsman, as was the second release, 'East and West Now Wear The Same Vest' which is a variation on the theme of German reunification.
He has also recently created work with the performance group The Gogmagogs, and in November 1999 created music for films by Buster Keaton and Norman McLaren in Birmingham with Huw Warren, including live improvisation to the game Tomb Raider.
His regularly established 'seasons' at the Vortex in London include 'Choir Practices' in 1994 'Football Training Sessions' in 1995. Subsequently he has co-ordinated a 'Summer Fashion Show', 'S.A.D' blues, 'The Summer Of Love' and 'Big Fights' - musicians creating music in a boxing ring...... Jenkins' True Love Collection was a deconstruction and celebration of songs of the 60s and 70s, with a band including Iain Ballamy, Django Bates and other stars of the London scene. For 1998, it was part of the 'Towards The Millenium' series being organised in Birmingham.
2000 included a tour for his project Suburbia, which looked at life in South-East London and a commission for six (!) right-handed drummers. "A joyous talent" David Lands, Jazz Journal International. "Guitarist Billy Jenkins carries on breaking all the rules." Ronald Atkins, Guardian "Jenkins is he a reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix, does he play jazz, is he real? YES is the answer to all these questions." Philippe Renaud, Notes (France) "Iconoclastic" Richard Williams,Independent on Sunday.
Billy was nominated as a 'Rising Star' of 2005 by The Times, the first time since 1976 when he was nominated in the Melody Maker alongside Dire Straits!! Billy's recent album, and the first on Babel for five years, When the Crowds Have Gone was the cause of all this commotion, and is available online Buy now!
In September 2007 Billy releases Songs of Praise Live! on Babel. Recorded at the Wardrobe in Leeds in October 2006, it features the Songs of Praise band that includes young upcoming alto saxophonist Nathaniel Facey, long-serving violinist Dylan Bates, trombonist Gail Brand, tuba player extraordinaire Oren Marshall and drummer Charles Hayward. you can buy it online here now
Visit Billy's Site for further updates : www.billyjenkins.com
- Copyright © MCMXCVIII - Babel.