Tonight is the culmination of the year-long Kind of Blue celebrations following on from last month’s anniversary of the first release of the album in the US 50 years ago. The venue is the historic Tower of London with Jimmy Cobb, the only surviving member of the group that recorded Miles Davis’ masterpiece, in concert with his So What Band featuring Wallace Roney on trumpet. Roney worked with Miles Davis late in his life and has gone on to be an important presence on the international jazz scene. As has tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, highly rated for his gritty hard bop-rooted drive and altoist Vincent Herring, known for his Cannonball Adderley-inspired sound. They are joined by bassist Buster Williams, a key presence on Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi album and pianist Larry Willis who began his career after leaving music college to join the band of alto saxophone great, Jackie McLean.

In this month’s Jazzwise Jimmy Cobb, who turned 80 earlier this year, told Stuart Nicholson: “I haven’t been on a session where so many people bring the record to sign over the years, I’ve been on sessions and sessions but this is the one. I well remember being with that band. It was a great band, and there were some great people in it and I loved it. Red [Garland] was in that band when I joined and I loved it, it just so happened that when he left it the band went in another direction a little and I didn’t play so much like when Philly Joe was in it. But during the first part of my stay the tunes I already knew because we never had a rehearsal. I was in at the beginning of the band changing, so I was able to be myself then, not play like Philly Joe [Jones, the drummer who preceded him].

“The highlights were the most popular things the band did, but the first time when we did them. The privilege of playing at Carnegie Hall, playing on Kind of Blue – I was there at what I call ‘the right time of the music’. I made six different albums with that band at least. I still listen to them to this day.”

– Stephen Graham

Courtney Pine opens for the So What Band at the Tower this evening. For more go to towerfestival.com