Spring has arrived, bringing with it the usual panoply of rabbits, lambs, blossom, and, if you’re lucky, seasonal feelings of optimism and renewal. With regards to this last, it’s also brought me a communication from the Musician’s Union regarding their standard pay scale. Those of us engaged in gleaning what we can from the […]
Multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson grew up in Brighton and joined Ian Hamer’s Sussex Youth Orchestra as a teenager. Having recorded her sixth album, Festivus, she is now preparing for a UK tour starting in Brighton. How do you describe the music you play? “I would say it's a mixed bag as I have loads […]
A few weeks ago I wrote a contemporary diary for SJM. It was difficult to compress the emotional import of the range of connections that are formed through the ongoing making of music. There is a particular form of bond made when musicians play together. None greater perhaps, for some of us, than was […]
The phrase ‘not much jazz on this year’ is becoming an annual complaint about Brighton Festival. To counteract this omission, Verdict club owner Andy Lavender has seized the initiative and organised his own Verdict Jazz Festival throughout May. The programme features extra comedy evenings as well as gigs on Sunday evenings, with the […]
Pianist Terry Seabrook’s Jazz Tip of the Month No. 9 So What Is A Tritone? In my previous jazz tip (No. 8) I mentioned the tritone as an interesting idea in jazz harmony. Tritone is the jazz term for the interval (musical pitch distance) of three whole tones (or whole steps). This is also […]
SJM editor Charlie Anderson spoke to vocalist Sara Oschlag about her latest album, My Little Boat. Why the title My Little Boat? “On February 19, 2013, five months after saying: ‘Living on a boat would be amazing!’, Dan Sheppard (double bass player and my other half) and I moved onto […]
Starting with a hard-hitting Coltrane-esque rendition of The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, this album grabs you from the very beginning. The rubato introduction to Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most shows the colourful palette of both drummer Dave Trigwell and pianist Mark Edwards. The bright latin feel also features some […]
This album is very much a personal journey featuring all original songs from Nick Belcher, with each song telling its own story. The stand out track for me is the Cuban-tinged On The Wing with some energetic soloing from Kent-based pianist Frances Knight and some tight, confident drumming by Winston Clifford. The […]
From the first track, Cabs and Kings, a reference to Cab Calloway and King Oliver, it’s obvious that you’re listening to the arrangements of someone who appreciates the rich history of big band music. The second track, Solid Ground, begins with just the baritone sax (played by Chris Peryagh) and uses the rhythm […]
How did the album come about? “It’s been ten years since I wrote and produced my first album – before I started studying and singing jazz. This was successful in its genre, but after some years on my jazz journey (and with vocal adjustments, including taming the vib!) it seemed timely to produce a […]