Nominations are now open for the 2016 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG). Nominations are open for best Jazz Album, Jazz Vocalist, Jazz Instrumentalist, Jazz Ensemble together with best Venue and awards for media, education, newcomer and services to jazz. You can cast your votes […]
Who are your main influences? Are they just jazz violinists or are there other instrumentalists and non-jazz influences? “In terms of jazz violinists my first main influence was Stephane Grappelli who I started listening to around the age of 12 and was lucky enough to meet when he played at Sunderland Empire in 1988. […]
Tell us about your musical upbringing and how you got into jazz. “I began playing guitar when I was 11, I had classical guitar lessons for about 3 months and then switched to electric guitar. I had a really great music teacher when I was in secondary school who had our school band learning […]
Tell us about how you got into playing drums and what you get out of it. “I started out around 14 at my secondary school in London. Luckily the drum teacher at the time was a jazz drummer and he hipped me to the likes of Max Roach, Tony Williams and more early on. […]
Dave Liebman Masterclass Brighton Jazz School Masterclass Series The Verdict, Brighton Sunday 24th January 2016, 4pm Beginning with an overview of his background, Liebman was, not surprisingly, full of stories and anecdotes about his life in jazz performing with the likes of Miles Davis and Elvin Jones. He began on piano at […]
Clarinettist Arun Ghosh discusses his music, ahead of his appearance at the 2016 South Coast Jazz Festival this month. Did you always want to be a clarinettist? “I always wanted to be a musician, ever since I started playing the recorder at primary school! I got the bug, played it all the time […]
Brian O’Connor has been photographing jazz musicians since the 1970s and has photographed a number of jazz legends. Here he talks about his images and his upcoming exhibition at the South Coast Jazz Festival. How did you first get into jazz? “Although I enjoyed pop music of the late 50’s you would occasionally […]
Charlie Anderson: I last interviewed you a year ago, what have you been doing since? Alex Garnett: “Hi Charlie, nice to talk to you again. Since we last spoke I’ve been busy, I feel blessed. Apart from a myriad of one-offs and rent jobs, I'm a regular part of the Ronnie Scott's team and I have […]
Acclaimed pianist John Law talks to Charlie Anderson about his latest project set around Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Tell us about your latest project, performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations. How did that come about? “Because I’m originally from classical music, Bach is something that I play pretty much every day. For me it’s like praying […]
Multi-reeds player and arranger Robin Blakeman has recently collaborated with vocalist Tina May. Here he talks about his life in music. [Photo: Robin Blakeman with James Moody] Tell us how you first got into music. “I was raised in the Anglo-Catholic religion (though now I have none) and my love for music originates from […]