Samara Joy (Jazz Cafe Camden Town. 7 March 2023. Live review by Sebastian Scotney) Inexorable. Inevitable. Meteoric. Well-deserved. Heartening. Rapid. All of the above. The adjectives to describe the rise in the […]
Samara Joy at the Jazz Cafe
RIP Fionna Duncan (1939-2022)
An important and highly influential figure on the Scottish scene, vocalist and educator Fionna Duncan died on Tuesday 6 December 2022 at the age of 83. As Rob Adams has written in […]
Reis Demuth Wiltgen with Emile V. Schlesser: ‘Synaesthesia’ at SHUFFLE LX in Luxembourg
Reis Demuth Wiltgen with Emile V. Schlesser — Synaesthesia ( SHUFFLE LX —Opderschmelz, Dudelange, Luxembourg. 26 November 2022. Live review by AJ Dehany) “I can see colours dancing in my head. I […]
Matana Roberts at Milton Court (2022 EFG LJF)
Matana Roberts (alto sax, clarinet & vocals), Joy Guidry (bassoon & vocals), Hannah Marcus (fiddle, accordion, guitar & vocals), Nic Caloia (bass & vocals), Sam Shalabi (guitar, oud & vocals) and Ryan Sawyer (drums, vibraphone, jaw […]
Cambridge Jazz Festival (10-27 Nov)
After two online/live hybrid years, the Cambridge Jazz Festival is back in full in-person mode. Preview by Izzy Blankfield: Musical connections are at the centre of this year’s Cambridge Jazz Festival, which […]
Ant Law and Alex Hitchcock – Same Moon in The Same World
(Outside In Music. Available from Bandcamp. CD Review by Patrick Hadfield) Lockdown was a hard time for many people as they faced isolation, grief and the sudden loss of their livelihoods. But some […]
Art Themen at Bristol Music Club
Art Themen (Fringe Jazz at Bristol Music Club. 28 September. Review by Mike Collins) A stone’s throw from the University of Bristol’s Student Union building, it’s easy to miss the steps down […]
Jakob Bro Trio with Anders Christensen and Brian Blade at Flagey, Brussels
Jakob Bro Trio with Anders Christensen and Brian Blade (Flagey Studio 1, Brussels. Sunday 4 September 2022. Fourth night of four. Live review by Dick Hovenga(*) Dick Hovenga, who runs the Dutch […]
Ray Carless. Tribute/ Radio interview
Trumpeter Kevin Davy interviewed saxophonist Ray Carless (1954-2022) by phone for Jazz London Radio (JLR) in October 2020. He kindly shares that interview, and has also written a tribute to him. SYNOPSIS […]
Catherine Lima’s ‘Love Letter to Broadway’ at Crazy Coqs
Catherine Lima’s Love Letter to Broadway(Crazy Coqs, 30 July 2022. Live review by Romy Summers) It is great to see how Catherine Lima is developing both as a singer and as a […]
Reviews and dispatches from the Siena Jazz International Summer Workshop (4 and last): Going behind the scenes…
Sebastian writes: For this fourth and last daily piece on my visit to the Siena Jazz Summer Academy, I attempted to be a fly-on-the-wall, to get slightly closer in to the heart […]
Laura Jurd in Edinburgh – with Dinosaur, Playtime, Fergus McCreadie’s Large Ensemble
Laura Jurd (Three concerts in Edinburgh. July 2022. Live Reviews by Patrick Hadfield) Trumpeter and, for these gigs at least, cornetist Laura Jurd made her first trip to the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, […]
European Jazz Workshop Big Band in Edinburgh
European Jazz Workshop Big Band (*) (Festival Theatre Studio, Edinburgh, 21 July 2022. Live review by Mark McKergow) This astounding performance by young musicians from across Europe produced 75 minutes of disciplined, […]
Reviews and dispatches from Montreal #FIJM 2022 (9): Digging (into) the history
Sebastian writes: One of the pieces I was commissioned to do here in Montreal this year was not a written piece, but a podcast for The Economist. Enjoy the glee in that […]
Reviews and dispatches from Montreal #FIJM 2022 (8): Photos of Robert Glasper at Théâtre Maisonneuve
Robert Glasper (Théâtre Maisonneuve, 6 July 2022. MIJF. Photo-Essay using the official photos by Victor Diaz Lamich. Words by Sebastian Scotney) This was a particularly free-form evening. It started with the presentation […]
