The distinctive tone of UK saxophonist Martin Speake has been well-known since his work with Itchy Fingers in the 1980s. Since then, he’s recorded 23 albums, including one for ECM with Paul […]
Peter Slavid previews this year’s eighth Liverpool International Jazz Festival. It will be his first visit to the festival. He picks a double bill of Martin Archer’s Anthropology Band and Moonmot as […]
Sebastian writes: Love Supreme, “Europe’s biggest outdoor jazz festival”, is making a programme announcement today 6 February 2020 for its 8th festival which takes place from 3-5 July. The newly announced acts […]
Saxophonist/composer Karen Sharp has a new album Another Place with a recently-formed trio featuring Simon Thorpe on bass and Colin Oxley on guitar. Release date is 7 February and the album launch […]
RAM concerts: ECM at 50 (Susie Sainsbury Theatre, RAM, 30 and 31 January 2020. Review by Sebastian Scotney – Thursday; Sam Norris – Friday first half) The Royal Academy’s celebration of the […]
Sebastian writes: The Crazy Coqs room at Brasserie Zedel next to Piccadilly Circus is announcing it fourth French Festival. The week-long series of performances was instigated by James Albrecht, Director of Fane […]
The Big Blind with Kurt Elling and Dee Dee Bridgewater (Queen Elizabeth Hall. 31 January 2020. Review by Sebastian Scotney) The musical The Big Blind is a big show: its music and dialogue […]
Alabaster Deplume – To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (International Anthem IARC0030. Formats available below. Review by Adam Sieff) Albaster DePlume is a spoken word artist, writer, saxophonist and bandleader. My […]
Neil Hughes is familiar to the jazz community as a promoter. He started The Cinnamon Club in Altrincham (South Manchester) in January 2003. The club puts on around 80 gigs a year […]
The 2020 edition of the Ideas of Noise festival finds it expanded into an eight-day extravaganza embracing different genres of left-field music, art and performance taking place across Birmingham and the West […]
Trumpeter Byron Wallen has a new album Portrait: Reflections on Belonging, his first as leader for 13 years. He is also about to set off on an extensive tour with his band Four […]
AuB is a London-based quartet led by tenor saxophonists Tom Barford and Alex Hitchcock, with Fergus Ireland on bass and James Maddren on drums. They combine fierce, virtuoso improvisations, electronic elements and […]
Sebastian writes: The first artists for the 2020 Swanage Jazz Festival, with a wide range of predominantly British jazz, have been announced: Friday 10 July features musicians from the region, notably the […]
At last night’s Grammy Awards (COMPLETE LIST HERE) the five Jazz Category Award winners were: Best Improvised Jazz Solo SOZINHO Randy Brecker (with the NDR Big Band) Best Jazz Vocal Album LITTLE […]
Sunday Jazz Burns Night Special: Georgia Cécile, Animal Society, Fergus McCreadie Trio, Tom Bancroft’s In Common (Sunday Jazz In The Crypt, Middlesbrough. 19 January 2020. Review by AJ Dehany) The Burns Night […]
