Joshua Redman to release new album
Category : Breaking News
21/11/08
January sees the release of US saxophone star Joshua Redman’s latest and easily most adventurous album, Compass. Following on from 2007 album Back East, Redman is joined by Brian Blade (drums), Larry Grenadier (bass), Gregory Hutchinson (drums) and Reuben Rogers (bass) on a set that includes Redman originals and ‘Moonlight’, a version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The loose, free-jazz nature of much of the album allied with the “double trio” setting on some tracks is an intriguing prospect for long term fans and a clear turning point in Redman’s career. Redman is due in the UK for dates in March which include the Gateshead Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s club.
Last Updated ( 21/11/08 )
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Out and About At The London Jazz Festival
Category : Breaking News
20/11/08
If there was one man to kick off the behemoth that is the 2008 London Jazz festival in style then it was Femi Kuti. With his feverishly energetic Afro-beat and firebrand political fury Kuti showed that jazz today provides a revitalising and revolutionary message for our troubled times. Yet his superb band’s party spirit was the thing that whipped the rowdy Royal Festival Hall crowd into a dancing throng, so much so that Kuti chastised some of the noisier members of the Nigerian sections of the crowd, with good humour as well it must be said. The juggernaut of a band showed their versatility with many extended solos and some truly scorching grooves, it was the perfect start to a week of jazz partying.
Speaking of which the annual Radio 3 Jazz On 3 live broadcast came kicking and screaming out of Ronnie Scott’s this year as the iconic jazz venue returned to the LJF fold after several years away. It’s always a great chance to get a snapshot of the multitude of acts appearing across the event, that with out the use of teleportation/ time travel device inevitably clash with each other over the ten-day festival. Resident US saxophonist Vincent Herring tore it up in fine and funky style, while trumpeter Stephen Berstein’s exceptional Millennial Territory Orchestra evoked the spirit of the 1950s Deep South with a rousing display of ensemble brass playing and even a heart-warming version of The Beatles ‘All You Need Is Love’.
Yet if the LJF is about exclusive performances, and or one off surprises, then the coruscating sound of iconic free jazz saxophonist Ken Vandermark letting rip for a breathless 20 minute assault with revered US bassist Barry Guy and cult UK drummer Mark Sanders surely proved that Ronnie’s is right back on track and then some.
Last Updated ( 21/11/08 )
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Denys Baptiste Leads Tribute To South African Piano Master
Category : Breaking News
20/11/08
When saxophonist Denys Baptiste was starting to make his way on the jazz scene in the 1990s one of his biggest breaks was to play with South African piano legend Bheki Mseleku, in a band that included the American drummer Marvin Smitty Smith. Denys pays his respects to his former employer Mseleku who sadly died in September at a special gig tonight in the company of Denys’ quartet at Soho’s Spice of Life. The concert will include music from the South African’s albums Celebration and Timelessness. For more go to www.spicejazz.co.uk
Last Updated ( 21/11/08 )
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Soweto Kinch Collaborates With His Father For New Stage Production
Category : Breaking News
18/11/08
London’s Bethnal Green Rd venue Rich Mix is to host a play entitled Coming Up For Air written by Don Kinch, the father of jazz saxophonist/MC Soweto Kinch. Directed by Olusola Oyeleye the play has music written by Soweto. The play is the story of a young black man, Denzil Nurse (played by James Hamilton), who shoots dead three community leaders and is based on a true story told to Don Kinch by a man who, after an angry exchange with his sister, was arrested, taken to a mental hospital and held for three weeks under section 22 of the Mental Health Act. Don Kinch has a long history of involvement with theatre in the Birmingham area and together with son Soweto runs the pan-arts organisation Nu Century Arts which has produced this play. Coming Up For Air takes place at Rich Mix on 10-13 December. Tickets are £12. For more go to www.richmix.org.uk
Last Updated ( 18/11/08 )
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Parker scoops Hamlyn Award
Category : Breaking News
17/11/08
Saxophonist Evan Parker has been named as one of the recipients of this year’s Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards For Artists. Five visual artists and three composers in all were presented with cheques for £15,000 each, the first of three annual payments totalling £45,000. The Awards support artists at critical moments in their careers, enabling them to focus on their work and develop creatively. The other winners were: Duncan Campbell, Marcus Coates, Simon Martin, Terry Smith and Alison Wilding, Emily Howard, and Janek Schaefer.
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Herbie Hancock - Hopes and Dreams
Category : Features
24/10/08
 This month Herbie Hancock makes his presence felt in the UK by playing five eagerly anticipated live shows, including two concerts at the London Jazz Festival that coincide with the release of Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock, a 12-track career retrospective covering his work for the Blue Note, Warner, Columbia and Verve record labels. In this exclusive interview with Stuart Nicholson, Hancock talks about his new band, his time with Miles Davis and his support for Barack Obama in the US elections on 4 November.
Last Updated ( 12/11/08 )
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Peter Brötzmann - Master Blaster
Category : Features
24/10/08
 Until you’ve heard saxophonist Peter Brötzmann in the flesh you only can gain a partial sense of the primeval sound and sheer power of the free jazz German pioneer through listening to him on CD. For those who haven’t heard him live already, this month you’ll get the chance at the London Jazz Festival. Daniel Spicer talks to him about his motivations for playing the way he does and looks back at his seminal album Machine Gun 40 years on.
Last Updated ( 12/11/08 )
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Herbie Hancock - Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock
Category : CD Reviews
24/10/08
Verve VERF01615-2 | ***
Herbie Hanock (p; el p; key; vocoder) and various ensembles from 1962 to present day. Herbie Hancock is a fully certified jazz giant, and this career retrospective skims over the wave-tops of a remarkable career in jazz. Shoe-horning almost 50 years of recorded music (over 400 albums either in his own name or on which he has played) into just 12 selections is an unenviable job, and rather than bemoan the inevitable omissions which the limited space of one CD offers, it is better to concentrate on what is represented on this album, which end-to-end makes for an enjoyable 70 minute listen.
Last Updated ( 24/10/08 )
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