The "utterly beguiling" Jennifer Crook Trio are delighted to announce a very special stop in Bath at the start of their tour celebrating songs from Crook's new album, Carnforth Station, on Thursday, October 16, at the Chapel Arts Centre in Jennifer's home city of Bath.
Singer/songwriter Jennifer Crook plays harp, guitar and banjo and will be accompanied by the talented cellist Beth Porter and the brilliant guitarist and accordionist, Mike Cosgrave.
Carnforth Station was recorded at Real World Studios. This is Jennifer Crook's third (solo) album that follows a "very impressive" (Pledge Music) crowd-funding campaign.
The Trio will take you aboard on a lyrical journey with beautiful melodies infused with the rhythmic pulses of rivers, roads, railways and oceans. Jennifer's beautiful voice provokes genuine emotional responses with the stories of heartache, joy, loss and hope.
Bath's Kill It Kid follow the long tradition of young British musicians who fell in love with the American blues.
It started in the '60s when the likes of The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin became mesmerised by the sounds that emanated from the backwoods and bayous of America's South.
Kill It Kid's vocalist and guitarist, Chris Turpin, continues this unspoken ritual when he fell under the spell of Robert Johnson and Blind Willie McTell.
After reading Johnson's name in an early interview with The White Stripes, the budding guitarist took to Berwick Street in London and combed record store bargain bins for the keys to unlock this legacy for himself.
Kill the Kid appears at Bath Komedia on November 4.
Turpin says: "I bought a Robert Johnson compilation for just a few pounds. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was the most potent, intense guitar music and single voice I'd ever experienced. I had never heard anything like it before. That's why I started a band. I wanted to capture that same essence."
So, like any good bluesman, Turpin took his acoustic guitar and started performing – constantly. Playing three times a week at open mic nights "for a pint", he developed impressive chops both instrumentally and vocally.
Soon, other musicians began to take notice. Drummer Marc Jones approached him, followed by co-vocalist and pianist Stephanie Ward. In 2008, taking their name from a Blind Willie McTell tune, Kill It Kid was formed.
Over the course of the next four years, they toured hard and grew a loyal following, releasing music via indie label One Little Indian Records. During that period, they rounded out their line-up with bassist Dom Kozubik.
In 2012, Sire Records A&R legend Seymour Stein caught a show and signed the band. A year later, the quartet retreated to Los Angeles in order to cut their self-titled full-length debut for the US with producer Julian Raymond.
Now, Kill It Kid arrive at a crossroads between unadulterated blues catharsis, tight rock 'n' roll song writing, pensive folk musings and distorted grunge attitude.
The end result is You Owe Nothing, an album that is meant to be experienced as one dynamic piece, like any timeless record.
"We just want people to enjoy it and appreciate it,"explains Turpin.
"We hope you get a kick out of it. It's simple rock 'n' roll music. This was written as a record. You need to listen to it as a whole. That's the way to find some solace and release inside the music."
