Sweet Little Mystery
Assembly George Square (Studio 3)
31st July – 11th August
18.45 (60 mins)
Book Tickets
Following the release of Sweet Little Mystery – The Songs of John Martyn album on 10 May, British soul, jazz and R&B singer Sarah Jane Morris and Tony Remy interpret John Martyn’s canon of music live in Edinburgh this August during a limited run at Assembly Festival. Directed by legendary comedian and activist Mark Thomas, this touching tribute to singer and songwriter John Martyn shines a light on a great musical maverick who influenced a generation of his peers, friends and fans alike.
Sarah Jane and Tony are joined on stage by Trinidadian-born Tim Cansfield, their long-term collaborator on acoustic guitar. The show features unreleased footage of John Martyn and interviews with his family and friends, including legendary Scottish singer and songwriter Eddi Reader, a long-term friend of Sarah Jane’s and John’s younger sister, Julie Purdey.
Sarah Jane Morris said: “I have been a fan of John Martyn’s music since I tuned into The Old Grey Whistle Test, when I was an impressionable 14-year-old. John was singing May You Never and I developed a teenage crush. John’s songs became the musical backdrop to my teens, my twenties, thirties and forties, but alas died in my 50th year. Here I am aged 60 paying a musical homage to a musician that stretched the boundaries of music, a songwriting genius. I first covered May You Never in 1997 on my Fallen Angel album and have been closing my concerts with this song for over 22 years. I don’t wanna know about evil, I only wanna know about love.”
This year marks 10 years since John Martyn’s tragically early death aged 60. On 10th May Sarah Jane Morris, who celebrated her 60th birthday this year, released Sweet Little Mystery – The Songs of John Martyn, an album of his songs, as a joint project between Sarah Jane and Tony Remy. Together they pay homage to the sublime genius of John Martyn – a restless, often self-destructive artist whose unique voice and music is both breathtakingly bold and achingly tender in its beauty.
Sarah Jane and Tony completely reimagine John Martyn’s songs, retaining their original hypnotic fragility, with her voice matching the emotional and musical range of his and Tony’s arrangements and grooves, helping Sarah Jane’s voice create new and illuminating versions of the music. These are fresh and invigorating re-interpretations that make you listen anew to familiar tunes.
