Beyond the Clouds - David Beebee

My new album featuring …
Imogen Ryall - Vocals
Julian Nicholas - Sax
Patrick Naylor - Guitar
Eric Ford - Drums
Angus Bishop - Drums
Martin Pyne - Percussion and Vibes
David Beebee - Piano, Keys, Bass

A special thanks to all the musicians who have helped me create this music. A super special thanks to Imogen for writing such beautiful lyrics to my tunes.

Recorded at Beeboss Studios between 2020 and 2023

1 - Promise 6.43
Imogen Ryall - Lyrics and Vocals
Patrick Naylor - Guitar
David Beebee - Piano, Double Bass, Cellos
I wrote this tune a couple of years ago and it appears on my recent quartet album. When Imogen wrote some lovely words for it I 
wanted to record it again but give it a very different approach to support Imogen’s vocals. Fabulous guitar solo from Patrick Naylor.

2 - Hermeto’s Handbag 7.03
Julian Nicholas - Soprano Sax
David Beebee - Keys, Melodicas, Electric Bass
Eric Ford - Drums
Patrick Naylor - Guitar
I started writing this tune about 20 years ago, for my nonet ‘Gaya’ in the early 2000s. It never really worked then but through the years the bass line kept popping back into my head so I had a go at rewriting it, keeping a few bits but introducing a lot of new ideas. The fantastic soprano sax solo by Julian Nicholas was the first take he played. Dedicated to the awesome Hermeto Pascoal.

3 - Winter Wish 8.19
Imogen Ryall - Lyrics and Vocals
David Beebee - Piano, Double Bass, Cellos
Angus Bishop - Drums
This is an old tune from the 1990s which I wrote with my quartet of the time in mind. We played it a few times but it never made it on to the album. It just sat around for 25 years awaiting to be played again. Imogen’s beautiful lyrics really enhance the music.


4 - Z Chorale (dedicated to Joe Zawinul) 6.35
Imogen Ryall - Vocals
David Beebee - Synth and Piano
Martin Pyne - Percussion and Vibes
A few days after Joe Zawinul died I improvised something like this, and, in the Zawinul way, I transcribed what I played and turned it into a composition. Imogen sang some lovely things and Martin added percussion, cymbals and vibes.

5 - Beyond the Clouds 4.30
Imogen Ryall - Lyrics and Vocals
Guitar - Patrick Naylor
David Beebee - Piano, Electric Bass, Cellos
Drums - Angus Bishop
This is one of the earliest tunes I wrote from 1989 and maybe the oldest of my tunes that I’ve recorded. Again, thanks to Imogen for her lovely lyrics and singing, Patrick for his guitar solo and also Angus Bishop who added drums.

6 - Infinite in all Directions 3.05
Imogen Ryall - Vocals
Patrick Naylor - Guitar
Angus Bishop - Drums
David Beebee - Keys, Electric Bass
This is a recent tune influenced by Hermeto. I wrote it in 
about half an hour but it took a long time to record, about 
a year or two.


7 - Palindrome Day (22022022) 4.28
David Beebee - Keys, Electric Bass
Angus Bishop - Drums
Angus and I played this live one day on top of some bass I had already recorded. I wrote it on the 22nd February 2022, one of the fairly rare palindrome days. I’ll try to write part two on the 3rd February 2030, if I remember.

8 - Shoshin 3.02
David Beebee - Keys, Electric Bass
Eric Ford - Drums
This was an improvisation that I played one evening where I added some other instruments. Drum textures added by Eric Ford. Shoshin means ‘beginner’s mind’ in Japanese, which is the best state to try to be in when improvising, trying to just let anything happen as it wants to without trying to force in some preconceived expectations. Not always easy, I don’t know if I succeeded.

9 - Stay Low 5.31
David Beebee - Electric Piano, Electric Bass
Eric Ford - Drums
It is a slightly strange experience trying to overdub jazz. The whole idea is weird but then again some great albums have been recorded in this way. As I play bass and piano I thought it would be interesting to try to be two-thirds of a trio by myself. Eric did a great job adding drums to what I had already 
recorded. The end result is probably a bit different than if we had just played it live but it worked out OK, I think.

10 - Last One Out Please Turn off the Lights 4.58
David Beebee - Rhodes
I’ve been playing some free jazz recently on Rhodes (with FX) with Martin Pyne (who plays vibes and drums). We had a session one day and for some reason the vibes didn’t get recorded (mistakes happen occasionally when I engineer my own recordings) and I was left with only half the music. Of course it was the best session we ever did, but I thought even the Rhodes by itself had a nice spacey feel. Best listened to while lying on the floor in a darkened room.