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PAUL KELLY
and
PAUL GRABOWSKY
announce
‘SINGULAR VOICES’
concert
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PAUL GRABOWSKY // PAUL KELLY
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Sydney’s City Recital Hall has announced that Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky will team up for a Singular Voices concert on Friday, October 8. Tickets on sale Friday 9am; cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/
To call Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky Australian music royalty is no exaggeration. Sharing the stage for Singular Voices, the two Pauls are even more than the sum of their astronomical parts. Grabowksy and Kelly bring their ARIA-winning album Please Leave Your Light On to the City Recital Hall stage, diving deep into Kelly’s beloved songs (and Grabowsky’s astonishing powers to reimagine them), with nothing more than that voice and that piano (and the occasional harmonica). Inspired by Frank Sinatra’s partnership with orchestrator Nelson Riddle, Kelly and Grabowsky dive deep into “torch song” territory.
In a statement, Paul Grabowsky reflected on the connective threads that drew the two artists together, over a quarter of a century ago, when they met for an ABC television series. “I was struck by the fact that Paul is driven by a similar impulse to my own; an ongoing fascination with music in its many forms”, Grabowsky said.
When Kelly and Grabowsky reunited for a one-off performance in 2019 at the bespoke arts space UKARIA in the Adelaide Hills, the spark was lit for their deeply collaborative album, Please Leave Your Light On.
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“It was apparent from the outset that the music was clicking”, Grabowsky recalled, “so Paul proposed that we record it. All of the songs were already part of Paul’s extensive catalogue. I transcribed them, and adapted them for the piano/voice combination. In addition, I threw in a ballad by Cole Porter, ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’, which Paul delivers in an understated, sensitive way.”
“The album has a classic ‘fireside’ feel,” Grabowsky remarked, “influenced by the Frank Sinatra/Nelson Riddle collaborations (particularly ‘In the Wee Small Hours’) and the Tony Bennett/ Bill Evans recordings (particular favourites of mine). The performances are intimate, and shine a light on lyrical moments from the Kelly oeuvre. Paul is a generous collaborator, always listening closely to what I am doing, and giving me the freedom to bring my own interpretation to the songs. I think people will hear, and hopefully enjoy, the deep communication that we are bringing to the performances.”
Paul Kelly added: “The reason I love working with Paul is that he always surprises me. He’s endlessly fertile, turning my songs inside out and upside down (to quote Diana Ross) and finding things in them I didn’t know were there. And that makes me sing them differently. Singing with Paul is like walking a tightrope. It’s as if we are acrobats together. We have to pay serious attention to one another to pull the songs off. I like that.
“As Paul mentioned, all the songs except one were written by me over many years. The most recent one, ‘True To You’, opens the album with a little nod to the Gershwin Brothers and it’s the only song that hasn’t appeared in another form on a previous record. We chose the other songs with a mind to their suitability for direct address, close, concentrated performance and room for silence to draw the listener in. There’s plenty of space here for all.”
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PAUL GRABOWSKY // PAUL KELLY
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The Singular Voices concert series continues with Julia Jacklin (sold out / rescheduled) on July 9, Robert Forster with Peter Milton Walsh on July 10, Kee’ahn with Babitha on August 21 as part of Vivid Sydney, and Martha Marlow on September 25. Tickets on sale now at cityrecitalhall.com/singular-
City Recital Hall has shared a Spotify playlist as a listening companion piece to the Singular Voices series; listen here.
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Singular Voices
Event Details
Where: City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney
Prices: Standard $29-$89 (booking fees Internet $5.95-$6.95 / Phone $6.95-$8.50)
Tickets: www.cityrecitalhall.com/
Dates: Julia Jacklin – Friday 9 July 7.30pm (sold out / rescheduled date), Robert Forster with Peter Milton Walsh – Saturday 10 July 7.30pm, Kee’ahn with Babitha – Saturday 21 August 7.30pm, Martha Marlow – Saturday 25 September, 7:30pm, Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky – Friday 8 October, 7:30pm.
Kee’ahn with Babitha is part of Vivid Sydney 2021.
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Follow PAUL KELLY
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
Follow PAUL GRABOWSKY
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
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