Gulliver Allwood

Born in London in 1972, Gulliver Allwood started to play music at the age of 5. He studied violin,viola and then decided to focus on saxophone when he was fifteen. Gulliver arrived in France on his early twenties and decided to settle down in Paris to continue his career as a musician. He met people who would become his closest friends, and would also influence his music, such as Chris Dailey, Steven Mccraven, Tom Mcclung,Rasul Sidik...and many others. He now works on many different projects ranking from blues, to jazz along with electronic music.

Farris Smith Jr.

Farris Smith Jr., a San Francisco native, began his musical career with an early childhood foundation in piano and guitar. By the time he reached his teens, it was the sixties in San Francisco; the music scene was exciting, stimulating, and uniquely improvisational and drew every kind of musician known and unknown to the clubs, festivals and parks of the City by The Bay. It was a fortunate time to be a teenage kid with music on his mind. Living close to Golden Gate Park and Haight Ashbury, he was an exploring teen in a musical wonderland of free speech and freedom with music. This was the first of many paradigm shifts for Farris where he found himself passionately in love with music and with international cultures - Farris became a Eulipian musician, "a Journey agent's duty-free gift to the traveler" to quote Roland Kirk.

After performing in London, Germany and France, Farris spent 16 years on the culturally rich islands of Hawaii playing bass guitar. During this time he performed in many of the Waikiki clubs, most notably with "The Nearly Famous Band", and soon discovered his talent and love of the ContraBass. He attended and eventually taught ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii and then in the mid-eighties relocated to Coffs Harbour, Australia performing at the Aanuka Beach Resort as well as teaching jazz bass at the Sidney Conservatory annex in Coffs. Returning to San Francisco in the early nineties, Farris obtained his degree in music, taught Contra Bass, played straight ahead jazz steadily at clubs in and around San Francisco Bay as well as made several recordings.

Farris's musical inspiration is passionately based upon his African American heritage and the belief that music should point towards a style and sound of life that not only encompasses his roots, but originates "naturally', without force, from a center of spirituality, love and most importantly, with God. Farris' dictum: "When there is faith, all things can happen".

He is most influenced by the styles of Charles Mingus, Brian Bromberg and the distinct power of Ray Brown. Now in Paris, he is focusing on the Avant-Gard. He feels fortunate to share company of an afternoon with world renown fellow bassists Alan Silva, Fred Clayton, drummer Sunny Murray and other like minded artists.

Truly a unique Eulipian at heart, Farris had always wanted to return to the music, magic and people of France to explore the jazz scene in a country that truly respects and continues to open it's arms to the exploration of this American art form. He currently resides in Paris, continuing to play and study the richness, texture and color of the Contra Bass.

Keep your ears peeled for the opportunity to hear Farris playing his Contra Bass, because another paradigm shift is in the works, and he's bound for his unique home within the worldwide community of jazz.

Farris Smith, Jr.

Exposition I chez Dolo : Estampes de Lavis

“ On dit au Maroc d'une peinture réussie qu'elle est magique ”

Extraire de la magie qui existe en toute chose.

Je refuse les fondements théoriques, et préfère suivre une attirance instinctive et presque étrange pour la lumière et le rêve de la couleur. La réalité est riche et toute chose me parait baigner dans une lumière “ Surnaturelle ”.
C'est ce mélange d'étrange et de réalité qui me poursuit.

La fascination pour ces univers rêvés ne s'est pas développée sur un refus de réalité, mais à partir d'une vision tout à fait précise du réel. Peindre le réel peut devenir l'obsession des peintres. Mais l'imitation n'est pas la solution. J'ai beaucoup aimé le figuratif et je sais, pour m'être confronté à ce problème, qu'il ne s'agit pas de représenter le réel mais de le peindre autrement, d'inventer une autre manière de le voir et de le “ donner à voir ” je me suis attaché à la représentation objective et réaliste de ce qui m'entoure, je me surprend à faire de même en nourrissant ces interprétations d'un message qui les dépasse.


Dans le cadre de ses expos exceptionnelles,

“ Les Broches à l'Ancienne ” vous invite à découvrir les encres de Riad Hattouti,
accompagnées d'un groupe de Jazz Farris / Gulliver & Co [ All that Jazz ]
Vernissage le Mardi 7 Décembre 2004 de 19h00
à minuit au restaurant situé au 21 rue Saint Nicolas 75012 Paris