Dr Jonathan Eato
Lecturer

Profile

Biography

I am a composer and saxophone player with interests in a wide range of contemporary musics, jazz, improvisation, South African popular music, interdisciplinary performance, music and postcoloniality, and music for dance.

I formed the duo ev2 with Craig Vear in 2003 to explore various ways of combining contemporary composition, interdisciplinary performance, and improvisation. As ev2 we have subsequently performed in the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Falkland Islands and our music has featured on BBC1 television's 'Countryfile' (2006), the film shorts 5 Antarctic Solitudes by Craig Vear (2004), and with the interdisciplinary performance piece 'Stretch' (2004-2007). we recorded the ev2 album mucky blonde in 2003 and have recently finished work on our forthcoming album bingoise.

Some of my other performance credits include the world premier recording of Michael Gordon's Trance (1996) with the contemporary music ensemble Icebreaker,  horn section work with Cousteau for their album Sirena (2002), the BBC Cage Weekend at the Barbican (2004), and soloist in 'construction 3' by Tony Myatt and Peter Fluck - a multiple media concerto for digitally enabled saxophone and high performance computers premiered in Berlin (2001).

As a composer I was a finalist in the 2004 Luxembourg International Prize with the orchestral piece 'Bling Bling Balaam' (recorded by Luxembourg Sinfonietta Editions LGNM 404) and in 2006 a revised version for Århus Sinfonietta was broadcast on Danish Radio as part of the SPOR Festival. In 2006 I was commissioned by choreographer Jacky Lansley to compose a dance score based on the music of Jelly Roll Morton and the resultant piece, 'Anamule Dance' (2007), was premiered at The Hall for Cornwall before transferring to the Clore Studio at the Royal Opera House in London.

My interest in interdisciplinary performance environments has also continued with various projects including the site-specific promenade performance piece 'Here, at home', conceived and directed by Hannah Bruce (2008) and as composer and music researcher for the Arts Council England funded performance research project 'Guests' (dir. Jacky Lansley and Tim Brinkman, 2010).

From 2007-2008 I was a visiting research fellow at the Univeresity of Stellenbosch, South Africa, working on questions of performance practice in South African jazz. I am currently working on the release of a new recording of solo piano music by South African jazz legend Tete Mbambisa.

Departmental roles

Research

Overview

  • Composition
  • Jazz
  • Interdisciplinary Performance Practice
  • South African Popular Music
  • Improvisation
  • Music and Postcoloniality

Current projects

Jazz In South Africa Research Pages (JISA) The overriding aim of this project is to develop a critical understanding of jazz in South Africa that is informed by the thinking of the musicians who make the music. These pages are being developed as a freely accessible online resource that feature statements by musicians, and research related to the music.

http://ev2.co.uk/jisa/

Critical Editions of eleven Chris McGregor scores This project began life as preparatory work for a University of York Jazz Orchestra concert. Original performance materials for eleven of Chris McGregor's compositions, where they existed, were combined with material transcribed from a variety of recordings - commerically available as well as broadcast and private recordings - in order to create a complete set of performance materials. This process highlighted the fascinating relationship between McGregor's performance practice and his notation solutions, as well as giving insights into how the compositions developed in McGregor's rehearsal room. The critical editions will be published by Jazzwise and documentation of the University of York Jazz Orchestra concert can be found on the Jazz Orchestra home page.

Guest Suites (working title) Following on from the interdisciplinary performance research project Guests (2010), Jacky Lansley and I are developing a new piece centered around the first three Bach cello suites that will, in Lansley's words, 'expand on the central idea of artists guesting in each other's worlds within a context where different disciplines of dance, music, film and writing work alongside each other'. Further information is available from Jacky Lansely's website.

ev2 (Jonathan Eato and Craig Vear) explore various ways of combining contemporary composition, interdisciplinary performance, and improvisation. A preview of bingoise, the latest ev2 project (currently in press) is available on the ev2 homepage.

Grants

  • DOMUS (Documentation Centre for Music) archival oral history and recording project grant, South Africa. (2010)
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2007-08)
    University of Stellenbosch - investigating various aspects of jazz and jazz based musics in South Africa.
  • Business Link Fund Grant (2005)
    University of Exeter, with Craig Vear
  • Falklands Project (2005)
    Shackleton Scholarship Trust, Argos Challenge Award, and John Cheek Trust, with Craig Vear
  • PRS Bliss Foundation (2003)

Collaborators

Available PhD research projects

I welcome proposals for PhD research in the areas of Composition, Jazz, Improvisation, Interdisciplinary Performance, Music and Postcolonialty, and South African Popular Music.

Publications

Selected publications

  • Tradition, Modernity, and Cultural Identity in Contemporary South Africa: the music of Tete Mbambisa, Louis Moholo-Moholo and Zim Ngqawana. Forthcoming paper at the 19th International Musicological Society (IMS) conference Musics, Cultures, Identities, Rome (Italy), July 2012.
  • Has Anyone Heard Yakhal’ Inkomo? Listening to the voices of South Africa’s Jazz Community. Paper presented at the Rhythm Changes: Jazz and National Identities Conference 2011, Amsterdam (Netherlands), September 2011.
  • Township Comets: the impact of South African jazz on the UK scene. Paper presented at the 16th Biennial IASPM (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) conference Situating Popular Musics, Grahamstown (SA), 27 June - 1 July 2011.
  • Know Where You Are: Kenny Wheeler, the performers' composer. Paper presented at the 17th Leeds International Jazz Conference, Time Captured - Jazz Composition, Composing and Composers, Leeds (UK), April 2011.
  • Modernity with Roots and Fragrance: Chris McGregor’s late Brotherhood of Breath compositions. Paper presented at the IMS-SASRIM conference Echoes of Empires: Musical Encounters after Hegemony, Stellenbosch (SA), July 2010.
  • Jazz In South Africa Research Pages (JISA): An online education and research resource. Paper presented at the 10th SAJE (South African Association for Jazz Education) conference Jazz Education in South Africa: Past, Present and Future, Cape Town (SA), March 2010.
  • The Jazz Voice in South Africa: A Developmental Physiology. Paper presented at the 2nd SAMUS (South African Society for Research in Music) conference African Voices, Port Elizabeth (SA), August 2008.
  • Thoughts Towards a Rhythmic Understanding of Jazz in South Africa. Paper presented at the 9th SAJE (South African Association for Jazz Education) conference AIM for JAME: Jazz in Africa and the Middle East, Cape Town (SA), March 2008.

Full publications list


Compositions

  • Guests (2010)
(approx. 50 mins) for soprano saxophone, piano and computer technologies. Music and sound installation for a multi-disciplinary performance piece. Dance Research Studio (dir. Jacky Lansley and Tim Brinkman) Hall for Cornwall, Truro (UK).
  • Here, at Home (2008)
(approx. 15 mins) for computer technologies. Music and sound installation for a multi-disciplinary performance piece. 6 performances, US Gallery buildings, Stellenbosch (South Africa).
  • Anamule Dance (2007)
(16 mins) for piano and computer technologies. Jacky Lansley Dance Theatre. 5 performances: Hall for Cornwall, Truro, and Clore Studio, Royal Opera House, London.
  • Bling Bling Balaam [revised version] (2006)
(14 mins) for large mixed ensemble. Århus Sinfonietta, SPOR Festival, Århus, Denmark.
  • Falklands Project_Exeter (2005) with Craig Vear
(19 mins) for mixed ensemble and computer technologies. Premiere ev2 and the loud [AND] soft band. Veuve, Exeter.
  • Falklands Suite (2005) with Craig Vear
(20 mins) for mixed ensemble and computer technologies. Premiere ev2 and FICS, Stanley Cathedral, Falkland Islands. Live radio broadcast Falkland Islands Broadcasting Service. Excerpt used for 'Countryfile', BBC One Television.
  • Bright Blades and Heart Grey (2005)
(25 mins) for tenor voice and harp. Premiere James Gilchrist and Alison Nicholls, World Harp Congress, Dublin. Second performance Gilchrist / Nicholls, Spring Music Festival of New Music, York May 2008
  • Bling Bling Balaam (2004)
(14 mins) for large mixed ensemble. Premiere Luxembourg Sinfonietta, Ettelbruck, Luxembourg.
  • mucky blonde (2003) with Craig Vear
(39 mins) nine pieces for soprano saxophone and percussion. Several performances in London (UK), Stanley (Falkland Islands), Karlsruhe (Germany), Exeter (UK), York (UK)
  • Sketches for the Divine Grotesque (2002)
(6 mins) solo bass clarinet. Premiere by Ian Mitchell, Mary Harris Memorial Chapel, Exeter (UK).

  • Music for Film (2000)
(5 mins) solo harp. Premiere by Alison Nicholls, Cambridge (UK).

  • Dance of the Seven Veils (1999)
(5 mins) soprano saxophone and percussion. Composed for Giralda Theatre's, Edinburgh Fringe production of Oscar Wilde's Salome (dir. Roma Backhouse).

  • Laulu (1998)
(7 mins) flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, piano. Capricorn, York (UK).

  • Old Flimsy’s Forecast (1997)
(11 mins) flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, cello. The Ensemble, Djangoly Recital Rooms, Nottingham (UK).

  • A Quick One With You Steven (1996)
(6 mins) saxophone quartet. Marcel’s Mules, London (UK).

  • Plane Measures (1996)
(8 mins) tape piece for contemporary dance (chor. Nichole Richter). Cochrane Theatre, London (UK).

  • Narrow Squeak (1995)
(3 mins) soprano saxophone, double bass, drum kit. Live performances New Works Festival, Leicester (UK), Battenburg Festival of Contemporary Art, London (UK). Recorded for film installation by Elena Näsänen and Alice Corps, Helsinki (Finland) and a short film by Erkka Nissinen, London (UK).

  • Two Jazz Cameos - A Train, Ain't Misbehavin' (1995) with Craig Vear
(2 mins) saxophone, double bass, drum kit. Soho Jazz Festival, London (UK).

  • Solo Measures (1995)
(4 mins) solo soprano saxophone to accompany contemporary dance (chor. Nicole Richter). Chisenhale Dance, London (UK).

  • Approximate Measures (1995)
(12 mins) clarinet, tenor saxophone/typewriter, tuba to accompany contemporary dance (chor. Nicole Richter). Bonnie Bird Theatre, London (UK).

Recordings

  • Icebreaker Trance (Cantaloupe CA21018, 2004)
  • Luxembourg Sinfonietta International Composition Prize 2004 (Editions LGNM, 2004)
  • Cousteau Sirena (Palm Pictures 2083-2, 2002)
  • ev2 Mucky Blonde (ev2 2003)

Teaching

Undergraduate

  • Composition
  • Jazz Studies
  • Hijacking Popular Melodies: from Bing Crosby to KRS-ONE
  • Mzansi Fo Sho: South African Popular Music, Culture and Politics
  • Music for Dance
  • The Jazz Diaspora
 
Dr Jonathan Eato

Contact details

Dr Jonathan Eato
Department of Music
University of York
Heslington
York
YO10 5DD

Tel: +44 (0)1904 32 4792