"A FANTASTIC SHOW - OUTSTANDING SINGING. IT WAS SLEAZY. IT WAS STIRRING. IT WAS UTTERLY MEMORABLE."
ANDREW CLOVER, SUNDAY TIMES , UK
ANDREW CLOVER, SUNDAY TIMES , UK
Eclectic. Diverse. Brilliant. Kurt Weill wrote extraordinary songs. Songs of desire and love. Songs of hatred and anger. Songs of hope and renewal.
Why such eclectic brilliance? Unlike Gershwin or Porter or Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kurt Weill was forever marked by his life in Germany in the 1920's and '30's, when that country was ripped apart by war, racism, economic strife and genocide. In response, Weill learned to shift between the sublime and the shocking in a heartbeat.
Bremner says: "I've been entranced by the music of Kurt Weill throughout my adult life. I've sung his songs in lovely concert halls and in dark, dilapidated saloons. I've sung his music accompanied by rock bands and with classical string quartets. I've never grown tired of his music.
Why such eclectic brilliance? Unlike Gershwin or Porter or Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kurt Weill was forever marked by his life in Germany in the 1920's and '30's, when that country was ripped apart by war, racism, economic strife and genocide. In response, Weill learned to shift between the sublime and the shocking in a heartbeat.
Bremner says: "I've been entranced by the music of Kurt Weill throughout my adult life. I've sung his songs in lovely concert halls and in dark, dilapidated saloons. I've sung his music accompanied by rock bands and with classical string quartets. I've never grown tired of his music.
BREMNER:
Bremner was born in New York and grew up in the USA and Canada. Singing is all he ever wanted to do. Every afternoon in New York, his family could hear him coming down the street as he sang his way home from school. He started singing with Punk Rock bands, moved on to studying Opera at McGill University in Montreal, and trained in contemporary vocal music at the 'Centre for New Opera' in Banff, Alberta. He has sung operatic roles by Mozart and avant-garde masterpieces like Maxwell Davies' 'Eight Songs for a Mad King'. Bremner has performed across North America and Europe in theatre and in concert, working with chamber ensembles, orchestras and jazz quartets. He currently lives between Montreal, Paris and New Orleans, where he is singing songs from the birth of jazz, the innovative, ground- breaking repertoire of the 1920's & 30's.
Over the past decade, Bremner has been exploring New Cabaret, creating performance pieces that are an emotional collage of ideas and songs. These pieces have been performed across North America and Europe to critical praise:
"A stunning theatrical achievement"—Edmonton Journal.
"Duthie brings passion, power and conviction to the songs"—The Stage.
"Captivating performances of Kurt Weill's songs... beautifully delivered with power and emotion"—Edfringe Review.
"Duthie is a baritone with operatic scope; instead of mere interludes, the songs become weapons”—See Magazine, Canada.
“And my god, does he ever sing. Bremner's performance is jaw-dropping-my jaw literally dropped"—View Magazine.
His first recording was devoted to his own personal obsession, the extraordinary songs of Kurt Weill. Bremner recorded sparse, heartfelt versions of Weill's repertoire, which stretches from the streets of 1920's Berlin to the dazzling lights of Broadway.
For his second CD, he asked the question "What is a jazz standard?". As an answer, Bremner created swinging arrangements of songs from his youth, from the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell and others, placing them side by side with more traditional jazz standards.
His next recording was a 'concept album', an exploration of musical, emotional, sexual and political inspirations behind the idea of Cabaret, with new arrangements of songs by Weill, Hollaender, Noel Coward and Sondheim.
His fourth CD is 'Weill At Heart' with new arrangements of Weill's songs by Scotland's 'Artist of the Year', jazz pianist and composer, David Patrick.
Bremner has performed in venues that vary from 3000 seat arenas in Tokyo, to improvised atelier-lofts in Paris and Edinburgh, to table-top stages in hard-drinking bars in the small Canadian towns along Lake Superior. He says that each had its own particular delights.
Bremner was born in New York and grew up in the USA and Canada. Singing is all he ever wanted to do. Every afternoon in New York, his family could hear him coming down the street as he sang his way home from school. He started singing with Punk Rock bands, moved on to studying Opera at McGill University in Montreal, and trained in contemporary vocal music at the 'Centre for New Opera' in Banff, Alberta. He has sung operatic roles by Mozart and avant-garde masterpieces like Maxwell Davies' 'Eight Songs for a Mad King'. Bremner has performed across North America and Europe in theatre and in concert, working with chamber ensembles, orchestras and jazz quartets. He currently lives between Montreal, Paris and New Orleans, where he is singing songs from the birth of jazz, the innovative, ground- breaking repertoire of the 1920's & 30's.
Over the past decade, Bremner has been exploring New Cabaret, creating performance pieces that are an emotional collage of ideas and songs. These pieces have been performed across North America and Europe to critical praise:
"A stunning theatrical achievement"—Edmonton Journal.
"Duthie brings passion, power and conviction to the songs"—The Stage.
"Captivating performances of Kurt Weill's songs... beautifully delivered with power and emotion"—Edfringe Review.
"Duthie is a baritone with operatic scope; instead of mere interludes, the songs become weapons”—See Magazine, Canada.
“And my god, does he ever sing. Bremner's performance is jaw-dropping-my jaw literally dropped"—View Magazine.
His first recording was devoted to his own personal obsession, the extraordinary songs of Kurt Weill. Bremner recorded sparse, heartfelt versions of Weill's repertoire, which stretches from the streets of 1920's Berlin to the dazzling lights of Broadway.
For his second CD, he asked the question "What is a jazz standard?". As an answer, Bremner created swinging arrangements of songs from his youth, from the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell and others, placing them side by side with more traditional jazz standards.
His next recording was a 'concept album', an exploration of musical, emotional, sexual and political inspirations behind the idea of Cabaret, with new arrangements of songs by Weill, Hollaender, Noel Coward and Sondheim.
His fourth CD is 'Weill At Heart' with new arrangements of Weill's songs by Scotland's 'Artist of the Year', jazz pianist and composer, David Patrick.
Bremner has performed in venues that vary from 3000 seat arenas in Tokyo, to improvised atelier-lofts in Paris and Edinburgh, to table-top stages in hard-drinking bars in the small Canadian towns along Lake Superior. He says that each had its own particular delights.
