The art of jazz guitar has come a long way since Wes Montgomery’s tragic passing in 1968, at the age of just 43, writes Denny Ilett. And yet his influence remains as […]
Ten tracks by Wes Montgomery I can’t do without…by Denny Ilett
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Shai Maestro – ‘Human’
Shai Maestro – Human (ECM 0890670. CD Review by Jon Turney) This is a dazzler, full of lyric beauties. For his second release on ECM Israeli pianist Shai Maestro expands his normal […]
Jeremy Lubbock (1931-2021). Tribute by John Altman
John Altman pays tribute to “one of the greatest arrangers in the history of popular music”, Jeremy Lubbock (1931-2021): Jeremy Lubbock, who passed away peacefully on Friday morning in Oxfordshire at the […]
Mark Burford – ‘Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field’
Mark Burford – Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field (Oxford University Press, 496pp., £22.99. Book review by Chris Parker) Although this is the fourth published study of “the world’s greatest gospel […]
Stick Men with Gary Husband – ‘Owari’
Stick Men with Gary Husband – Owari (MoonJune Records MJR106. Review by Julian Maynard-Smith) Stick Men is a trio that’s effectively an offshoot of King Crimson, a band whose ancestral roots twist […]
Børge Olsen – ‘Music in the Dark’
Børge Olsen – Music in the Dark (Fresh Tea Records. CD review by Rob Mallows) On the cover of this, his second solo release, veteran Norwegian guitarist Børge Olsen looks every inch the […]
Nesrine – ‘Nesrine’
Nesrine – Nesrine (ACT 9919-2. CD review by Alison Bentley) Singer/composer/cellist Nesrine sings in French, Arabic and English and her songs are full of African-based grooves and engaging harmonies. The first thing […]
Simon Spillett launches a new blog today, 1 Feb 2021
Saxophonist Simon Spillett, author of the biography of Tubby Hayes (‘The Long Shadow of The Little Giant’ – link to review below) is as well-known for his love of writing as he […]
Various Artists (Bokani Dyer, Thandi Ntuli, The Ancestors…) – ‘Indaba Is’
Various Artists (Bokani Dyer, Thandi Ntuli, The Ancestors – Indaba Is (Brownswood Recordings. Album Review by Dick Hovenga(*) The Johannesburg jazz scene, brimming with life, has been making a big impression for several years, […]
Frank Toms (1937-2021): A Tribute by Simon Spillett
Pianist/arranger Frank Toms, who passed away last Wednesday 27 January at the age of 83 at home in Penn in Buckinghamshire, invariably brought levity, a positive and encouraging spirit, and what Derek […]
Survey Launched on Livestreaming : livestreamingmusic.uk
Pianist Sam Leak is part of a research team investigating livestreaming. They are currently doing a survey, for which responses are invited (click on the image to participate): Since the onset of […]
10 Tracks by Sarah Vaughan I Can’t Do Without…by Lauren Bush
“Sarah Vaughan has had a major influence on me as a singer”, writes Lauren Bush, in the second of our series of jazz musicians writing about tracks/albums they can’t do without. In […]
Stan Getz: ‘The Lost Interview’ (to be broadcast on Jazz FM on 2 February)
Backstage at the Nice Jazz Festival in July 1987, the great tenor saxophonist Stan Getz gave a recorded interview to Norwegian broadcaster and musician Harald Gundhus which, for some undisclosed reason, was […]
Mike Bono – ‘Familiar Places’
Mike Bono – Familiar Places (La Reserve – digital only. CD Review by Adam Sieff) Mike Bono’s name may be unfamiliar, but now I realise that, unknowingly, I’ve already heard his guitar […]
Binker and Moses – ‘Escape the Flames’
Binker and Moses – Escape the Flames (Gearbox GB1570. Digital/Vinyl. Album Review by Adam Sieff) The Total Refreshment Centre in Stoke Newington was completely rammed on a warm Sunday night in June […]
