Aaron Parks Trio goes Zen at Kings Place
- Monday, October 12, 2015
I’m writing this with one eye on an article about the world’s most stressed-out cities.
Live Reviews
Beat poetry meets backbeats with Barry Wallenstein and Mike Hobart’s Urban Jazz Collective at Vortex
- Friday, September 18, 2015
New York beat poet Barry Wallenstein joined Mike Hobart’s Urban Jazz Collective on Tuesday for an evening of verse and jazz at the Vortex.
Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival blasts off with Birchall, Brand and more
- Wednesday, September 16, 2015
With its emphasis on adventurous programming and bids to redress the gender imbalance permeating current mainstream jazz summits, this two-day fest was a tonic to those seeking a genuinely leftfield option.
Dave Drake and Riley Stone-Lonergan offer an enthralling glimpse of the future
- Friday, September 4, 2015
Anyone bold or foolhardy enough to essay a career in jazz would be advised to start young, and commence building themselves an audience as soon as they can.
Bobby Wellins brings bright-eyed energy to the Verdict
- Friday, September 4, 2015
Bobby Wellins is unique; a near contemporary of Rollins, Shorter and Roy Haynes, he’s a representative of the generation who discovered modern jazz, introduced it to the UK and have nurtured it ever since.
Stan Sulzmann Quartet weaves wonders at The Vortex
- Friday, August 28, 2015
Stan Sulzmann stepped in for an indisposed Bobby Wellins on Saturday night at the Vortex, with a quartet comprising players from different generations: more familiar names Ross Stanley (piano) and Tim Giles (drums) were joined by rising star Connor Chaplin on bass.
Phronesis, Tingvall and Marsalis power up at Palatia Jazz Festival
- Thursday, August 20, 2015
The two evenings that we visited the Palatia Jazz Festival this year were spent at Limburg Abbey – a 9th Century ruined abbey near Bad Dürkheim which is on the edge of the Palatinate Forest in western Germany located roughly half way between Strasbourg and Frankfurt.
Fletch’s Brew whip up an Electric Stew at the Vortex
- Tuesday, August 18, 2015
As Fletch’s Brew steamed through two sets at the Vortex, the appropriateness of the allusion in the name to Miles Davis’ electric period Bitches Brew became increasingly evident.
Robert Glasper Trio digs deep at The Hub, Edinburgh
- Tuesday, August 18, 2015
As the audience waits for the Robert Glasper Trio to take the stage, J Dilla’s instrumental hip-hop classic ‘Donuts’ plays through the P.
Steve Fishwick Trio Out To Lunch at Cadogan Hall, London
- Tuesday, August 18, 2015
I’m tempted to paraphrase the old musician’s joke about not knowing that there were two 12 o’clocks in the same day when contemplating the Cadogan Hall’s summer-long Out to Lunch series.