Maja Eliott was born in Arabia and is of Swedish/Irish/English descent. She began playing piano by ear at the age of five. At twelve she made her first BBC TV appearance and encouraged by composer David Hellewell and his wife Monica she performed extensively in her teens, including a tour in Hong Kong and China.
She went to London to train to be a concert pianist and also studied singing and composition. She was very influenced by the imagery and symbolism of Debussy and Maurice Ohana, minimalist composers Steve Reich and John Adams and the meditative quality of Arvo Pärt and John Taverner. Also inspired by jazz - Miles Davis, Zawinul, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans - she started writing for modern jazz ensembles.
Her vocal inspiration comes from traditional singing of Ireland (which has been her home during her adult life) and also of Arabia. She sings in Irish (Gaelic) and English. Fascinated by East European music, she lived in Hungary and Romania for a while to learn cymbalom (Hungarian hammered dulcimer) and speaks Romanian.
Recent performances have been in San Francisco and Venice where she performed solo and with the group Current 93. In November she performed and improvised 'Hypnagogue' at the British Academy in Rome with David Tibet and cellist John Contreras. She has worked with Current 93 since 1998 when she played piano for the classic recording 'Soft Black Stars.'
1000 Water Craters On The Sea (2006)
1 Echo - Echo Craters - 1000 Water Craters On The Sea (11:47)
Performed by:
Maja Elliott - voice, piano, cello
Aranos - conch shell
Steve Stapleton - springs
Paul Bradley - drones and soundscapes
One-Track CDr (5") in a full colour digipak. Disc is signed by the Artist. Undisclosed number of copies.
Maja Elliott With Johnny Enquist
Arabica (2006)
1 Arabica (7:30)
2 She Moved Through The Fair (4:06)
3 Nana (2:02)
4 Psalm (5:59)
5 African Chant (3:50)
6 Uisneagh (4:56)
7 Naima / Reflets Dans L'eau (4:29)
8 Asturiana (1:54)
9 An Sagairtin (1:41)
Exquisite CD of compositions and arrangements by Elliott for voice, piano and saxophone. Maja is joined by leading Swedish saxophonist Johnny Enquist. The music is an eclectic mix of styles from classical improvisations on Debussy and Coltrane to a haunting Arabic/Irish rendition of 'She Moved Through the Fair'.
Composed By, Arranged By, Piano, Voice - Maja Elliott
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano] - Johnny Enquist
In Gowan Ring & Maja Elliott
Live November 2007
Portugal Tour
01 Morning's Walking Dream
02 Zephyr Through The Willows
03 Christina's Song
04 Dandelion Wine
05 Boat Of The Moon
06 My Lagan Love
07 Visneagh
08 Presence
09 Johnny's Song
10 The Wandering Boy
11 Along The Straggling Way
12 The Carnival Is Empty
13 In The Dream Of The Queen
Website:
http://majaelliott.com/
1 comment:
Hadn't heard of her, but she's good.
Thanks for giving me a chance to hear it.
Great Blog!
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