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The
Robin Nolan Trio was formed in London during the Summer of ' 92 after
returning from an inspirational weekend at the annual Django Reinhardt
Festival in Samois-sur-Seine, France. They moved to Holland later that
year and rehearsed on the streets of Amsterdam. Since then they have
played their way onto the international Jazz circuit and into some of
the world's most prestigious musical events. Appearances at Gypsy Jazz
Festivals in France, Holland, Germany, Sweden, Iceland and the USA,
as well as concerts at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival,
Barcelona Jazz Festival, and many more have prompted rave reviews from
both journalists, critics and RNT fans.
While their inspiration
lies in Gypsy Jazz, Latin and Hot Club de France, the trio have a decidedly
contemporary feel and fire up their music with their own expressive
"je ne sais quoi". Hypnotic rhythms and rippling melodic themes, the
Robin Nolan Trio's repertoire features Jazz standards from the greatest
composers of the 20th century as well as original compositions by Robin
Nolan and Paul Meader.
In 1991, Robin Nolan
was studying at the Guildhall School of music and playing on the Jazz
and contemporary music scene in London. It was here that he met Paul
Meader on acoustic bass, and along with Anthony Williams on rhythm guitar
(already a musical companion of Robin's for several years) formed a
trio dedicated to performing the music of Django Reinhardt. Robin had
been to Samois that year and had fallen in love with the musical style
of the gypsy musicians he had seen playing at the Festival. During the
summer the trio played in and around London with street performances
in Covent Garden and Leicester Square.
The following year,
in June 1992, after attending the annual Django Reinhardt Festival in
Samios-Sur-Seine, France, the Trio added the smooth brush sounds of
drummer Marc Meader and the Robin Nolan Swing Quartet was formed. That
summer, after a successful tour of Holland, the Quartet decided upon
Amsterdam as a home base. December 1992 saw the band traveling to Barcelona
for a series of Christmas concerts and street performances. In the new
year the quartet returned to Amsterdam with the material well rehearsed
for the spring recording of their first CD. In May of 1993 they released
their independent debut CD entitled the Robin Nolan Swing Quartet.
It was arranged, produced, performed and paid for by the Quartet and
was a collection of the band's favorite tunes at the time. It was recorded
on a cold winters day at Basement Studios in Amsterdam and on release
received a considerable amount of favorable interest from both the public
and music industry. A star was born. Robin Nolan was on the map and
people all over the world could now listen to his unique musical voice.
In September of
1993, Anthony Williams handed the rhythm guitar chair over to a Dutchman
by the name of John Friedrichs. John had been working in the Django
scene in and around Holland and had met Robin at Samois the previous
year. That Christmas the band traveled to Barcelona for a series of
concerts and street performances, returning to Amsterdam in the new
year for a winter season in Holland.
In 1994, the Quartet
was helped along considerably by the Public Relations talents of Mr.
Hans Braggaar. It was through his efforts that the band was invited
to perform at the 1994 Django Reinhardt Festival, Samois-sur-Seine,
France. In May of 1994 the second CD, Amsterdam, was released.
It was dedicated to the city that was now the Quartet's home and was
again recorded at Basement Studios in Amsterdam. It was to include an
original composition by Robin entitled "Estrella" and featured liner
notes by Hans Meelen, one of the leading experts on European Gypsy Jazz.
In June 1994, the Quartet performed at the annual Django Reinhardt Festival
in France and received a standing ovation from the Samois audience of
some 2000 Gypsy Swing fans. It was a big day for the boys. In August
of 1994, during a tour of England, the Quartet was invited by George
Harrison to perform at a garden party at Friar Park, his home and estate
in Henley on Thames. The Harrison family and their small group of friends
were so impressed by the Quartet that the R.N.S.Q. were invited back
to Friar Park in December for a Christmas concert. To celebrate the
event Robin and Marc wrote a new song for the Harrison family entitled
"Friar Park", which was to be featured on the new CD due for release
in 1995.
In
June of 1995 the Quartet released their third album entitled Out
Of Town. It was recorded at Studio Le Roy in Amsterdam and featured
three original compositions by the band. Later that month was to be
the Quartet's first appearance at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Den
Haag. That Christmas George Harrison invited the band back to Friar
Park for a concert. This coincided with the release of the Beatles
Anthology. It was a star studded occasion with many of the world's
biggest names in music and show business were present. Directly after
George's gig the band flew to Barcelona for a return series of concerts
and street shows.
1996 was to see
a change in the line up. Marc Meader decided to pursue his love for
Be-Bop and Post-Bop jazz by forming his own quartet. The band had gone
in a full circle and was back to the original ' 92 line up of solo guitar,
rhythm guitar and acoustic bass. In June 1996 the RNT were invited to
perform in the coast to coast Canadian Jazz Festival circuit. From Toronto
to Vancouver the Trio thrilled audiences with their exciting brand of
gypsy swing. It was a very successful tour and led to a return booking
for the following summer. In December the band released their debut
self titled CD Robin Nolan Trio - RNT1, recorded at Studio Le
Roy in Amsterdam and featuring five new original compositions.
The summer of 1997
saw the Trio returning to Canada for sell out performances right across
the country including a standing ovation at the world famous Montreal
Jazz Festival. Later that summer was to see the Trio perform at both
the Garden of England Jazz Festival and the Barcelona Jazz Festival,
returning to Holland for a busy winter season to wrap up the year's
events.
1998 began with
a change of personnel. Rhythm guitarist John Friedrichs took leave and
was replaced by a fellow Dutchman by the name of Jan P. Brouwer. The
Trio recorded their first CD at Studio Le Roy in Amsterdam in June of
1998. Entitled Street, RNT2 features six original compositions,
several standards and of course a few sweet tunes from the Hot Club
songbook. In November, after returning from the Barcelona Jazz Festival,
the RNT went back into Studio Le Roy to record Swings and Roundabouts
- RNT3. The Summer of 1998 saw the band performing in England, Poland,
Sweden, Austria, Holland, Iceland, Germany and Spain.
1999 began with
an invitation for the trio to return to Sweden for a performance at
the Upsala Winter Swing Jazz Festival. Following their success in Sandviken
last year and again at Uppsula in January, they flew back to Sweden
in March and performed to a packed audience at the Linkoping Jazz and
Blues Festival. In April the Trio where in Zagreb, Croatia playing at
the B.P. Club. This festival is run by the great Croatian vibes player
Bosco Petrovic and was a truly prestigious jazz event. April saw the
trio heading south to Barcelona for ten days of gigs and street performances,
returning to Amsterdam to record RNT4. Following the release of The
Latin Affair, the Trio toured through the summer playing in Canada,
Iceland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and once
again they where invited back to perform at George Harrison's English
estate for the birthday party of his son Dhani. The Latin Affair
was dedicated to the memory of Hans Braggaar, a dear friend of the band
since the early days. In October of 1999 the rhythm guitar chair was
again up for grabs, this time to be filled by Robin's younger brother
Kevin Nolan. Kevin has a great feel for the music and has already proved
his value performing several high profile festivals with the Trio including
Barcelona Jazz Festival, Samois-sur-Seine 2000, France and the Tampa
Tropical Heatwave Festival, Florida.
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