24th of November 2004

Holland High

Dear all,

I type from a Holland Radio Station at 10:30pm, about to play live on air, having left London at 6am. I have been hard at work all day and am quite frankly knackered. Holland has been great for us however, the album has gone gold and the gigs sold out - there is a lovely vibe here for us! Geoff and Seb are well and send their regards.

It has been an insane few weeks, I feel like I have an intravenous drip into the UK media. I apologise for this overexposure, but you have to make the most of these opportunities - there will probably come a time when we are begging to be on TV shows. The Bridget Jones affair has been a mixture of confusion and fun - to be totally honest with you, none of us knew what, where and how throughout the whole process. What came out of it however was a great exprience working with Steve Lipson (the producer of the song) and a chance to get pissed at the premiere (where I shared a surreal conversation with Ozzy Osbourne and Elton John). As you probably know Everlasting Love was not my actual choice of song but I guess I always relish a challenge so I gave it a go. What I like about it is that we stole a riff from one of my favourite Jazz albums of all time. Go out and buy "Maiden Voyage" by Herbie Hancock and listen to the title track and you will probably hear where we nicked it from. It is great fun to play live and I am proud of it.

It is not however a marker for the direction we are going to go in. The whole argument that suggests people who do standards are unable or unwilling to write their own songs is one that suggests a complete lack of knowledge of the jazz idiom. So, when you read about me wanting to base the next album mostly on original material, this is not a reaction to this tepid argument - it is merely a different side of what I do. In a market now where everyone seems to be tackling jazz standards it has become a even more appealing side to be involved in - just for now.

My private life has received a little more attention than I would have liked recently, and I think there is more to come. I am still learning about the crazy world of the media and am consistently stunned at the way certain things are reported. All I can add is that I am well and happy.

The small gigs were great fun. I am sorry we can't do them all over the country right now, but rest assured, I will be playing these kind of gigs for the rest of my life. Playing a club like the 606 is like nothing else for a musician - it is always a test, always a pleasure and always a learning experience.

Ooooopppps time to go on air.

Everlasting love (open up yer sick buckets)

jc

x

Current listening pleasures:
Ed Harcourt - Strangers
Tom Waits - Real Gone
Innerzone Orchestra - Programmed
Brad Meldhau - Live in Tokyo
Thelonious Monk - Brilliant Corners