Alina Bzhezhinska Quartet The Verdict Friday 17th March 2017 The harp has a very marginal history as a jazz instrument, barely even appearing in the ‘miscellaneous instruments’ category in the self-appointed arbiters that are magazine polls. However, it does possess at least one major voice, and one that’s closely linked into the very […]
Sad tidings reach us that the Jazz At The Palmiera sessions in Hove are no more, having been abruptly terminated without notice. While it’s been heartening to see the abundance of new casual gigs springing up around town over the last couple of years, both players and aficionados alike will be wearily familiar with […]
Look at the wider world today, both abroad and at home, and you find yourself inundated with depressing headlines recording a global situation in which chronic divisions are increasingly being exploited and exacerbated by a political realm in which the best seem to lack all conviction, while the worst are unfortunately fuller than ever […]
Remi Harris In On The 2 Remi Harris is in an enviable position, having both youth on his side and talent in abundance, and the goodwill of both the jazz scene and the more commercial crossover market that opens up as a consequence of support from Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music. He […]
2016 has certainly been a year to remember – good for right-wing demagogues, but bad for europhiles, pollsters and political pundits, though their discomfiture pales to insignificance compared to the travails endured by the unhappy citizens of Syria and Yemen. The Grim Reaper seems to have been unusually active amongst the denizens of the […]
Eddie Myer 5tet Finders Keepers Bassist and SJM columnist Eddie Myer has already made a name for himself on the local jazz scene with his previous album, Why Worry, released back in 2015 and featuring Frank Harrison and the late Ian Price. Rather than just an album solely of Eddie’s originals, this […]
The autumn touring schedule has made it impossible for me to attend a single one of the many amazing gigs that comprise the EFG London Jazz Festival, and all that I’ve had to console for missing (yet again) the priceless opportunity of seeing Wayne Shorter is the chance purchase of a copy of Philip […]
Anyone with more than a passing interest in jazz, an internet connection and a confident command of key stage 2 reading abilities can’t have failed to notice the amount of press coverage being given to LA based saxophonist, composer and bandleader Kamasi Washington. His expansive personality and grand gesture approach have given journalists plenty […]
Nigel Price Organ Trio Heads & Tales Volume 2 Whirlwind WR4695 The term ‘journeyman’ is often employed by jazz critics as a means of damning with faint praise, implying a musician who has achieved basic competence but is unable to inspire any higher feelings in his audience. In its original sense, it referred […]
Autumn is traditionally a time of announcements in the world of showbiz, to which jazz finds itself attached, often with a certain reluctance, in our late-stage capitalist society. Music biz executives return to their artfully dressed-down offices after their August holidays – promoters and agents re-group after the summer festival season – arts […]