jazz
Arild Andersen Quintet and Reijseger/Fraanje/Sylla, QEHSunday, 17 November 2013![]() Five minutes into this concert, at that stage a polite cello and piano duo, there was a raucous bellowing from the rear, so loud that the front stalls leapt. The delicate cello spiccato continued, despite the persistent bellowing. Gradually, the... Read more... |
René Marie, Pizza Express Jazz ClubSunday, 17 November 2013In a fascinating interview with the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, published in The Los Angeles Times in June 1979 around the release of Mingus, Mitchell signs off with the following aperçu. “You know, pigeonholes all seem funny to me. I feel like... Read more... |
Jazz Voice 2013, BarbicanSaturday, 16 November 2013Harp glissandos, trilling flutes, the heft of a swinging brass section. Yes, last night's Jazz Voice once again kick-started the EFG London Jazz Festival in typically exuberant fashion. Arranged, scored and conducted by the indefatigable Guy Barker... Read more... |
A Tribute to Abram WilsonThursday, 14 November 2013A little more than a year after the death of acclaimed jazz trumpeter and composer Abram Wilson, his former manager and widow Jennie Cashman Wilson has teamed up with EFG London Jazz Festival producers Serious to stage the only London tribute... Read more... |
Brother Face, The Vortex, DalstonSaturday, 09 November 2013![]() Liam Noble has kept his fans waiting so long for some new music, they were beginning to wonder if he’d turned into David Bowie. The British jazz pianist’s last album of originals, Romance among the Fishes, was released in 2004. Since then he’s... Read more... |
Just in From Scandinavia: Nordic Music Round-Up 9Monday, 28 October 2013![]() Norway is currently attracting an uncommon degree of attention due to the absurd “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” by Ylvis, the comedy duo Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker. The country’s mainstream music hasn’t been this newsworthy since a-ha conquered... Read more... |
The Chaos Orchestra presents 'The Rite', The VortexThursday, 24 October 2013![]() Still only a year out of college, the diversely gifted trumpeter, composer and bandleader Laura Jurd has risen rapidly to prominence, enterprisingly bypassing the ritual of hanging around to be noticed by creating her own scene and ensembles. One of... Read more... |
The Impossible Gentlemen, Pizza Express Jazz Club SohoTuesday, 22 October 2013![]() Of the many challenges facing a contemporary jazz quartet, there are, perhaps, several more pressing than becoming a gentleman. For this extraordinary band, their conviction derives from the affection, respect and detail with which they synthesise... Read more... |
Jacqui Dankworth, 606 ClubFriday, 04 October 2013![]() Jazz singer Jacqui Dankworth’s fifth album Live to Love is, on the face of it, an unlikely forum for appreciation of quantum physics or the heroic plight of Pakistani campaigner Malala Yousafzai. This new release, launched at the 606 Club, contains... Read more... |
Preview: ReVoice! 2013Sunday, 29 September 2013![]() For lovers of vocal jazz, Georgia Mancio's ReVoice! Festival has become an unmissable part of London's jazz calendar. Now in its fourth year, ReVoice! has previously played host to artists such as Gregory Porter (his first UK booking), Tuck &... Read more... |
CD: Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi MoonchileThursday, 26 September 2013![]() It's only the truly great albums that usher you into a sound-world that is entirely sui generis. And so it is with this second chapter of jazz sax player and composer Matana Roberts's Coin Coin project, a vast musical work-in-progress exploring... Read more... |
John Etheridge and the Soft Machine Legacy with Keith Tippett, Pizza ExpressSunday, 15 September 2013![]() Some people have all the luck. Listening to John Etheridge’s self-deprecating description of how his career has progressed (in interviews such as Radio 3‘s Jazz Library, or at a gig, when he is a disarmingly open host), you would think he had... Read more... |
