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Hoarded Dreams

GRAHAM COLLIER OBE, JAZZ COMPOSER

Hoarded Dreams

This documentary is a profile of the composer Graham Collier and his composition commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain for the Bracknell Jazz Festival in 1983.  It is performed by an all-star International 20 piece band conducted by Graham Collier.  The performance was filmed by Bright Thoughts for Channel 4.​  (TX 06/03/85)
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​Graham Collier: Born 1937, died 2011.

Hoarded Dreams

Hand-picked [by the composer] musicians from around the world
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Graham Collier

The Line-up

  • ​Geoff Warren – alto saxophone, alto flute
  • Juhani Aaltonen – tenor saxophone, alto saxophone
  • Art Themen – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
  • Matthias Schubert – tenor saxophone, oboe
  • John Surman – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
  • Ted Curson, Henry Lowther, Manfred Schoof, Tomasz Stańko, Kenny Wheeler – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Conny Bauer, Malcolm Griffiths, Eje Thelin – trombone
  • Dave Powell – tuba
  • John Schroder, Ed Speight – guitar
  • Roger Dean – piano
  • Paul Bridge – bass
  • Ashley Brown – drums

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Dave Powell
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Conny Bauer
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Juhani Aaltonen
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Ed Speight / Art Themen
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Kenny Wheeler
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Matthias Schubert
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John Surman
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Manfred Schoof
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Henry Lowther
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Ted Curson
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Tomasz Stańko
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Eje Thelin
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Roger Dean
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John Schroder
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Ashley Brown

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Charles Fox

Other contributors

  • John Muir, Arts Council, Jazz Officer
  • Charles Fox, BBC Radio 3, Critic
  • Brian Priestley, BBC Radio London, Critic
  • John Gill (partner) Time Out, Critic

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About the show

 The purpose of our documentary was to follow the journey of creation from commission through all stages right through to the performance itself.

Our brief from Andy Park (Commissioning Editor), was to gain insight into the creative process, to observe the unfolding and without attempting to prejudge the final result.  

Working with Graham over a period of months, following behind the scenes whilst Hoarded Dreams was in gestation and the composition elements taking shape, and whilst the invited musicians were also coming together.  We interviewed Graham at his home in South London in his study and whilst at work.
We also brought with us to also observe this process some esteemed music critics and other influential people in Graham's professional as well as his personal life.  

On the day of the performance as well as recording such a complex piece (from the position of it being largely improvised and directing cameras who have had no rehearsal nor given camera script), we hopefully capture the essence of improvisation and the sense of excitement and anticipation about the piece and the Festival itself.  And, f
inally, we get the verdict when they come off stage.  Did it work?
Neil Anthony, Producer

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Composition and improvisation

“Overall the piece inhabits (as indeed does most of my writing) that area between the purely written and the purely improvised. ...There are some conventional big band sounds and some collective improvisations, but there’s a lot more besides. There’s a lot of collective interplay within the band where the dividing line between what is written and what is improvised becomes blurred.
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The structure is simple and presents all of the musicians in solo situations, but situations which are affected strongly by the written framework and the interrelationship of ideas throughout the piece. Essentially there is a three-way process: the composer was affected by the improvisers, the improvisers will be affected by the writing, and we will all be affected by the interplay between these elements and the overall ambience of the actual performance.”
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– Graham Collier

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