I come from a fairly musical family, neither of my parents were full-time musicians but both were musical in different ways and made sure our house was always full of instruments. At some point I found their xylophone and learnt a few nursery rhymes which set me off on a path to studying […]
2019 Parliamentary Jazz Awards The full list of nominees for the 2019 Parliamentary Jazz Awards have been announced with Brighton’s The Verdict jazz club nominated for Jazz Venue of the Year and Claire Martin OBE nominated for Jazz Vocalist of the Year. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday 3rd December. […]
The inaugural We Out Here Festival in Abbots Ripton, Cambridgeshire saw Gilles Peterson curating a festival that embraced live music and club culture, beginning with a set from Nubya Garcia (below), followed by DJ sets from Matthew Herbert and Maxwell Owin. Alabaster dePlume (above) utilised spoken word and experimental music to spread a […]
I was the eldest of 3 daughters (with a much older brother away from home) in what was quite a disrupted family unit. I have wonderful, loving parents but as with many families, a lot of separation and drama unfolded in my youth which left me a deeply nervous, sensitive child. I struggled greatly […]
Jazz writer George Richardson reviews his highlight of the 2019 Love Supreme Festival, Chick Corea’s Spanish Heart Band, with photos by Lisa Wormsley. Love Supreme Festival: Chick Corea’s Spanish Heart Band The Big Top, Love Supreme Festival Saturday 6th July, 2019 A cloudy wet morning preceding the sunny Friday saw the start of 2019’s […]
Chiminyo, aka drummer Tim Doyle, spoke to Charlie Anderson about his solo drum project and how he got started in drumming. How did you first get into playing the drums? I played in an indie band first, when I was 13. I was actually a guitarist and in the first rehearsal we worked out […]
I was born and grew up in Southampton. Musically, life was really busy until 12 years old. I had private piano lessons from the age of 7; school had provided me with free recorder and flute lessons, and they had a wonderful choir and orchestra which I absolutely loved. We rehearsed every week […]
My mum was pretty much on the run from my dad from the outset! This meant living in Totnes, Hastings and Battle (in a caravan, and then on a farm) before he eventually gained custody of me and brought me up as a single dad from 1970 onwards. We moved to Battersea, Chelsea, Kensington, […]
What is Steam Down? The creator behind Steam Down, Ahnansé (aka Wayne Francis) describes it best. “It’s a sub-cultural movement, centred around a collective of musicians, writers and creators with a weekly event on Wednesday, and a touring band and orchestra in the process of making a record. It’s multiple things but definitely a space […]
I was born in 1967 in Wimbledon which is where I grew up. Well actually I grew up in Colliers Wood, but Wimbledon sounds posher. I went to a stage school part-time from the ages of 5 to 15 and without doubt those years shaped me. My childhood was spent wishing I was a […]