Michael Chapman

The 35th anniversary concert was a great success. The audience also had the benefit of hearing Magnolia's former pianist, the one and only Morten Gunnar Larsen, accompanying Topsy on "Muddy Waters". We took the liberty of sending a test copy of the resulting CD to Butch Thompson, asking him what he thought. Butch wrote: "The partnership of Topsy Chapman with the Magnolia Jazzband is magic. Ms. Chapman brings that to all her performances, but with these guys you know there is something very special going on the moment she walks onstage. New Orleans music is all about connections between people, and the easy way the music comes together on this CD is born of longtime friendship and respect. Everybody is happy to be there, and it shows. The Magnolia is simply one of the very best old-style New Orleans groups on the scene today. These tracks taken from their ambitious 35th anniversary performance at the Oslo Concert Hall in late 2007, are testimony to their remarkable cohesion. It's all about teamwork...

Michael: The last studio I worked in was a supertech palace in upstate New York and it was minus ten outside. So here I am in a shed with a sod roof, annoying wildlife and helicopters in the warmth of a Cornish spring and miles from my comfort zone. We are so different, the two of us: a perfectionist and a gambler, a planner and a chancer. We might need a referee. This record has been meticulously planned, but I haven’t even heard the songs. I like it that way. The precision and sophistication of the writing and playing blows me away. I am so glad to be involved.