Untitled Document
Femi Temowo, Grant Windsor & Marijus Aleksa
Great Britain, Lithuania
Femi Temowo – g
Grant Windsor – organ
Marijus Aleksa – dr
A year ago, Marijus Aleksa, one of the most talented of the new generation of Lithuanian drummers left for London to improve his skills, look for new challenges, and make contacts with fellow musicians. The European Jazz project presented by Vilnius-European Capital of Culture is reaping the benefits of this adventure as Marijus will appear on stage with some of the well known British musicians he met in London.
Nigerian-born Femi Temowo went to London at the age of 10. The panic at having to learn English in several months in order to go to school was soon replaced by a fascination with the culture of Britain. His path to the world of music started with the church choir; and when, at the age of seventeen, he heard a recording of the legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, the experience was a turning point in Femi’s life. The young man knew, that very second, that he wanted to follow in the footsteps of the famous jazzman.
Today, Temowo is a favourite guitarist of British audiences, a producer and composer. Six years ago this talented musician was invited to play with the famous saxophonist Soweto Kinch and recorded two albums with him. His virtuoso technique and ability to adjust to various styles led the Nigerian to collaborations with various stars. Femi has played with the famous guitarist George Benson, the pop group Roachford, the singer Omar, rappers The Roots, and the eccentric Amy Winehouse (he was the music director for her group for some time).
In 2006, in his private recording studio FemiTone he recorded his first solo album Quiet Storm which critics hailed as a combination of the impressive Jimi Hendrix playing tradition, jazz and African rhythms.
Currently, 33-year-old Temowo regularly performs at clubs and festivals in England and gives master classes to students of several schools.
Grant Windsor, a pianist and composer, is an Australian who, like Aleksa, left for London after his studies at home. In Great Britain he soon earned a reputation as an excellent musician, and jazz audiences in Britain jokingly call him the best character produced by Australia since Mad Max, a character of science fiction films.
Windsor started playing flute in his childhood, and in his teens attracted the attention of music professionals—at the age of 14 he became a member of the National Children’s Wind Orchestra and at 17—arranged a musical. He began learning the piano independently, and in 1999, started studying the instrument at the Australian National Academy of Music. Together with the groups K, Hip Mo Toast and Speedball Grant won several Australian jazz awards, and was awarded the title of Young Citizen of the Year in recognition of his activities. Leaving Australia for London, he soon found his way on the British scene, playing together with Randy Brecker, Sandy Evans, James Morrison, and other celebrities. Currently he devotes most of his time to the group The Sugar Kings.
Marijus Aleksa is only 24, but, both young clubbers and jazz stage veterans know his name well. By the age of 13 he had already sat behind the drums at several jazz festivals, gotten further training in music schools in Norway and Germany, and played at all the key annual jazz events in Lithuania. The drummer’s collection of awards includes the main award at the Jazz Fontanas competition (2004) and the Baltic Drummer League (Latvia, 2007).
Among the musicians that Aleksa played with are such Lithuanian jazz greats as Petras Vyšniauskas and Vladimiras Čekasinas, the Swiss bass player Herbie Kopf, and the pop group Skamp.
Recently, Aleksa has regularly collaborated with the groups Brassbastardz, D'Orange, Saga, and the duo of Leon Somov and singer Jazzu, who won the Best Baltic Act category at the MTV Best European Act awards this year.
