Penguin Cafe Orchestra
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(1974 – 1997)
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra was the creation of classically-trained guitarist, composer and arranger Simon Jeffes (Crawley, Sussex, England, 1949-1997). Jeffes and cellist co-founder Helen Liebmann were members throughout its life; a number of other musicians became part of the ensemble playing live and also appearing on studio albums according to the instrumentation of particular pieces.
The Penguin’s sound is not easily categorized, but has elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass.
The PCO toured extensively during the 80’s and early 90’s, and two albums, “When in Rome” (1988) and “Concert Program” (1995) captured the sound of the live ensemble. Penguin Cafe Orchestra recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of a brain tumour in 1997. The 10th anniversary of Jeffes’ death was marked by the original PCO reforming for three concerts at the Union Chapel in London in 2007.
Four members of the original PCO, Geoffrey Richardson,Jennifer Maidman,Steve Fletcher and Annie Whitehead are still together playing the music under the name “The Anteaters”.
In 2009 Simon Jeffes’ son Arthur Jeffes formed a new group called “Music From The Penguin Cafe” which plays some of the music of PCO along with his own compositions.
History
The Penguin’s sound is not easily categorized, but has elements of exuberant folk music and a minimalist aesthetic occasionally reminiscent of composers such as Philip Glass.
The PCO toured extensively during the 80’s and early 90’s, and two albums, “When in Rome” (1988) and “Concert Program” (1995) captured the sound of the live ensemble. Penguin Cafe Orchestra recorded and performed for 24 years until Jeffes died of a brain tumour in 1997. The 10th anniversary of Jeffes’ death was marked by the original PCO reforming for three concerts at the Union Chapel in London in 2007.
Four members of the original PCO, Geoffrey Richardson,Jennifer Maidman,Steve Fletcher and Annie Whitehead are still together playing the music under the name “The Anteaters”.
In 2009 Simon Jeffes’ son Arthur Jeffes formed a new group called “Music From The Penguin Cafe” which plays some of the music of PCO along with his own compositions.
History
Shouts:
178 shouts
Top Albums
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Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
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A Brief History
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Signs of Life
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Shoutbox
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fireflies_ wrote:
Totally Inspiring
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KingsAndQueen wrote:
Penguin Cafe > Starbucks [2] LOL so true
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mottakelig wrote:
so fantastic
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fmc200 wrote:
Penguin Cafe > Starbucks
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FallingUpwards7 wrote:
Радостно.
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haroldo1121 wrote:
slowly becoming my favorite.
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mugglymug wrote:
<3
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KeithJones wrote:
Genius!
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adam_wrong wrote:
I am the proprietor of the Penguin Café, I will tell you things at random
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MGrabovsky wrote:
Wow, this is so fine.
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Jhonymelo wrote:
The Sound Of Someone You Love Who`s Going Away And It Doesn`t Metter
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casadivetro wrote:
Classical music meets pop taste in the smartest way.
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mdt wrote:
Simon's son Arthur Jeffes' band should be tagged as Music From The Penguin Cafe (2009 live album) or Penguin Cafe (2011 studio album), depending on the release. Similar music but completely different musicians.
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Panther_Panther wrote:
i adore this ensemble
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DocMogila wrote:
Great!
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ssssssv wrote:
thank you for putting on such a wonderful concert at the hay festival last night!
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Utt-Anton wrote:
Vote For Pedro!
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tim4tw wrote:
ok, now this description sounds awesome so I gonna get some music or what?
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LouisKey wrote:
This band made amazing music, its just a shame that they don't make music today.
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mowseng wrote:
The sound of someone who is going away AND OF COURSE IT MATTERS.
Videos
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Play
Il Bestiario di Bonnard
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Play
PCO - Lie Back and Think of…
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Play
Oscar Tango by the Penguin Cafe…
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Play
Perpetuum Mobile
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Recent Activity
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Fachousw, Loordesh, Litaken and 17 other people added Penguin Cafe Orchestra to their libraries. 2 hours ago
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MadiroSovenzio tagged Penguin Cafe Orchestra with ‘while studying’. Sunday evening
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Ddomasi tagged Penguin Cafe Orchestra with avant-garde, classical, experimental and one other tag. Friday evening
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bia_k tagged Penguin Cafe Orchestra with new age, contemporary classical and instrumental. last month
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totemajazz shared Penguin Cafe Orchestra with jim_the_jin. last month
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