With blue skies and frenetic feathered activity around the barn where I live on Hawthbush Farm, comes a sense of urgency and freshness following the sustained grey onslaught of wetness over the winter. It seems as though there may be a metaphorical spring in the UK jazz scene, too, with more festivals, gigs, and […]
This week brought the sad news of the untimely passing of Paco de Lucía. In his native Spain he was a cultural figure of immense importance, and his uniquely successful career conferred such stature upon him that his fame had spread far beyond the confines of flamenco enthusiasts (admittedly a global constituency). I don’t […]
Last Friday I managed to get myself along to see much-favoured youngbloods Empirical playing at the Pavilion Theatre to an appreciative crowd. It was a rare chance to see something from the current forefront of jazz-and-related-musics on our doorstep, and I was pleased not to recognise any local players among the audience, as everyone […]
History was briefly reversed for an evening last year when one Monday shortly before Christmas a temporary and very localised electrical problem cut the power at our regular gig at the Bee’s Mouth here in Brighton, leaving us with our instruments untouched but our amps redundant. Stalwarts that we are, we carried on jamming […]
The dust has settled from the undignified collapse of 2013, and 2014 has made its dishevelled entry but has yet to reveal its true nature, leaving us free to indulge in a bit of speculation. The recent sad loss of Stan Tracey reminds us again how few of the players from the “classic era” […]
Music is an integral part of Christmas, of course, from the ii-V-I cadences of Silent Night to the modal God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, but generally jazz and traditional Christmas festivities can be a bit of an uneasy fit. Jazz’s roots in New Orleans would link it to Mardi Gras, suggesting that Easter is […]
Comping bass solos: some suggestions for pianists, guitarists and drummers Something that rarely gets discussed (until after the first set on a gig, occasionally) is what kind of accompaniment the bass player would like behind his/her solos. When it comes to accompanying singers and soloists, pianists and guitarists usually have the support of a […]
“The level of commitment and the number of hours of sheer dedication required to play jazz to a good standard have not changed. Let’s be thankful for the spirit, the sheer fascination with jazz-and-related-musics that keeps people involved whatever the prevailing winds of fashion or technology may bring.” ~‘Jazz and Plumbing’ (Issue 6) […]
The history of jazz is a part of the histories of both the creative arts and the entertainment industry. The latter has been characterized since the birth of the mass media in the early 20th century by a continuing dialectic between those who create the music and those who exploit it commercially, both sides […]
The Brighton Jazz Club ran at the Komedia for a number of years before rising charges forced them out, to the welcoming sanctuary of the Verdict. One of the last gigs I saw before the move was Jasper Høiby’s redoubtable Phronesis. They started right off the bat with a furious yet utterly controlled intensity […]