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Folk roots, jazz freedom and original songs
Returning to Toulouse Lautrec for her third appearance, Lara Eidi presents The Living Songbook with fellow musician and improviser Anthony Fort.
Folk and jazz share a love of melodies passed between musicians, reshaped in the moment and given new life with every performance. Lara and Anthony explore that common ground through songs from different folk traditions, jazz standards and Lara’s own compositions.
Moving between voice, two pianos, guitar and fiddle, the pair may honour a familiar melody, take it somewhere unexpected or let an arrangement open into improvisation. Their shared musical language began at London’s Union Chapel, where they discovered a mutual fascination with how far a song can travel when musicians have the freedom to play.
The Living Songbook brings together the songs we inherit and the ones we write, with stories, spontaneity and two musicians who relish making music together.
About the artists
Lara Eidi is an award-winning singer, pianist, composer and songwriter whose music draws on folk, jazz, classical music and the traditions of the Mediterranean and Levant. Born in Athens to Lebanese-Canadian parents, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and has performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Union Chapel. Her album Sun was nominated for Best Album at the Orpheus Music Awards, and her compositions include Maktub for the documentary It Takes a Lot of Hands to Heal Beirut.
Anthony Fort is a pianist, violinist, composer and improviser, and Director of Church Music at Union Chapel. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the University of Cambridge, and holds a PhD in Music Theory from Columbia University. His playing brings a curiosity for connections between musical traditions to the duo’s performances.