Jazz Central Festival (1000 Trades, Birmingham. 8 -10 September 2023. Round-up by Tony Dudley-Evans) BACKGROUND Jazz Midlands, the consortium of jazz promoters in the West Midlands established by Birmingham Jazz, has set up […]
Lizz Wright; Kit Downes Deadeye; Laura Jurd ensemble. (Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Sunday April 30 23. Review by Jon Turney) Sunday afternoon (just) in Cheltenham, and it’s Lizz Wright’s turn to comment on […]
Trombonist/ improviser/ composer/ educator Raph Clarkson brings a higher purpose, a sense of positivity and deeply held ideals to everything he does. The new album by his group Dissolute Society is shaped […]
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, […]
“What’s not to love! These musicians are beautiful, creative people and their personality just flows out through the speakers,” writes pianist/composer Steve Baker of the experience of working with Laura Jurd, Mark […]
Mike Soper – Undoing (Self-release on Bandcamp. Album review by Peter Slavid) Trumpeter Mike Soper graduated from Trinity College almost 10 years ago. Since then he has played in everything from the trad […]
Laura Jurd Ensemble (Parabola Arts Centre Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 1 May 2022. Review by Peter Slavid) Composer, keyboard player and most of all a sublime trumpet player, Laura Jurd is constantly experimenting […]
Bassist/composer Steve Berry has strong views about improvisation – “a core skill and human right that no musician should be denied” – and his new project at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) […]
Kansas Smitty’s – Plunderphonia (7K!. Album review by Mark McKergow) The Kansas Smitty’s collective morphs into yet another bewitching persona as saxophonist and leader Giacomo Smith produces a startling collection based on […]
The fifth annual Scottish Awards for New Music are here, writes Mark Mckergow (*), with nominees announced in thirteen categories including Solo Work, Large Scale New Work, Innovation in New Traditional Music,,, The Scottish […]
The programme for the BBC Proms 2021 is announced today and the season programme is available online and from bookshops. The season runs from 30 July to 11 September. Booking will open […]
Elliot Galvin and Laura Jurd(The Vortex. Streamed on 8 April 2021. Review by Patrick Hadfield) One of the few good things to come out of the global pandemic has been the accessibility […]
After the gigs were cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the “Shape of Jazz to Come” series will re-start with the duo of Laura Jurd and Elliot Galvin. Their performance which […]
Total Vibration (Green Note. 15 November 2020. Livestream from EFG London Jazz Festival. Review by Jon Turney) This looks enticing. Familiar players in an unfamiliar combination: trumpeters Laura Jurd and Chris Batchelor, […]
Dinosaur (Livestreamed from Kings Place, EFG London Jazz Festival 15 November 2020. Review by John Bungey) As an emergency new medium, the online-only gig has yet to reach perfection. When Dinosaur ended […]
