I had the good fortune recently to attend a presentation by millionaire rap icon, political activist, and all-round spokesman for a generation Chuck D, who rose to global recognition as the dominant voice of pioneering hip-hop collective Public Enemy. Their days as platinum-selling major label artists now definitely behind them, they’ve maintained their relevance […]
UK pianist Bill Laurance was one of the original members of Snarky Puppy. Here he talks about his new album and answers questions from one of our readers. Tell us about your latest album, Flint, and how it all came about. “Flint is the result of 10 years of searching and not always […]
The Blues In my last column, I looked at rhythm changes and this week I’d like to look at the blues, possibly the most important element of jazz music. Jazz music is made up of many types of music fused together in the United States of America. Jazz is American music. This is not […]
Julian Siegel Quartet The Verdict, Brighton Friday 23rd May, 2014 Saxophonist Siegel brought his powerhouse of a quartet to The Verdict at the end of May, playing to a packed-house. A veteran of the London scene, Siegel was accompanied by Liam Noble on piano, Oli Hayhurst on double bass and Gene Calderazzo on […]
GoGo Penguin Brighton Dome Studio Theatre Saturday 24th May, 2014 In a veritable sea of trumpeted young rising stars, it’s often difficult to distinguish the truly groundbreaking, those who really have something different to bring to the table. Picture then, three men who create the kind of musical synergy together, which bandleader and […]
Roy Hilton’s Jazz Messengers The Verdict, Brighton Friday 30th May, 2014 An evening of hard bop tunes by Horace Silver is always sure to go down well with a jazz audience. Local pianist Roy Hilton was joined by fellow locals bassist Dan Sheppard and drummer Spike Wells and augmented by the trumpet of […]
Katy O’Neill Trio with Rebecca Fidler The Verdict, Brighton Saturday 31st May, 2014 The group were augmented by Tim Wells on organ who added a gospel touch to many of the tunes. Highlights included the Etta James classic I’d Rather Go Blind, a beautiful interpretation of a Tom Waits tune […]
Now in its third year, the Bristol Bar Jazz Stage was the place to be during the 2014 Kemptown Carnival. Students from Brighton Jazz School’s Saturday class began with a selection of classic jazz tunes such as Blue Bossa. Brighton Jazz School’s Learn To Play class then took to the stage and vocalist Yvonne Rawcliffe […]