Interview with Jennifer Maidman

Jennifer Maidman, born on 24 January 1958, is a British musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose career has spanned several decades and genres. She is best known as a bass guitarist, but she also sings and plays guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, ukulele, cuatro, and Chapman Stick. Her work appears on hundreds of recordings from 1976 onwards, collaborating with a wide range of internationally renowned artists including Joan Armatrading, David Sylvian, Paul Brady, Murray Head, Ian Dury, Shakespears Sister, and Robert Wyatt. Jennifer’s contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including a platinum award from the British Phonographic Industry for her work on Shakespears Sister’s album Hormonally Yours. A core member of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra from 1984 to 2007, she toured extensively across Europe, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, performing live with a host of celebrated musicians.

 

Her distinctive fretless bass playing can be heard on key recordings such as David Sylvian’s Taking the Veil, Joan Armatrading’s Heaven and Frustration, and Paul Brady’s The Awakening, while she also contributed guitar, accordion, and vocals on Robert Wyatt’s Mercury Prize-nominated album Cuckooland. Beyond music, Jennifer has composed for film, including the soundtrack for All the Little Animals starring John Hurt and Christian Bale, and has appeared on stage in theatre projects exploring experimental and devised performance. Over the years, she has demonstrated a rare versatility as a performer, collaborator, and producer, working across genres from funk, soul, and pop to experimental and art music. Her career reflects both technical mastery and a deep curiosity for creative collaboration, making her one of the most dynamic and respected figures in contemporary British music.

 

Monika: Today it is my pleasure to speak with Jennifer Maidman, a British musician, songwriter, actress, music producer, humanistic counselor, and writer whose work spans decades and disciplines. Hello Jennifer.

Jennifer: Hi Monika. Thanks for getting in touch.

Monika: For readers who may be discovering you for the first time, how would you describe yourself and your creative world?

Jennifer: Well, you’ve covered quite a few things with your introduction. I suppose it seems like I’m someone who wears different hats, but I think of everything as belonging under one creative umbrella. Being human is about creativity, and I think any activity can be approached with an artistic perspective. I’m also fond of a term that is used in the world of counseling, the idea of the reflective practitioner. It’s an approach that can be applied to almost any field. That seems like a good place to start a conversation.

Monika: Your professional music career began in the early 1970s when you were already playing bass. When did you first realize that music was not just a passion but something you wanted to pursue as a profession?

Jennifer: Well, my first musical experience was much earlier. My father was a keen amateur musician with a natural aptitude, and my mother was also a very good singer and a natural actress. I picked up my dad’s banjo at around the age of four, maybe, then started picking out rhythms and simple tunes on the piano with my dad’s help. Later, I saved up my pocket money and bought my first guitar at about eleven. My first bass was a Christmas present at about thirteen, I think. My mum found it.

Jennifer with Boy George in 1989.

Monika: How did those early experiences turn into a real sense of direction and commitment?

Jennifer: I just gradually began to think, this is something I’d like to do for a living if at all possible. I got involved in school bands from about fourteen, and in fact one of those evolved into my first professional group straight after leaving school.

After that, I suppose it was a mixture of hard work, stubbornness, and luck, the synchronicity of being in the right place at the right time. I skipped university and all that. My teachers warned me I’d have nothing to fall back on. Maybe it was the arrogance of youth, but it didn’t really occur to me that I’d fall back. I had no plan B, it was Monte Carlo or bust. Maybe because of that attitude, any opportunity that came my way I grabbed with both hands. All sorts of people were very generous with their time and talents. I could write a very long list of people without whom I might have fallen flat on my face. Hopefully they know who they are, and know I’m eternally grateful to every one of them.

Monika: You have co-written songs with Boy George and written for artists such as Sam Brown. When you sit down to write, what usually sparks the first idea?

Jennifer: I get inspired by all sorts of things. Sometimes it’s working with an inspiring person. Sometimes it’s a dream. There’s no hard and fast rule, but I do think things get created because there’s some sort of need for them to exist.

Monika: When that need is there, how do you recognize it, and how does it shape the final song?

Jennifer: You can make art because you want to make money, or get famous, or whatever, but I think unless there is also a genuine need of some sort, the results tend to lack substance and longevity. I’m not a prolific writer, but if I do write a song lyric, it’s because I feel a need to, often because I’m trying to figure something out, trying to explain to myself how I feel about something. It’s a way of working things through, as therapists sometimes put it. With the music side, it can be similar. There’s a need to hear something funky, uplifting, sad, or angry, or whatever.

Monika: No Clause 28 became both a musical and political statement. How do you remember the moment that song came together?

Jennifer: You mention No Clause 28. George had that whole lyric and chant idea already in his head, and then we worked on the music with Bobby Z, the original drummer from Prince’s band. I did a lot of the music, at least on the original version, there have been lots of remixes. I came up with that heroic synth tune. But the key is, there was a need for that song to exist. Remember, this was the eighties. It was a time when the LGBT community was losing a lot of people to HIV. We were organizing benefit gigs, trying to promote safe sex, and raise awareness.

On stage in France 2013.

Monika: How did the political climate of the time shape both the song and its reception?

Jennifer: Then along came this very mean, repressive law, Section 28, trying to force gay people back into the closet. Trying to shut down the flow of information to young people was actually putting people’s lives at risk. People were angry and defiant, and the song reflects that. It was saying very clearly, no, we’re not going to disappear. The music is defiant, uplifting, and proud. It needed to be said. The BBC, of course, wouldn’t play it on the radio, to their eternal shame. Too political.

Monika: You have worked with an extraordinary range of artists, from Joan Armatrading to Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. What has collaboration taught you over the years?

Jennifer: I do write and sing, and recently I’ve been doing more live gigs. A solo album is something I’ve been promising myself I’d do for years. I did actually record one a few years ago, and I do perform some songs from it live, but for various reasons it never got released at the time, and I’m not sure all of it works now. Some of it I’m still pleased with.

Monika: Has working so closely on other people’s projects made it harder to prioritize your own solo work?

Jennifer: The problem has always been finding the time. It’s great to be in demand as a player, and I’m very grateful to be busy, but one consequence is that I always seem to end up heavily involved with other people’s projects, and solo stuff goes on the back burner. Sometimes I think it’s a problem, but then again I suppose things happen if and when they’re meant to. Watch this space.

Monika: You spent many years as a member of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. What stays with you most strongly from that period?

Jennifer: It was a wonderful band to be a part of, with lots of happy memories. I met some great people in the Penguins, most importantly my partner, Annie Whitehead, who plays trombone.

Monika: Annie clearly plays an important role in both your life and your creative journey. How has that partnership influenced you?

Jennifer: Annie is a great artist and bandleader who has worked with lots of great people and made several solo albums. She’s also an amazing person with an unusually keen instinct for truth. It was Annie who really encouraged me to embrace my own truth and step out of the shadows in all sorts of ways, personally and creatively.

Monika: What made the Penguin Cafe Orchestra such a unique musical family?

Jennifer: The band was like a family, the members of which did all sorts of other projects too, but met up whenever they could to make a special kind of music. The founder, Simon Jeffes, picked people who intuitively understood what the Penguin Cafe was all about. It was about giving earthly form to something that had started out as a dream of Simon’s.
I think everyone was a bit surprised at how popular it became. We traveled extensively, did a lot of gigs, and developed a great deal of trust and intimacy within the group, both musically and personally. I still see those people. Once a Penguin, always a Penguin. A few of us still do gigs as The Orchestra That Fell to Earth. We called it that because that’s what the PCO became over its lifetime. It was a dream that became a reality.

Monika: You are constantly involved in new collaborations and live performances. What are you working on at the moment, and where can people see you on stage?

Jennifer: Right now I’m rehearsing for some shows in France with Murray Head in March. We’ll be at the Olympia in Paris on 5th March, plus lots of other gigs throughout the year. Murray is a great singer, well known in France, and less so in the UK, where people tend to know him more as an actor.

Jennifer on stage with her partner Annie Whitehead.

Monika: Beyond these concerts, what other musical projects are currently shaping your days?

Jennifer: I’m also working with the reformed 1970s funk and soul band Kokomo, one of my favorite bands from that time. The original bass player, Alan Spenner, sadly died some years ago. Alan was a great musician and a big influence on a whole generation of UK bass players, so it’s a privilege to be part of the band.

Monika: That sounds amazing. Are you performing with any of the original members?

Jennifer: I’m doing some gigs with Tony O’Malley, who’s one of the singers in Kokomo and a very funky guy too. I’m working with Annie on various things, including a duo where we do a mixture of songs and instrumentals. That’s great fun because there’s a lot of freedom in a duo, and we know each other very well.

Monika: Have you played this duo live yet?

Jennifer: Yes, we’ve been doing some gigs in London alongside Lund, a band whose debut album I produced last year. Also with Annie, I’m part of Soupsongs, the Robert Wyatt project where I sing lead vocals with Sarah Jane Morris and Christina Donà. We’ll be in Ravenna in Italy on 7th May, and back in Canterbury in early September. Annie and I are also doing some gigs with Michael Horovitz, the poet. We’ve just started recording some ideas with Richie Stevens, my groove buddy from Boy George’s band, and a great drummer and producer. I’m excited to see where that goes.

Monika: Wow, that’s quite a lot! Are there other projects coming up soon?

Jennifer: There’s also a live album coming out very soon with Paul Brady, featuring some amazing people. We’ll probably do some TV to promote that. Paul is one of the finest songwriters around, I think. I was lucky enough to produce two of his albums in the eighties. There’s also a new project just starting with Annie, Steve Monti, formerly of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Phil Saatchi, a great singer-songwriter and friend I’ve known since the eighties. All in all, there seems to be a lot going on. I’m still hoping to get some solo work happening, too.

Monika: Music is not your only artistic outlet. You have also worked as an actress. How did acting first enter your life?

Jennifer: Only very occasionally, though I do have my Equity card. I did quite a bit of acting as a teenager with a group called the Renegades. A lot of people came through that company, notably Ken Campbell. It was run by Jimmy Cooper, a man of extraordinary talent, determination, and enthusiasm. Nobody who knew him will forget the experience. He acted, directed, built the sets, and did anything else that needed doing. He was looking for a child actor and picked me out from a school play.

Monika: Did that early theatrical experience influence the way you later approached creativity?

Jennifer: Come to think of it, he was a big influence, because he was the first person I ever met who was utterly devoted to his art. He lived and breathed the theatre twenty-four-seven and seemed not remotely interested in fame or fortune. He made theatre because he felt it needed to be made.

With guitarist Phil Palmer in 2013.

Monika: Have you explored work beyond music, like film or theatre?

Jennifer: The things you learn from people like Jimmy stay with you forever. I’ve done music for films, All the Little Animals with John Hurt and Christian Bale is probably the best known, and I acted in a devised theatre piece with a company called Diverse City, Strange Cargo. That was based around a group of people with what were described as extreme bodily experiences.

Monika: Do you hope to take on more acting roles in the future?

Jennifer: I’d love to do more, but I’m not sure there are that many parts for transgender people. It’s changing, perhaps. If there are any casting directors out there looking, please give me a call.

Monika: Looking back at your journey, did your transition influence the way you experience the world as an artist?

Jennifer: I think every experience in life changes your perspective as an artist. Transition isn’t an experience that very many people have had, but then that’s true of all sorts of things. I’ve never fought in a war, for instance. I’m cautious about any sense of exceptionalism.

Monika: When people talk about transgender artists as a distinct category, how do you personally relate to that idea?

Jennifer: What does it mean to be a transgender artist? I don’t think I see myself that way. I’m an artist who happens to be transgender. It’s always a work in progress for me, but if being trans has an effect, maybe it has something to do with dancing outside the box, bringing a perspective that is perhaps a little less polarized and binary than the norm. Something about embracing uncertainty and fluidity at a deep level. You don’t have to be trans to do that, of course, but maybe it helps a bit.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

 

All the photos: courtesy of Jennifer Maidman.

© 2015 - Monika Kowalska

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