Julie Tippetts - voice
Tobias Delius - reeds
Paul Dunmall - reeds
Hilary Jeffery - brass
Eleni Poulou - synth

AUDIO PREVIEW ↓

“Green Prism” is a recording that will not only engross anyone already familiar with Keith Tippett’s music; it will hopefully bring him to the attention of a new generation of those with mind’s open enough to appreciate the best of contemporary composition.Martin Phillips

PRESS RELEASE by Martin Phillips“Green Prism” is at once a tribute to a master of composition in his maturity and a sensitive re-imagining by someone from a new generation discovering a way to celebrate the spirit of Keith Tippett. It’s a recording that will engross anyone who has loved Keith’s music.“Green Prism” is a re-working of the final composition of the jazz musician Keith Tippett, who died in 2020. This new work has been arranged by Hilary Jeffery. It will be released on Discus Music in May 2026.After attending a Keith Tippett/Louis Moholo-Moholo concert in Berlin in 2017, Jeffery approached Tippett to write a piece for the Berlin based brass group, Zinc and Copper. The resulting suite – “Winter’s Welcome” – was premiered in Berlin in February 2019. Keith’s health had by then deteriorated and so sadly he never heard the piece performed live. After his death in 2020, Jeffery resolved to take the music and record it anew. The result is “Green Prism”.The music on the album is not an exact recreation of Tippett’s score for the Zinc and Copper ensemble. Jeffery has re-worked the arrangements for multi-track brass plus the voice of Julie Tippetts, the saxophone of Paul Dunmall, Tobias Delius’s clarinet and Eleni Poulou’s synthesizer.It’s difficult not to feel that these last compositions by Tippett reflect an artist aware that his work was drawing to a close. In particular, the three tracks “In Breath”, “One Year On” and “The Sigh” offer a reflective musical triptych.Jeffery’s arrangement of “In Breath” is a perceptive revisiting of the original chart. There are the dense chords and harmonies familiar to anyone who has encountered Tippett’s work before. Paul Dunmall’s soulful saxophone weaves its way around Julie Tippetts’ poetry-song.“One Year On” is painfully beautiful. Julie ruminates on the void that Keith’s death has left in her life. Time doesn’t ease the hurt: “my eyes are full to brimming, one year on” she sings, over the sombre brasses.The record ends on “The Sigh”, which as far as is known, is the last piece Keith ever wrote, a ballad in which he encoded the message “I love you Julie”. In this wordless version, Paul Dunmall’s saxophone has gone. There is no Julie. We leave the record with just the brass sounding the final farewell.“Green Prism” is a recording that will not only engross anyone already familiar with Keith Tippett’s music; it will hopefully bring him to the attention of a new generation of those with mind’s open enough to appreciate the best of contemporary composition.

TRACKS ↓“A Song About Gloves”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts, arr H.JefferyJulie Tippetts – voice
Paul Dunmall – tenor saxophone
Hilary Jeffery – brass“Dancing”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts, arr H.JefferyJulie Tippetts – voice
Tobias Delius – tenor saxopohone
Paul Dunmall – C soprano saxophone
Hilary Jeffery – trombones, computer“Green Prism Parthers”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts arr H.JefferyTobias Delius – clarinet
Hilary Jeffery – brass
Eleni Poulou – synthesizer, music box“In Breath”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts, arr H.JefferyJulie Tippetts – voice
Paul Dunmall – tenor saxophone
Hilary Jeffery – brass“Thoughts”
K.Tippett, arr H.JefferyTobias Delius – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Paul Dunmall – melodica
Hilary Jeffery – brass, melodica
Eleni Poulou – synthesizer, melodica
Julie Tippetts – voice“Green Prism – The Rock”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts, arr H.JefferyJulie Tippetts – voice
Paul Dunmall – tenor saxophone
Hilary Jeffery – trombone, brass
Eleni Poulou – synthesizer“One Year On”
K.Tippett, J.Tippetts, arr H.JefferyJulie Tippetts – voice
Hilary Jeffery – brass“The Sigh”
K.Tippett, arr H.JefferyHilary Jeffery – trombones

Hilary Jeffery
Green Prism
2026music composed by Keith Tippett, arranged by Hilary Jefferylyrics by Julie Tippettsperformed by:Julie Tippetts, Tobias Delius, Paul Dunmall, Hilary Jeffery, Eleni Pouloumulti-track brass played and recorded at Berlintune Studio by Hilary Jeffery (2021 – 2024)Julie Tippetts, Paul Dunmall, Eleni Poulou, Hilary Jeffery recorded at J&J Studio, Bristol by Jim Barr (2024)Tobias Delius, Eleni Poulou recorded at Lowswing Studio, Berlin by Guy Sternberg (2025)mixed at Berlintune Studio by Hilary Jeffery (2024 – 2025)final mix and master by Guy Sternberg at Lowswing Studio (2025)design and layout by Sven Sorićproduced by Hilary JefferyDiscus Music
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Rayanza Records

greenprism