!! this project is available for touring the whole year !!

!! debut album released by Voiceprint in March 2007 (see details and reviews below and here)!!

live samples (feat. special guest Harry Beckett):

Big Swifty (Zappa) download

Honeypump Riff (Delville) download

Platform 1 (Whitehead) download

ANNIE WHITEHEAD

(Robert Wyatt, Penguin Café Orchestra, Working Week, Jah Wobble, Carla Bley, ...)

Britain’s premier trombone player Annie Whitehead and The Wrong Object launch a new repertoire including original compositions as well as Frank Zappa and Soft Machine favorites. (They'll also play Zappa & Soft Machine tribute sets if you ask them nicely.)

THE LINE-UP

Annie Whitehead: trombone
Michel Delville: guitar, guitar-synth, electronics, voice
Damien Polard: bass, electronics
Fred Delplancq: tenor sax
Jean-Paul Estiévenart: trumpet, flugelhorn
Laurent Delchambre: drums, percussions, samples 

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS ABOUT ANNIE WHITEHEAD

"One of the most eclectic and versatile trombonists to come out of the British jazz scene."-TIME OUT

"A seamless mix that shows a sure feel for pop and the reaching thrust at the core of great jazz. Assured, hungry and innovative."-MELODY MAKER

"The Sly and Robbie of British brass,the woman everyone turns to when they want a class trombone player."-BEAT INTERNATIONAL

THE MUSIC

Annie Whitehead has made four albums under her own name and has worked with many well known artists including Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Joan Armatrading, Robert Wyatt and Jah Wobble.She was a member of Chris MacGregor's Brotherhood of Breath,The Carla Bley Very Big Band and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Her versatility and eclectic approach led her naturally into more unorthodox musical territories. She joined The Guest Stars and The Lydia D'Ustebyn Orchestra, both all-women bands, and played with Paul Rogers' 7RPM, The Charlie Watts Orchestra and with vocalists Maggie Nichols and Carol Grimes. More recently, she was featured on Robert Wyatt's album Schleep and working with Robert arranged many of his songs for a live project, Soupsongs, featuring Julie Tippetts, Jennifer Maidman, Didier Malherbe, Harry Beckett and Phil Manzanera.

Blending psychedelic jazz with modern rock sensibilities, the music of the Wrong Object is influenced by a vast array of artists ranging from Canterbury Scene prog rock à la Soft Machine and Gong to Bela Bartok, Aka Moon, and Frank Zappa. While their repertoire contains mainly original compositions, they also play a special set of Zappa covers. Since its creation in early 2002, The Wrong Object has played some fifty gigs in various venues ranging from small clubs to big festivals. Some of them were augmented by guest performances by the likes of Elton Dean, Harry Beckett, Ed Mann, and Jaap Blonk. Their two most recent projects “Elton Dean Meets The Wrong Object” and “The Wrong Object feat. Harry Beckett” saw the light in the Fall of 2005. Their October 2005 Paris gig with Elton Dean will be released by Moonjune Records (http://www.moonjunerecords.com/), with a July 2006 release looking likely.

WHAT THE PRESS SAYS ABOUT PLATFORM ONE (Voiceprint Music, 2007)

When Frank Zappa died on 4 December 1993 a little bit of me died too. Never again would I hear his music live again, right there, up on stage as I did countless times in the past.  Never again would I hear his wonderful compositions brought to life by musicians dedicated to the cause, musicians who understood the statistical density of it all, as Zappa used to say.  Boy, was I wrong.  

You see, the Wrong Object do just that and a whole lot more. They don’t just resurrect Zappa’s more challenging compositions; they have the understanding and technical ability to take them into exciting new directions in a way I’m certain Zappa would have approved of.  Check out the awesome sax on “Filthy Habits” on this CD and tell me if I’m wrong!

But that’s only half the story as Platform One demonstrates so wonderfully. The Wrong Object do more than pay homage to Zappa. With a line-up augmented by two of the band’s heroes, the incomparable Brit trombonist Annie Whitehead and trumpet player extraordinaire Harry Beckett, the band showcase their own compositions to dazzling effect.

“The Honeypump Riff” sets out the Belgian’s musical stall for all to hear with a stunning contribution from Annie while there’s clearly a little Belgian magic woven into Annie and Harry’s own pieces: check out the solos on Whitehead’s “This Affects That” and Beckett’s “Scarlet Mine”.

So how did this all come to happen? Well, the miracle of the internet and MP3 files played a part.  Just as with the band’s last album recorded with the late, great Elton Dean, rehearsals were out of the question. Time and place put paid to that. Instead music files were sent through the ether, ideas exchanged over the internet. Annie and Harry worked on The Wrong Object’s pieces wherever they were, the Wrong Object worked on theirs and then….it was show time!

Recorded and mixed live over two nights, this album tells the story as it was – no over dubs!  If you know The Wrong Object, you’d expect faultless musicianship and rest assured you get plenty of that. But what I find so astonishing as I listen to this album for the umpteenth time (even as I write these notes), is the musical empathy shared on stage between musicians who had not only not played together before but who had only met a few hours prior to the first gig.  It takes more than consummate ability and a total understanding of your instrument to produce music like this.  It takes love.   Stick it in the CD player now and indulge yourself with something wonderful.-Matthew Wright, BBC RADIO1

Platform One del gruppo belga Wrong Object con gli inglesi Annie Whitehead e Harry Beckett solisti ospiti (pubblicato da Jazzprint) non rientra apparentemente nell’ambito della musica orchestrale. La considerazione è solo legata al numero dei componenti del gruppo (con la Whitehead e Beckett siamo comunque a otto elementi, senza contare l’ospite Frank van der Kooij che aggiunge il suo sax baritono alla conclusiva “Hello Max”) ma se si ascolta la musica e si tiene conto degli impliciti riferimenti, si può tranquillamente lasciare da parte la matematica per accogliere questa proposta a braccia aperte.

Infatti questo album è un dichiarato omaggio a Frank Zappa e alla sua scrittura per un largo ensemble all’epoca di Waka Javaka e di Grand Wazoo. Anzi per essere ancora più precisi si potrebbe dire che il grande compositore e chitarrista americano ha sempre scritto per un largo ensemble, anche se poi spesso venne costretto ad adattare le sue intuizioni e la sua verve creativa in formati compatibili con gruppi meno ampi. Anche qui l’abbondante esposizione delle parti riservate ai fiati lascia intendere come l’orizzonte sia quello della big band. E l’eccellenza degli interpreti consente di moltiplicare le suggestioni e di ricavare un’illusione sonora che nulla ha da invidiare ad altri contesti più ‘ricchi’ di voci.

La scrittura di Michel Delville, vero leader del gruppo, è assolutamente in grado di fornire elementi di contiguità molto evidenti con quella di Zappa e quindi il progetto assume una unitarietà molto evidente, ben messa in luce dalla coesione che il palco sa fornire. L’album è stato infatti registrato dal vivo e il concerto è davvero godibile e riuscito, con ampio spazio riservato ai solisti, ma senza mai abbandonare il compito auto-assegnato di costruire un coerente tessuto dalle trame zappiane che non si vergogna di abbracciare anche influssi provenienti dal rock progressivo inglese e dal jazz-rock meticcio che ha preso piede a partire da Canterbury, da Robert Wyatt e Ian Carr e da altri spiriti liberi europei. —Maurizio Comandini, All About Jazz Italy

Der jüngste Streich der belgischen Jazzrocker The Wrong Object steht unter dem Untertitel "featuring Annie Whitehead and Harry Beckett". Annie Whitehead spielte mit unzähligen Musikern, ihre Posaune hat sie bereits für Robert Wyatt, Penguin Café Orchestra, Working Week, Jah Wobble, Carla Bley und viele mehr ausgepackt. Harry Beckett ist aus der britischen Jazzszene nicht wegzudenken, der Trompeter hat Jazz, Freejazz und Jazzrock in unzähligen Engagements und Bands gespielt, so mit Graham Collier, Charlie Mingus, Mike Westbrook, Ian Carr und John Surman.
In der Vergangenheit hatten The Wrong Object bereits mit Ed Mann (während und nach ihrem Auftritt auf der Zappanale) und Elton Dean (R.I.P.) gespielt, und ihren weiten musikalischen Kosmos, der von hartem progressivem Rock bis zu avantgardistischem Jazz reicht und stets eine Spur des instrumentalen Zappa in sich birgt, vielfältig ausgelebt. Die Band selbst, Michel Delville (g, electr), Fred Delplancq (ts), Jean-Paul Estiévenart (tr), Damien Polard (b, electr), Laurent Delchambre (dr, perc) und Yves Dellicour (ss, bc) samt Gast Frank van der Kooij (bs) haben "Platform One" zu einem illustren Streich werden lassen.
Das geht gleich im ersten Track los, dem "Intruth", wo Delvilles harter Gitarrenanschlag und die Saxophone um die Wette brüllen, dass die Wände dröhnen!
Überhaupt haben die Bläser und Delvilles Gitarre die Oberhand, teilen sich Soli und Improvisationen, nur wenig Spielraum haben Bass, Electronics und Schlagzeug, sich solistisch auszutoben. Whitehead und Beckett sind grandiose Improvisatoren, ihr Spiel ist leicht, komplex, intuitiv, virtuos und von vitaler Spiellust gekennzeichnet. Alle waren ganz bei der Sache und haben einen feinen, mitreißenden und belebten Sound geschaffen, der auf eine vorzügliche Rhythmusbasis bauen kann, die immer wieder in melodischem Spiel aufgeht und den erheblich komplexen Rhythmus wie federleicht, als könne es nicht anders sein, dampfen lässt.
"Platform One" bietet zwei Zappa-Covers, "Big Swifty" und "Filthy Habits", die im Jazzkleid ganz neue Töne ausspucken. Neben der hauptsächlichen Jazzbetonung geht in der bläserunterstützten Instrumentalebene auch vitaler Hardrock ab, Michel Delville nimmt sich nicht zurück und spielt, mal im Zappa-Geist, mal in eigener Intention, exklusive Soli. Dann wird das Arrangement, scheinbar wie nebenbei, rockbetonter, Bläser und Rhythmusfraktion bauen einen fetten Groove auf, was vor allem mit Brass-Frasierungen exzellente, im Bauch vibrierende, voluminöse Tieftöne erzeugt.
Wer The Wrong Object kennt und den kraftvollen, virtuosen Sound mag, kommt auch an "Platform One" nicht vorbei. Neugierigen sei die Band unbedingt empfohlen, auf der Webseite der Band kann man sich mehrere MP3s und Videos runterladen.
Unbedingte Empfehlung!— Ragazzi: Website für erregende Muzik

Belgium’s The Wrong Object is on a roll. An album as strong as The Unbelievable Truth (MoonJune, 2007), documenting a first (and, sadly, only) encounter in 2005 with the late British saxophone legend Elton Dean, would be more than enough for any group in any year. But with Platform One, this intrepid art/rock group teams with another legend—trumpeter Harry Beckett, born in Barbados but a fixture on the British scene since the 1950s—and trombonist Annie Whitehead, who may not be a legend yet, but deserves to be. Recorded live, Platform One isn’t necessarily better than The Unbelievable Truth, but it is more powerful, brimming with reckless abandon and rock energy.

The term reckless abandon makes a lot of sense for The Wrong Object. The group’s reputation was first established paying tribute to the music and, more importantly, spirit of the late Frank Zappa. Platform One features two Zappa covers—the complex, twisting and turning and ultimately swinging “Big Swifty,” from Waka/Jawaka (Ryko, 1972), and the slower but no less visceral “Filthy Habits,” from Sleep Dirt Ryko, 1979). The former features a lithe and unpredictable solo from Whitehead, while guitarist Michel Delville’s unfettered solo on the latter approaches Zappa’s solo of complete abandon on “Zombie Woof,” from Overnight Sensation (Rkyo, 1973).

There’s no shortage of fine original material either. The brief improvised fanfare of “Intruth” leads into Delville’s Middle Eastern-tinged “Honeypump Riff,” where bassist Damien Polard and drummer Laurent Delchambre propel a brief but outrageous Zappa-esque solo from Delville, before Jean-Paul Estiévenart takes an increasingly frenetic solo that’s equally matched by Whitehead. The guitarist’s episodic “Wet Weather Wet” moves from gentle waltz to “Peter Gunn”-style rifferama to periods of greater freedom that the group navigates with complete ease.

The rest of the album features equally strong material by Whitehead and Beckett. Whitehead’s title track, a 5/4 minor blues, is introduced by a probing a capella trombone solo that is reason alone for Whitehead to garner greater international acclaim, while “This Affects That” swings hard, but is kept sonically off-kilter by Delville’s guitar synth. It’s a testimony to the flexibility of the group and its guests that Beckett’s fiery and open-ended “Scarlet Mine,” from 1970’s Flare Up, sounds absolutely contemporary thirty-five years later. Beckett’s elegant flugelhorn work is featured on “Tinseltown,” an elegant jazz waltz carried by The Wrong Object’s flexible support.

That Platform One sounds like a group that’s played together longer is even more remarkable for the fact that the group and its guests never met prior to hitting the stage. Instead, they passed mp3 files back and forth before meeting, so each could learn the other’s material. It may be a new way of dealing with the prohibitive costs of bringing geographically distanced artists together, but based on the many wondrous sounds of surprise on Platform One it’s one that, in the hands of capable musicians, clearly works just fine.—Jon Kelman, All About Jazz

Escono quasi in contemporanea due registrazioni dal vivo della band di Michel Delville, vulcanico chitarrista belga fortemente attrato da Allan Holdsworth, Terje Rypdal, Robert Fripp e Frank Zappa oltre che – come evidenziano qui gli ospiti – dal jazz britannico.

Lo scenario disegnato da « Platform One » mostra chiaramente la varietà dei percorsi intrapresi dal gruppo : le riletture zappiane, i convincenti apporti di Beckett (la sensuale « Tinseltown ») e di Annie Whitehead (la gradevolissima « Platform One ») e, sopratutto, le due composizioni a firma Delville che sembrano muoversi in spazi più liberi e trasversali (tra il jazz, l’oriente et certo rock illuminato).

Maggiormente improntata al jazz è invece la collaborazione con Elton Dean, il compianto sassofonista di Nottingham, di cui questa ulteriore uscita postuma sembra proprio confezionata per far aumentare la nostalgia. Il motivo è duplice e paradossale : non solo non c’è traccia di nostalgia nell’unico concerto di Dean con i Wrong Object ma la musica lascia anche presagire promettenti spazi evolutivi che purtroppo non si sono potuti consumare.

Se infatti è suggestivo assaporare la freschezza delle tre riletture di materiale deaniano – partendo dalla classica « Seven for Lee » (dove l’interplay tra i fiatisti e il basso hopperiano di Polard sanno creare un’ atmosfera fatta di tesi chiaroscuri), passando per la dolente melodia di « Baker’s Treat » e approdando infine a « The Basho Variations » - la vera sorpresa sono proprio i quattro brani di Delville e compagni. E li che nuove ipotesi di orrizonti paiono dischiudersi partendo da una evidente matrice jazz su cui si innestano strutture armoniche strettamente legate a certe intuizioni zappiane, in cui il poliedrico sax di Dean (in perenne bilico tra melodia e dissonanza) sapientemente s’insinua.

—Vincenzo Giorgio, Musica Jazz (July 2007)

Intruth" is a brief intro to the Eastern-sounding Honeypump Riff, which my daughter’s boyfriend thought was the theme from Borat. This’ll have you bopping before Big Swifty knocks you off your feet. The one thing I always admire about TWO is that main man, Michel Delville, doesn’t try and hog the limelight. His guitar solos are sporadic but always worth waiting for. The other is the fact that they’re so willing to experiment and collaborate. At Zappanale, they had Ed Mann sit in, and here they have two of the British jazz scene’s finest joining them: trombone Annie we know and love from her stints with the Zappatistas and the afore-mentioned Robert Wyatt; and trumpeter and flugelhorn player, Harry Beckett who, over the years, has worked with such diverse folk as Charles Mingus and Jah Wobble. They both are given copious chances to shine here – and shine they do (eg Annie on the title track, which she wrote, and Harry on his lovely lilting Tinseltown). Oh, and you should hear what the Object have come up with for my IBS project in cahoots with The Friendly Dogs. If you’re not gonna catch them at ZappaFest NL, you need your cranium’s inspected. No offence. Seen?— T Mershi Duween (on Platform One; 2007)

The Wrong Object ne se lasse pas de belles rencontres qu’il se plaît à immortaliser. « Live at Zappanale 2004 », « Live 2005 » et « Live in Paris » avaient permis de les apprécier avec le percussionniste Ed Mann, le saxophoniste Elton Dean et, plus brièvement, le trompettiste Harry Beckett. Pour « Platform One », The Wrong Object poursuit la rencontre avec le même Harry Beckett et en profite pour l’associer à la tromboniste britannique Annie Whitehead.
Né en 1935 à la Barbade, le trompettiste Harry Beckett a passé sa vie sur les routes et dans les studios avec la crème des musiciens de plusieurs générations. Bien qu’essentiellement lié à la planète « Jazz », il n’a jamais hésité à en repousser les limites et à s’ouvrir à d’autres styles. Dans le milieu du « Jazz Anglais », « Free » et « Avant-Gardiste » particulièrement, il est devenu une référence. Il a travaillé avec plusieurs centaines d’artistes depuis Charlie Mingus et Graham Collier, en passant Ian Carr et Nucleus, The Brotherhood of Breath, Jack Bruce, John Surman, Alexis Korner, et une bonne part des musiciens de « l’Ecole de Canterbury », … et, en fin de compte, The Wrong Object. En outre, il a publié une dizaine d’albums en solo.
Née en 1955, la tromboniste Annie Whitehead est de la génération suivante, celle qui a pu travailler sur les acquis d’une époque inventive et les développer. Elle possède également une carrière bien remplie qui l’a amenée à travailler avec de nombreuses personnalités, dont certaines ne manquaient pas d’audace. Dans cette catégorie, on peut citer Jay Wobble, Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley ou Simon Jeffes et son Penguin Café Orchestra, … et Harry Beckett. Dans une catégorie plus « classique », on a pu la retrouver avec Elvis Costello, Blur, Joe Jackson, Chris Rea, … Lorsque l’occasion se présente, elle n’hésite pas à publier un album solo, comme « The Gathering » en 2000.
Enregistré à Liège (L’An Vert) et à Malines (Oude Stadfeestzaal), la bande à Michel Delville montre une nouvelle fois son aisance sur scène et ses capacités d’adaptation à des invités réputés amenant leur répertoire spécifique. Dans le cas de « Platform One », celui-ci est majoritairement représenté. Les compositions plus habituelles au groupe, qu'elles soient de Frank Zappa ou de leur cru, sont retraitées comme à l’habitude en fonction de l’humeur, de l’inspiration et des partenaires présents.
Par rapport aux précédents enregistrements du groupe, il est clair que la présence d’un nombre encore plus important d’instruments à vent ne pouvait passer inaperçue. Trompette, bugle, clarinette, saxophones et trombone donnent une couleur particulière à ce CD et l’oriente vers un « Jazz » ouvert, typique à la carrière de ces deux invités vedettes. Au sein de cet ensemble de souffleurs, la priorité est mise sur les individualités qui ressortent à tout moment et réduisent le rôle plus spécifiquement orchestral. Dans cet environnement que l’on pourrait parfois qualifier d’envahissant, la guitare ne se laisse pas digérer ; elle en est même stimulée et impose son ton plus nettement que lors d’autres rencontres, tirant l’ensemble vers Frank Zappa et le « Rock ». Quant à la rythmique, elle ne limite pas à un rôle de figuration : elle reste toujours aussi consistante, parfois bien carrée, et intègre sans difficulté les deux influences.
En conclusion, The Wrong Object réalise un bon album, même si celui-ci ne fera pas oublier leur brillante collaboration avec Elton Dean. Qui sera leur prochain partenaire ? En tout cas, je les verrais bien avec un certain Jack Bruce. Pourquoi ne pas commencer avec une reprise de « Apostrophe’ », une composition conjointe de Frank Zappa, Jack Bruce et Jim Gordon. Une belle liaison, non ?— Music in Belgium, (August 2007)