Pete Hawkes - Misplaced Pages

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Pete Hawkes (born 28 May 1965) is an Australian composer, mathematician and musician. A prolific writer, he is best-known for his unusual capacity to compose music from many different genres. Hawkes's interesting & unique melodies were discovered by large audiences in part due to the CD sampler of his work released on the English music magazine r2 ( then called 'rock n reel') in 1999, which had distribution throughout Europe</ref>.In 2002 Hawkes was awarded Songwriter of the Year at the 1233 ABC Newcastle Music Awards. He was awarded again by the ABC for instrumental works in 2009. In 2012 he was received as an Australian musical legend in the National MUSICOZ awards. In 2014, Fine Music Magazine featured Hawkes in recognition of his enormous contribution to music, and in particular, his prolific composing ability across all styles of music. In 2015 Hawkes was featured in Australian Guitar Magazine in recognition of his unique guitar style, his composing talent and his views in relation to the development, progression and evolution of contemporary guitar playing.

His musical catalogue to date now includes to date, well over 1200 recordings covering a very wide spectrum of different genres of music, including (but not limited too) blues, folk, Jazz, Celtic music, orchestral scores, ragtime, rock and Russian themed music. He has been reviewed (Tony Bates) as "one of Australia's most creative and interesting composers for acoustic music to emerge in the last decade" and he likens his contribution to music as significant as Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Richard Thompson and Louis Armstrong. He is now widely recognised as one of the most prolific recording artists of all time.

Biography

Hawkes was born in 1965 in Australia at Lake Maquarie, Newcastle. He learnt to play guitar from an old waterlogged guitar nicknamed "The Paddle" named so because his father had got drunk one night out on the lake when he was young and used it as a paddle to get home. He learnt guitar by listening to old vinyl recordings citing his early influences from Blues legend Robert Johnson and English guitarist Davey Graham. Hawkes started gigging as early as 17 years of age, playing electric slide guitar in Chicago style blues bands gigging at clubs and pubs in and around Lake Maquarie and Newcastle city. He quickly gained a reputation as a fine slide player and was soon invited into session work across Australia. In his early 20's Hawkes relocated to Tasmania when he studied the art of instrument making, first under Tasmanian luthier Strato Anagnostis and then later, for a much longer time under the luthier Neil Laughlin.

On his return from Tasmania he completed a degree in pure mathematics from the University of Newcastle and moved to the ACT the following year. While in Canberra Hawkes performed at the National Folk Festival and one of his songs 'A Housewife's Lament' (a song about the sacrifices of a woman bringing up children who is treated poorly by her partner and decides to start again at an older age) received enormous attention from audiences and then continued to receive attention in forthcoming venues every time it was played.

In the mid-1990s he recorded his debut album, Secrets Vows and Lies, with the notorious Dave Swarbrick guesting on a few tracks on fiddle. Released by Festival Records, the album was well received with Australian respected music critic Bruce Elder noting many of the tracks on this "outstanding record" are reminiscent of John Martyn and Nick Drake in their heyday. Included in the album was the now very popular and well known track 'A Housewife's Lament' but the album was already starting to show Hawkes diversity and melding of musical genres and styles, as the album contained tracks that had cello with folk blues, original Celtic style tracks (such as 'The Irish Ladies Dream'), classical type cello tracks that might be more familiar in a baroque or concerto piece and then more delta type acoustic blues. The album tended to incorporate a more classical mix, strings into acoustic folk music that, at times, often had rare insights into the human condition.

Following the release Pete embarked on an Australian tour during in which he supported bands and artists such as Steeleye Span and Bert Jansch, but the tour was largely unsuccessful and Pete, despondent decided to move to London. In the UK the album was released on Select Records with more success and Hawkes started playing in small clubs and hotels throughout Europe, moving deeper and deeper into far Europe and finally into Russia. Staying in Russia and making St Petersburg his home, he lived there for several months, playing Jazz with local musicians and gypsies. Hawkes left Russia via the Trans-Siberian Railway, stopping at Beijing he quickly became involved in the underground Jazz developments in the city. Playing in venues like the 'East -Shore Jazz Club' he encouraged many Chinese Jazz musicians to play their music and not what was dictated to them by party officials. Hawkes quickly became an attraction to many Chinese musicians, Jazz however in those days was not the accepted norm and Hawkes 'interference' caught the eyes of the local authorities and he was promptly asked to board the next plane and return to Australia.

On his subsequent return to Oz, Hawkes released a number of remarkable musical works including Unspoken Riddles, the Russian flavoured Melancholy Cello and the brilliant Double Diversity, considered now a landmark album of its time. Hawkes focused on composing rather than performing on his return to Australia and relocated to Melbourne in 2003 and began to compose and arrange a large quantity of musically different works. In 2006 he released Witchcraft, an evocative suite of beautiful orchestral music and then a jazz album, The Jazz Chronicles In 2007. Then in 2009, in stark contrast to the style on previous albums, he released an extended gothic rock adventure, The Lost Souls Entwined with world renown electric guitar virtuoso Phil Emmanuel. (the elder brother of Tommy Emmanuel),a spooky eerie album, featuring both Hawkes slide guitar skills and Emmanuel's electric virtuosity, it was supposedly played out in the graveyard of Pete and Phil's favourite artists as a dedication to Eva Cassidy, Danny Gatton and Nick Drake who had never received any recognition of their talent while alive.

In more recent years Hawkes has continued to write and compose numerous musical works as varied as concerto's for viola and cello to Celtic music with flugehorn to acid Jazz. Some of his more recent albums (from 2010 on) include The Sacred Blasphemy Violin Concerto (Released: 5 March 2010 on the Catapult label), An Interpretation Of Vivaldi-Concerto Grosso in D-minor, Op. 3 No. 11 RV 565 (Released: 25 August 2010 on Catapult, composed Vivaldi, String Quartet Arrangement Hawkes), Pete Hawkes & Phil Emmanuel : Live at Lizottes With Special Guest Fiddler Liz Gormley (Released: 14 August 2011, Catapult), Selections Of Classical & Jazz Works (Released: 3 February 2012), A Little Tribute To Satchmo (Released: 24 January 2012), Songs Of Gypsy Russia (Deluxe Album Version.Released: 21 September 2011 on Catapult), Dr. Jekyl & Mr Slyde (Slide Guitar Masterpieces, Released: 17 January 2012 on Catapult) and Ghost Whispers (Released: 12 April 2013)

The Texas based Catapult label has now released a significant number of Hawkes's recordings, including classical compositions, Jazz recordings, original Russian folk inspired music, retrospectives, compilations and other additional releases of his works.

Music

Hawkes writes music from any genre, often mixing genres and melding different styles together. He often explores a ranges of musical styles within a single album. Examples of this are throughout his works, and can be easily seen in the album Unspoken Riddles where tracks range from slide delta blues and ragtime with Cajun fiddle ("The belly laugh rag") to semi classical ("No Remedy for a Sad Wednesday") to Celtic pipe tunes ("The Irish Ladies Dream Version 2"). The album Double Diversity a double CD included different Jazz tracks ( "One Lazy Day in Down-town Madrid") with classical pieces ("A Tender Farewell", to Russian Inspired pieces ( "The Moscow Gypsy") to ragtime ( "The Boisterous Border Collie") To Celtic pieces ("Melody for the Memory of Cass").

Even within the pieces themselves Hawkes introduced unusual elements and often melded styles and sounds, "The Celtic Hornblower" for example was an original Celtic melody of Hawkes in a more traditional Celtic style but included flugelhorn, not usually associated with Celtic music. Hawkes's Jazz Bosa Nova " A Whispered Scream" starts off as a classical type feug of strings not typically associated with jazz. Another example of innovation is Hawkes arrangement of Paul McCartney's Yesterday, which was arranged in slide delta blues, with an overlay at the end with strings. He continues innovation and exploration in his new works.

Jazz Compositions

A Whispered Scream - Vivid Dream In Crimson Purple -One Lazy Day In Downtown Madrid -Curious Creation In Cream -Bad Dream On Good Acid -Moustache -Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen (Jazz and Slide Guitar arr: Hawkes) -Summertime(Arr: Hawkes) -What A Wonderful World(arr: Hawkes) -Take It Day By Day (vocal version) -Take It Day By Day (inst version) -Turkish Ghosts Whisper Dark Secrets At Midnight( gypsy Jazz)

Ragtime Compositions

The Belly Laugh Blues Rag -The Boisterous Border Collie Rag

Works For Cello & Acoustic Guitar

-Song For Zoe -An Emotional Winter (reprise) -Play After A Small Whisky Just Before Bedtime -Quiet Desperation -Requiem -Dark Secrets -No Remedy For A Sad Wednesday -Kaliar -A Gyspy Once Told Me

Blues Compositions

-Lake Maquarie Sunset -Walking With Paddy -The Miners Song -Bellylaugh Rag -Nothing's New -Window To Many Souls -Silent Night(slight guitar blues arrangement) -White Christmas(slide guitar blues arrangement) -Yesterday(delta blues Jazz arrangements) -The Battle Cry Of Freedom(slide guitar arrangement)

Works For Acoustic Guitar

-Conversation With A French Fiddle -The Lord Bereks Last Charge -Katherine -Moonlight At Midnight -Prelude -DADGAD Guitar -Tranquility

Works For String Quartet

-The Warlocks Dream -Arabia -Wild Witches Dance The Ritual Rite In The Pale Moonlight - In The Labyrinth Of Lady Laura - Revelation Of A Rubicon -Delree's Spell -Requiem For The Magi -Covenant Of The Covern -A Tender Farewell -Bronywns Enchantment -Fugue: The Return Of The Eldar Gods -Fugue: The Mistress Of Seagulls -The Moscow Gyspy

Celtic Compositions

The Irish Ladies Dream -The Celtic Horn-blower -Reuben's Fancy -Melody For The Memory Of Cass -Matilda From St Kilda -Reuben's Fancy -Jemima's Lullaby -Conversations -Shebeg & Shemore(arr:Hawkes) -No Whisky For Paddy/ Paddy's Recovery -Fiddle Riddle -Prelude: Paddy Considers A Whisky -You Had To Be There -The Leprecauns Dance -Dave's Farewell -Mr Curious -Return To The Highlands -conversation With A French Fiddle -Mist On The Moor -Quiet Time At Home -Forest Dance -Forgotten Gods -Lost Kingdom -Pagan Spell -I Once Knew A Fiddler Who Had Ten Wives -Johnston 307 -Rod's Dancing With Cassidy -DADGAD Guitar Piece -The Irish Ladies Dream Version 11

Singer Songwriter

-A Housewifes Lament - She's Got A Way -If Time Was An Ocean -I've Changed My Mind -An Emotional WInter -The Miners Song -Nothing's New -Mr Bojangles(arr: Hawkes)