Review - Talking The Groove: Jazz Words From The Morning Star (Chris Searle)

For the past 94 years, the Morning Star – known until 1966 as The Daily Worker – has been the daily newspaper of choice for Britain’s communists. Despite the collapse of the USSR, the discrediting of communism as a moral political force and some woefully tin-eared positions (eg, on the 1956 Hungarian uprising), the collectively-owned Morning Star (which is still sold at newsagents) has continued to plough its lonely furrow in the face of mainstream indifference and occasional mockery.

Although as a Left libertarian, I would take issue with many of the Star’s positions, I do admire the paper for hanging on in there, and for providing some much-needed diversity in the UK media landscape. It’s also the only Leftist newspaper actually worth reading, unlike the shitrags pushed out by the likes of the Socialist Workers Party. And, there is a good deal to admire in the Star’s culture coverage.

One of the paper’s biggest assets in this regard is Chris Searle, a lover of cricket, poetry and jazz, who has written for the Star for decades. At the age of 80, he is still a regular at (for example, Cafe OTO) concerts in London, and he still writes prolifically on jazz. His pieces are always worth reading and he’s an astute and perceptive commentator on the music. As a result, it might be argued – I certainly would – that the Morning Star has the best jazz coverage of any daily in Britain. All the other papers – with the exception, perhaps, of the Financial Times – have largely dumped jazz: the supposedly ‘intellectual’ Guardian, has mostly shunted the music out into the margins in favour of screeds on mainstream pap; and the Telegraph, Times, and the tabloids seem to show no interest in jazz whatsoever. But Searle continues to advocate for jazz, and to energetically push new and young talent in his writings for the paper.

Talking the Groove is Searle’s third book on the subject and collects together many of his more recent pieces, going up to February of this year and also covering the weird, dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subjects covered go from the mainstream (John McLaughlin at Ronnie’s) to the more outré (William Parker) in a variety of forms: gig and album reviews, interviews, think pieces… all are short and to the point, often containing real insights, but also making for ideal ‘dip in’ reading. Importantly, what comes across in this collection is Searle’s passion for, and connection with, the music; he understands the importance of the artist’s struggle for creative (and often, social and political) freedom as a crucial driving force in jazz. And it seems that Searle didn’t get the memo about jazz ‘being dead’, because reading this collection, it seems as if the music is as alive as ever – for those who can be bothered to go out and look for it.

Like all of JiB’s publications, Talking The Groove comes with a musical supplement created especially for, and only available with, this book – an excellent double CD compilation featuring the likes of Chris McGregor, Brotherhood of Breath, Splinters (a group featuring Tubby Hayes), Trevor Watts, Bruce Turner, John Stevens and others. Splendid, also essential, stuff. 

This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Jazzwise magazine. Never miss an issue – subscribe today