Dominic Alldis - piano & vocal
Iain Ballamy - saxophones
Martin France - percussion
Alec Dankworth - double bass
The Pavao Quartet
In 2002 Dominic formed a crossover octet with Iain Ballamy (saxophone), Alec Dankworth (bass), Martin France (drums) and the Pavao String Quartet. They collaborated to perform and record Dominic’s contemporary arrangements of themes from classic French films, including A Man and a Woman, Jules et Jim and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, and songs by the celebrated French film composer Michel Legrand, most famous his score for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and hit songs “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life”, “The Summer Knows” and “Windmills Of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair. Dominic's innovative and jazz-influenced arrangements retain the charm of the original themes, while also providing the jazz soloists with a springboard for improvisation.
In 2003 the octet undertook an Arts Council tour of the UK in a programme called “Themes from French Cinema”, playing at venues ranging from the Wigmore Hall to London's premiere jazz & cabaret venue, Pizza On The Park. The tour received rave reviews and the programme been popular with audiences ever since. Subsequent performances included the Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole (2005), the Oundle Music Festival (2006) and the Amersham International Festival (2007).