To celebrate the release of my new CD (Sempre Notte, Dark Companion Records) of songs recorded live at Porgy & Bess last year, I return with Annie Barbazza, John Greaves and the New Songs Ensemble.

Although some of the original material (songs with texts by Samuel Beckett, Ernst Meister, Giuseppe Ungaretti and Harold Pinter) will of course be included, it will not be a repeat performance of last year’s concert, but also feature new versions of other previously recorded but unperformed songs with texts by Samuel Beckett and Philippe Soupault (in French, from Many Have No Speech), Paul Auster (Hide and Seek) and Edward Gorey (The Hapless Child).

I had met John Greaves way back in 1976 when I was working with him on recording his iconic Kew Rhone album at my Grog Kill studio in the USA, then met again in 1987 for my Live project (with Jack Bruce, Nick Mason, Don Preston, Rick Fenn), and he also participated in my sort-of-an-opera School Of Understanding in 1996. We had always stayed in touch over the years and he was instrumental suggesting Himiko Paganotti for my Comment C'est album, and now, for this new project he has introduced me to Annie Barbazza, an enormously talented singer and a particularly good choice, since the program includes a number of songs with texts in Italian by Giuseppe Ungaretti.

Bjarne Roupé has been my favorite guitarist ever since I had returned to Europe, starting with performances and recording of my Cerco Un Paese Innocente in 1994, then as a member of my Chamber Music and Songs ensemble for a portrait concert at Porgy in 2006, and eventually participating on practically all my continuing projects/albums: School Of Understanding, Songs And One Symphony, Hide And Seek, Concertos, For Two, The Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update and, finally, my last album Coda.

David Helbock, another of my much valued contributors with an exceptional understanding of my music, has been involved in all my projects since The Jazz Composer's Orchestra Update.

And last, but certainly not least, the multi-faceted bass clarinetist Gareth Davis, who alone was responsible for initiating the original songs project and tirelessly continues attempting to present this music.

Supporting the singers and soloists will again be four string players, this time in the form of the Koehne String Quartet, one of today’s outstanding interpreters of contemporary music, founded in 1987 by Joanna Lewis, who has also participated in many of my projects in the past.
- Michael Mantler