Award-winning London-based guitarist Billy Marrows releases The Penelope Album Live via Discus Music on 28 March. He will set out on a spring tour to mark the occasion, celebrate his work and debut new compositions.
Marrows, who has become a much-acclaimed player and composer on the UK scene for his deeply emotive take on jazz guitar released the album Penelope in 2024. Written for his late mother during her battle with cancer, the record is deeply personal – something that flows through each note of the music. He describes it as “a connection to my mum” and has used the project to raise money for World Child Cancer.
Recorded at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club, The Penelope Album Live is a powerful sonic statement. It captures the debut performance of Marrows’ 12-piece band Grande Família. The gig sold out two months in advance and received a rapturous reception, with the players being awarded with a standing ovation.
Understandably, he is excited to release this important gig in his musical journey as an album – “I love the energy of live albums and the honesty of everything being essentially a first take”.
Penelope featured intimate and highly nuanced compositions. Grande Família made a huge impression featuring on a handful of cuts, but many of the pieces were for solo guitar. For the gig at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Marrows adapted the pieces for his full band.
The beautiful ‘Beech Tree’ is expanded to eight minutes. It opens with Marrows’guitar solo and exposed, retaining the core of the original, before the full band joins adding new colour and depth. The interplay between the guitar and other instruments is extraordinary.
For Marrows the addition of drums to his compositions “significantly changed the energy of the music”. The original versions don’t feature drumming, so this was a huge development in the presentation of his work. The full Grande Família lineup brings power to the pieces, but it is often a subtle power.
Retaining the essence of the tracks and their original intention was key for him, when working on the arrangements for the larger band. “One thing I like about the 12-piece Grande Família is how it retains a sense of intimacy, perhaps because there’s only one of each instrument”
In the video taken of ‘Beech Tree’ at the gig and across The Penelope Album Live, the intimacy and personal nature of the music, so important to Marrows is right there. As all good live albums are, it’s a portal into a gig for anyone who wasn’t there on the night – a time capsule preserving a moment. For anyone familiar with Penelope, the live album is more than just a companion. It’s a reimagining that will present the ideas within the album anew, allowing listeners to see them in a fresh light and become enamoured with them once again.
For those new to Marrows as an artist, the album is a great starting point – showing where he is right now and giving a tantalising glimpse of what can be expected on his spring tour.
Billy Marrows is an artist who doesn’t sit still. As well as “going deeper into solo playing”, with some recent shows – he’s been busy composing pieces to debut on tour. His enthusiasm is infectious as he discusses the new music – “I’ve been exploring further some of the compositional concepts from the Penelope album”. These include “music based on poetry” and diving further into his Brazilian influences.
Exploring The Penelope Album Live will only whet the appetite for seeing Marrows’ wide ranging compositions at one of his gigs and hearing the new music that he has in store. His tour dates happen between March and May. Several will feature the full 12-piece band, while others will be in smaller quartet and sextet formats.
The tour kicked off in early March, with a packed-out show at The Bull and Gate in Kentish Town. Peter Freeman, one of London’s most loyal attenders of jazz gigs described the Grande Família sextet as “outstanding” – adding that “Billy has become one of my favourite guitarists over the years”.
The music of Billy Marrows has the ability to appeal to fans of everything from big bands and chamber jazz to classical composition. This tour is not to be missed.
The live album will be celebrated with a northern launch gig at Sheffield Jazz and a two night residency at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho.
TOUR DATES
28 March – Crookes Social, Sheffield Jazz, northern launch gig (12-piece)
28 April – Pizza Express Soho, London launch gig night one (12-piece)
29 April – Pizza Express Soho, London launch gig night two (12-piece)
6 May – Watermill Jazz, Dorking (12-piece)
10 May – Jazz at Heart, Leeds (quartet)
11 May – St Helen & the Holy Cross, Sheriff Hutton (quartet)
12 May – NQ Jazz, Manchester (sextet)
13May – Digbeth Jazz, Birmingham (sextet)
