Maria Chiara Argiro Hidden Seas (Cavalo Records CRMCACD01) Italian keyboardist Maria Chiara Argirò maintains a busy presence around London’s cutting edge of jazz-based musical activities, most recently with Liran Donin’s post-Avishai Cohen outfit 1000 Boats. A formidably accomplished musician, she’s emblematic of the kind of international, wide-ranging scene that’s grown up in London, with musicians […]
New York All-Stars Live Encounter (Ubuntu UBU0030) A long-treasured project for Ubuntu boss Martin Hummel, the first All Stars line up featured the veteran and late lamented Harold Mabern on piano. That set was so well received that a follow up was a must, and with Mabern’s health no longer permitting his participation, so top-flight […]
Women In Jazz: Yazz Ahmed + Rosie Turton Quintet + Alina Bzhezhinska Thursday 3rd October, 2019 Jazz Cafe, Camden The last ‘Women in Jazz’ night at Jazz Cafe, was a kick ass triple bill from start to finish! Three female instrumentalists getting out of their comfort zones doing cutting edge original music that elevates the music […]
PYJÆN + DJs Tina Edwards & Charles Vaughan Patterns, Brighton Wednesday 23rd October, 2019 September’s Offie Mag jazz night saw a showcase of young talent that included Chloe Bodur, Yadasofi and Ebi Soda. October saw jazz collective PYJÆN on the bill, with support from DJs Tina Edwards and Charles Vaughan. Having met as students […]
New Generation Jazz: Rosie Frater-Taylor The Verdict, Brighton Friday 27th September, 2019 It was ‘all change’ at the Verdict for this month’s gig in the New Generation Jazz series. Gone were the heady improvisations of the ‘Nu Jazz’ to be replaced by the wonderfully sublime vocals of the delightful Rosie Frater-Taylor. Catgorised by many as […]
Skinny Pelembe Patterns, Brighton Thursday 17th October, 2019 Skinny Pelembe has had a great year since releasing his 2018 EP Sleep More, Make More Friends which saw him team up with Hejira, Yazmin Lacey and Emma-Jean Thackray and this year he released his new album Dreaming Is Dead Now and has appeared at Love Supreme […]
Barnacles And so we begin (Cheeba Cheeba Records CCR003) Brass bands are an enduring part of the British musical tradition, and it’s fascinating to see how that tradition has morphed into the current popularity for funky updates on the wind and rhythm sound, from the consciously retro-named Hackney Colliery Brass Band on outwards. Barnacles bring […]
PYJÆN PYJÆN (Bandcamp self-release) For the past few years now jazz has undergone a change of face and sound. In 2015 Amercian saxophonist composer Kamasi Washington wowed audiences worldwide with his debut release The Epic, which gave its listeners a new approach to what we class as ‘jazz’ music. Since then the face of jazz […]
Quentin Collins Sextet Road Warrior (Ubuntu UBU0027) Quentin Collins is a major force in British jazz – not just as a musician whose longstanding occupancy of the trumpet chair in Kyle Eastwood’s band has cemented his international reputation, but also as an educator, bandleader and producer – wearing the latter hat, he was most recently […]
Arun Luthra’s Konnakol Jazz Project The Verdict, Brighton Friday 23rd August, 2019 Konnakol, the South Indian vocal art of performing percussion syllables is something that has rarely been combined with jazz and Arun Luthra represents one of a small number of jazz musicians who have mastered the vocal and rhythmic complexity of this art form. […]