Berry Gordy would have been proud. Playing to a jam packed Friday night audience Jazz Jamaica brought its own brand of Motor City madness to the tenth Cheltenham Jazz Festival with a turbo-charged performance of Motown Unloaded, their freshly minted skank through some of the legendary soul label's greatest sides.
His performance at the recent Cheltenham Jazz Festival was one of the festival's highlights.
One of the longest running UK free festivals takes place next month in west London.
The Cinderella of the big city jazz festivals, the Birmingham Jazz Festival, is back next month from 1-10 July this time sponsored by Starbucks.
This year's Mercury Music Prize nominations give a welcome shot in the arm for the UK indie jazz scene with the first nomination for a group on the Babel label with the naming of Polar Bear as one of the names on the list.
Courtney Pine has a new album scheduled for release in late October/early November with a nationwide tour to follow, including two London Jazz Festival dates at the QEH.
In a departure from its usual programming Ronnie Scott's club is mounting two weeks of special gigs to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
FeaturesIn This Month's Issue-----------------------------------------Abram Wilson - Ticket to RideGilad Atzmon - Not Strictly KosherDave Holland - The Big PictureReviews - Jazz and BeyondFrom the UK's biggest review section-----------------------------------------
Singer and songwriter Oscar Brown Jr has died aged 78 as a result of complications following a blood infection.
A year after she signed to Universal Classics and Jazz and released her debut album, Bittersweet and Blue, singer Gwyneth Herbert has parted company with the label.
