Patchwork Jazz Orchestra The Adventures of Mr. Pottercakes (Spark Label Spark!007) This impressive project unites some of the London jazz scene’s brightest young sparks (many of whom will be familiar to Brighton audiences from their appearances for New Generation Jazz) into a single multi-headed beast that provides a wide-ranging, ambitious showcase for everyone’s writing, arranging, […]
Sarah Tandy Infection in the Sentence (Jazz Re:freshed) Sarah Tandy has quietly been positioned as one of the movement’s most credible forces, emerging from the fertile South London scene as keys player for Nu Civilisation Orchestra, Maisha, Where Pathways Meet, Camilla George, Nubya Garcia, Nerija, and many more, and earning a ringing endorsement from the […]
Each month Peter Batten recommends a recording that jazz fans may wish to add to their personal library. Clifford Brown Jazz Immortal featuring Zoot Sims [Pacific Jazz CDP 7 46850 2] Last week I began preparing a talk about tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims. His discography suddenly reminded me of a session which I […]
This month there is good news and bad news. I will start with the good news. A newcomer, mentioned last month, has joined the Sussex big band scene. Here is a profile of Happy Days Big Band in the words of its founder, Chris Merryfield-Day. “I started playing the saxophone in 2010 and joined a […]