Bassist and composer Alison Rayner spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson ahead of her appearance at Chichester Jazz Club. With a career spanning more than 40 years, nearly 30 of which have been spent running Blow the Fuse with Deirdre Cartwright, bassist Alison Rayner didn’t release her debut album until 2014. The acclaimed album […]
Tell us a bit about your band with Tom Barford. “It’s a two-tenor fronted chordless quintet with Ferg Ireland on bass and James Maddren on drums.” What kind of music will you be playing at The Verdict on Friday 2nd February? “We mostly play compositions of mine and Tom’s – often it’s music […]
Pianist and composer Elliot Galvin spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson. How did you first get into playing piano? “I started when I was pretty young, when I was about six or seven. My next door neighbour had a piano and I used to go round there and just have a little tinkle on […]
Trumpeter Claude Deppa spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson about the Brotherhood of Breath Heritage Band. You’re now performing with The Brotherhood of Breath Heritage Band after having performed with Chris McGregor in one of the band’s original incarnations. “Yes, the Brotherhood had three, almost four, incarnations. There was the original band, then Chris […]
Multi-talented singer and pianist Ian Shaw spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson. Are you all ready for 2018? “I’m like a schoolboy. As soon as I get my diary bought from WH Smiths, I think I can start my life again. Nothing exists until I’ve got my big red diary.” Are you […]
Trumpeter Alexandra Ridout won the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2016. Currently studying at The Royal Academy of Music, she spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson. You won the Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2016. How’s it been going since then? “Really good. That whole competition opened up […]
Saxophonist, composer and arranger Pee Wee Ellis was a key member of James Brown’s ground-breaking band from the 1960s onwards and has since released his own albums and worked with Van Morrison and Ali Farka Toure amongst others. Now in his seventies, Pee Wee Ellis spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson. Tell us a […]
Kicking off the South Coast Jazz Festival is The Jazz Repertory Company who will be performing ‘100 Years of Jazz in 99 Minutes’. The brain-child of drummer Richard Pite, the band features Pete Long, Enrico Tomasso and vocalist/trumpeter Georgina Jackson. Georgina spoke to SJM editor Charlie Anderson. You’re doing 100 years of Jazz in […]
Saxophonist Dave O’Higgins recently released his new album It’s Always 9:30 in Zog, his 19th album as leader. “It was time for a new album and I wanted to get back to writing some more original tunes. I’ve done that quite a lot in the past but the last few albums that I’ve presented […]
How did you get started on the drums? I started off playing snare drum in school, taught by a very old-school military fife and drum player, for two years, learning traditional technique and rudiments and playing in the school orchestra. And then I worked in a green grocers to save up some money to […]