JPN has announced a significant part of the programme for its conference to be held this year in Birmingham. One of the themes of the event is inclusivity, with a session specifically […]
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 […]
Soweto Kinch (Classic Music Sundays Special Edition, Spitalfields Festival. 6 July 2023. Report by John Stevenson) In a special edition of Classic Music Sundays for the Spitalfields Festival, MOBO award-winning jazz saxophonist, […]
Samuel Blaser: Routes (ENJA Yellowbird YEB7835. Album review by Tony Dudley-Evans) Contemporary jazz often incorporates elements from other black music genres, e.g. hip hop, drum and bass and Afrobeat, but reggae and […]
Prom 56: The South African Jazz Songbook (Metropole Orkest/ Marcus Wyatt) (Royal Albert Hall, 28 August 2022. Review by Sebastian Scotney) There is an abiding truth about South African jazz, and it […]
Alison Bentley is looking forward to going back to Suedtirol/Alto Adige…. “Jazz keeps the continent together,” says this year’s festival, with modern jazz and improvised music from all over Europe. In each […]
Jazz musicians Cassie Kinoshi, Soweto Kinch, Yazz Ahmed and Tim Garland are among composers each receiving Paul Hamlyn awards of £25,000 with no strings attached. Peter Bacon reports: The Paul Hamlyn Foundation […]
David Burke – Giant Steps: Diverse Journeys in British Jazz(Desert Hearts. Review by Tony Dudley-Evans) Giant Steps presents short chapters on 25 musicians from the British Caribbean, African and Asian (including West Asia) […]
Live jazz looks likely to make a triumphant return to the North West in January 2021 courtesy of NQ Jazz. Since their inception in 2015, the Manchester-based live music promoters have hosted […]
“I want to try to take listeners on journeys they’ll remember,” says saxophonist and composer Tom Smith, whose debut album Gecko (Basho) has just been released. Profile by John Fordham: For a […]
Peter Bacon reports: He’s been known for innovative festivals like the Flyover Festival in Birmingham, and he’s no less innovative online. Saxophonist and activist Soweto Kinch is curating a collection of performances and […]
Sebastian writes: The centenary of Charlie Parker’s birth falls today, 29 August 2020. We asked alto saxophonists two questions: first to describe thoughts and feelings which the centenary evokes. The second, optional, […]
Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings E&F Sides (International Anthem IARCEF22. Review by Graham Spry) From August 2017 to January 2018, Chicago-based drummer Makaya McCraven recorded four sessions in four cities which were […]
Reuben James – Slow Down EP (Rufio Records RUFIO005LP – Review by Mark McKergow) Reuben James is probably best known for his work with singer Sam Smith, appearing on 2017’s The Thrill Of […]
Soweto Kinch: The Black Peril (EartH Hackney, EFG London Jazz Festival. 22 November 2019. Review by AJ Dehany) “Peaky Blinders meets W.E.B. Du Bois” is how Richard Coles on BBC Radio 4’s […]
