When The Police go into voluntary exile after the final concert of their 2008 reunion tour on August 7 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Sting is the only member of the trio with definitive touring plans as a solo artist. He is set to undertake a four-city Australian tour from November 30 through December 5, followed by an eight-concert, six-city tour of Asia from December 7-20, with three nights in Tokyo, Japan.
Sting will be promoting his classical music album, “Songs from the Labyrinth,” a personal tribute to the late 16th-century Elizabethan composer John Dowland (1563-1626). Sting will be joined by esteemed lutenist Edin Karamazov with the classical concert trio ZBG supporting.
“Songs from the Labyrinth” began as a recording project in 2006 and surpassed all expectations by debuting at the top of the classical charts in the US, UK, France, Canada and Germany. The album remained at No. 1 on Billboard’s classical charts for 15 consecutive weeks and was the top selling classical album of both 2006 and 2007.
A DVD entitled “The Journey and the Labyrinth” followed the CD, and was appropriately filmed at Sting’s 16th-century manor house in Wiltshire (Lake House), in the ancient gardens of his home in Italy (Il Palagio), and at a live concert at St Luke’s Church in London.
Sting was first introduced to the music of Dowland in the early 1980s, and has said that Dowland’s music has been “gently haunting” him for more than 20 years. “Songs from the Labyrinth” honors the life of Dowland, not only by recreating his music but also his words. Sting incorporates short recitations of a letter Dowland wrote in 1595 to Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary of State, Sir Robert Cecil, into the album, pleading his allegiance to the English throne in the hope of an invitation into the Royal Court, providing further insight to Dowland’s life and times.
Karamazov has been Sting’s partner in this project from its conception. A protégé of the legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache, he began his musical career with the classical guitar, continuing his studies of the Baroque Lute at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
ZBG takes its name from the surnames of its three members: Allan Zavod, David Berlin and Slava Grigoryan. All three musicians are respected in their own right and their highly original music encompasses the diverse backgrounds of these three musicians, resulting in inimitable soundscapes of classical/jazz fusion.
Sting itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)
| November 30 | Opera House Concert Hall | Sydney, AU |
| December 1 | City Hall, King George Square | Brisbane, AU |
| December 3 | Melbourne, AU | The Arts Centre, Hamer Hall |
| December 5 | Perth, AU | Concert Hall |
| December 7 | Kuala Lumpur, MA | Plenary Hall |
| December 8 | Singapore, SG | Esplanade Hall |
| December 10 | Hong Kong, HK | Jockey Club |
| December 12 | Dubai, AE | Palladium |
| December 16-18 | Tokyo, JP | Orchard Hall |
| December 20 | Osaka, JP | Festival Hall |