Jazz

goodbye

2007-07-25T12:35:37Z

Just to say that this blog will be closing on August 1st. Thanks to all those who contributed our commented.

Jazz in Wales from the BBC

2007-06-27T16:40:45Z

There are no plans for a jazz series on BBC Radio Wales this summer, but instead of twiddling my thumbs I've put them to good use - creating a BBC website about Jazz in Wales at bbc.co.uk/jazzinwales

The site includes a guide to jazz venues, festivals and performers in Wales - feel free to take a look and suggest suitable contributions.

It also includes my own preview of this year's Brecon Jazz Festival - look out for coverage on BBC Four and the Welsh language channel S4C later in the year.

Jazztube

2007-02-27T15:10:12Z

Despite all the copyright hoohah surrounding it, there's no doubt that Youtube has some unbelievably good stuff on it. And if that wasn't enough, they've made their jazz content much easier to find...say hello to Jazztube!

Jazz Grammys: business as usual?

2007-02-14T11:53:20Z

In recent years there has been a lot of discussion about the centre of Jazz gravity moving from the United States to Europe. Indeed, in 2005 journalist Stuart Nicholson wrote a whole book on the subject - Is Jazz Dead (Or Has it Moved to a New Address)? and has frequently returned to the subject in his regular columns for Jazzwise. Of course, it’s a subject about which views tend to vary depending on which side of the pond you live. But few listeners (or critics) would argue that there has been a new confidence and freedom in European jazz in the last decade or so which – significantly – has coincided with the passing of many of the great American jazz giants of the 1940s and 1950s.

]]> It’s as if, with festival staples like Miles Davis, Elvin Jones and Sarah Vaughan no longer around, European promoters have been forced to look harder at what home-grown acts there are. And it also feels as if, with fewer of the formative influences of Jazz casting living shadows, European musicians have acquired a new unselfconsciousness about expressing their own, hybrid jazz identities.

Now a number of Jazz’s most bankable acts – EST, Jan Garbarek, Jamie Cullum – are European, as are many of the freshest, musically – Arve Henriksen, Nils Petter Molvaer, Julien Lourau and Acoustic Ladyland come to mind straightaway.

So is all this activity reflected in the recently-announced Grammy Awards? Not a bit of it. Out of 25 nominations in five categories, only one – Italian singer Roberta Gambarini – is not a US musician. And she’s now based there. Which is not to gripe about worthy nominees and winners like Nancy Wilson, Branford Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, Joe Lovano and the late Michael Brecker – who picked up two posthumous awards.

But it is a reminder that the US doesn’t see things Stuart Nicolson’s way. And a couple of the younger artists in the Grammys list do deserve to be better-known in Europe – such as trumpeter Christian Scott and pianist Taylor Eigsti.

All of this is hot on the heels of a Jazz on 3 special from New York, which reported that, despite high rents and commercial pressures, the jazz scene in the Apple is still thrillingly vital and competitive. Could it be that the US jazz scene is in better health than some of us thought? And if so, who’s complaining?

Alice doesn't live here anymore

2007-01-17T12:06:19Z

RIP Alice Coltrane, who was set to play the UK for the first time in aeons this spring. Though a lot of jazzers are rather sniffy about her music and particularly her playing with her husband's quartet, she was as Destination Out notes rather succinctly, 'never afraid to look foolish'. In other words, she was a brave soul. There's always been a hint of sexism in these dismissals of Alice's talents, making her the jazz world's answer to Yoko Ono in some respects (see this thread on the jazz message board for details). In my humble opinion she was an original and responsible for some of the most intoxicatingly beautiful music I've ever heard. She also made some drivel, but so have a lot of other, er, 'jazz legends'...

BBC News seem to have overlooked the event in favour of more important stories like the death of Rick Stein's dog, but never fear, Destination Out carry a rather nice list of tributes. Plus this one from NPR is worth a listen...

George Shearing KBE

2007-01-11T12:58:52Z

George Shearing’s knighthood in the New Year Honours brings to mind his rare double of achieving popular success as an instrumentalist while maintaining the respect of his jazz peers. In 1949 the Shearing Quintet recording of September in the Rain sold nearly a million copies in the US, the first of many hits. Though this was certainly thanks to its unchallenging and rather easy-listening combination of piano, vibes and guitar, Shearing’s own technique and imagination as a pianist was never in doubt.

]]> Which is a reminder, too, of how little instrumental music now reaches the popular mainstream. Shearing came out of a tradition where instrumental records by musicians like Harry James and Tommy Dorsey could be major hits – as were, later on, recordings by Dave Brubeck and Cannonball Adderley.

Instrumental hits were not confined to jazz – in the 60s and 70s the likes of Herb Alpert and Richard Clayderman achieved giant sales with instrumental records. Why does this matter to jazz? Because it meant that the public was ready to listen – at least some of the time – to non-vocal music. A public which isn’t prepared to do this is effectively closed to 90% of jazz – however easy on the ear or commercial jazz might try to be.

There are still some artists who have reached out beyond the usual jazz circles with their music - Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau and EST come to mind straight away, as do – in a different way – Acoustic Ladyland. But might it be that what would give jazz a boost in the long term would be a new wave of pop instrumentals, and a wider revival in the habit of listening to instrumental music?

Jazz on 3 New York Special 2006

2006-12-22T17:18:27Z

I know I know. Spending a week listening to jazz in New York isn’t what most people reading this would consider ‘work’. But my purpose for posting isn’t merely to boast but to add some personal insights that might not have made it into the 400th edition of Jazz on 3 which transmits on Friday 22nd December 2006.

The stated aim of the programme was to take a health check on the city’s current jazz scene and to ask whether it’s still the jazz capital of the world. Well to break the suspense – and just in case there was any serious doubt - the answer to the second part of the question is, in my opinion, a definite yes: with 150 venues and probably the largest concentration of first rate players living in one vicinity it would be hard for any other locality to test.

However (don’t worry there’s more to the programme than that), it’s fair to say not all is entirely well in NYC jazz. Unprecedented rents are making it harder and harder for musicians and venues to get by in Manhattan and if you’re not one of the dozen or so artists guaranteed to sell out esteemed venues such as the Village Vanguard or the Blue Note, getting paid work is more difficult than ever. Furthermore the ailing cd retail industry has recently claimed one of the city’s best loved jazz outlets – Tower Records. For in depth interviews on these topics, plus exclusive recordings of Reggie Workman, Joe Lovano, Bob Belden’s Animation and Assif Tsahar’s Digital Primitives I’d suggest listening to the programme tonight, available on Listen Again until December 27th.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazzon3/

]]> Needless to say, for anyone with an interest in this music (and the means to get there) I’d definitely recommend a trip. Every day of the week there’s a vast range of live jazz being performed in all sorts of venues around the city. I’ve posted some links to specific venues at the base of this text but a general tip is to get out of the city centre and into the suburbs. In particular - head over to Brooklyn where local musicians such as Tim Berne, Jason Lindner and Jim Black together with daring promoters at places like Barbes, Sista’s Place and The Tea Lounge are behind what the New York Times is calling the Brooklyn Jazz Renaissance.

For some photographs from our trip visit:

http://www.employees.org/~parussel/sslite/slideshow.html?method=flickr.photosets.getPhotos&photoset_id=72157594433270566&userid=23854573@N00&username=jazzon3&photosUrl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/23854573@N00/

And for some eyewitness accounts accompanied by my own amateurish movie footage, read on…

Cooper Moore is undoubtedly one of the city’s best kept secrets. Former sideman with the likes of David S Ware and William Parker, his uniqueness is such that, by his own reckoning, he doesn’t even fit into New York’s relatively open-minded downtown avant-garde scene. Why? Well for a start he makes his own instruments: the diddley bow, the twanger and the bango are just a few of the oddly shaped string instruments which protruded from his shopping trolley when he arrived at the Tea Lounge on December 6th. His unique and uncompromising approach has kept him largely undocumented up until the last few years and his association with Israeli-born saxophonist Assif Tsahar, who has recorded Cooper Moore in various guises for his label hopscotchrecords.com. Here he is on diddley bow at the Tea Lounge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-d7Ra-VUo0

While WKCR’s Phil Schaap has a dedicated core of fans within the city, beyond the station’s broadcast range only a few hardcore online listeners appreciate his singular and scholarly approach to the music. Every weekday morning for the last 36 years he’s presented a radio show focussed on the music of Charlie Parker. His biographical and discographical knowledge is astounding and he delivers his trademark 20 minute links without notes - making Jez’s eyes water in the process. The most remarkable moment however occurred when a listener called in to enquire the source of a particularly high quality pressing of a rare Jay Mcshann side. After explaining he’d mastered it himself, Phil proceeded to sing along to Bird’s solo. When the listener had rung off, we asked Phil to repeat the moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyqossl-uXA

Another dedicated historian, this time concerning the music of Miles Davis, is producer, arranger and saxophonist Bob Belden. He helped produce those beautiful “Complete recordings of …” box sets. And when we were in town he happened to be performing the whole of “Bitches Brew” in sequence with his band Animation. You’ll be able to hear that set in full on Jazz on 3 in March 2007:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63vBw3SF4Cc

I just found this and it’s quite good. Joe Lovano talking about his Streams of Expression suite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZJW1Zyx5vo

Here are some recommended venues. It isn’t an exhaustive list – just a few of the better ones I was able to visit whilst in town.

http://www.fatcatjazz.com/
http://www.tealoungeny.com/
http://www.villagevanguard.com/
http://www.jazzstandard.net/
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/index.html
http://55bar.com/
http://www.jalc.org/
http://www.thestonenyc.com/
http://tonicnyc.com/
http://www.sistasplace.org/

And look out for Reggie Workman's month long new music festival coming up in February 2007
http://www.sculpturedsounds.com/

I hope some of this is of interest

Joby Waldman

Producer, Jazz on 3

Get set for thejazz

2006-12-05T15:57:52Z

GCap, the commercial radio group which owns Classic FM, has unveiled the name of the UK-wide jazz station to be launched on digital radio and TV at 9am on Christmas Day.

thejazz will broadcast on DAB, Sky Digital and NTL:telewest digital cable - it'll also be available online at www.thejazz.com.

Mindful of the heated debate as to what jazz actually is, station bosses have launched a myspace website at www.myspace.com/talkaboutjazz ahead of the launch aiming to foster a debate on the issue which will ultimately feed into programming.

The company boldly promises a station "laying nothing but credible, authentic jazz in its many forms - whether that be bebop, swing, cool jazz, trad, blues, soul-jazz, modern jazz or smooth/fusion..." words which may sound familiar to those present at the launch of the now-defunct Jazz FM back in 1990.

However, any cynicism about the station's long term commitment may be tempered by some (if not all) of the names who've signed up to be the station's myspace "friends" - including Herbie Hancock, Julian Joseph,
Ron Carter, Madeleine Peyroux, The Vortex, Jazz Times and Jazzwise magazines and, er, Beyonce...

Pop songs in jazz

2006-12-05T15:57:10Z

I'm just listening to the Gordon Beck Quartet's album Experiments with Pops which features pop songs such as Norwegian Wood, Up Up and Away, Good Vibrations and Michelle.

It got me thinking - why is it that a huge bulk of the repertoire of standards is formed from pop songs from the first half of the 20th century, but very little from after? Notable exceptions are the songs of Lennon and McCartney and some by Burt Bacharach.

Why is this? Is it an indication that songs today are simply not as good musically as those of yesteryear? Modern classics such as Wonderwall by Oasis are great pop/rock songs but just don't translate to jazz. Does that mean they're bad songs? No... but someone once said that the sign of a truly great piece of music is if it can work in many differenct settings. The jury's out... for now, I'll just enjoy Gordon et al giving it beans on These Boots Are Made For Walking.

Make Stan a Lord!

2006-11-17T16:49:59Z

A petition's been launched to include Stan Tracey on the next honours list. Not a bad idea, IMHO. Sign up if you're interested. And here's a related thread on the Radio 3 messageboard.

A New Ambassador for Jazz

2006-11-07T15:22:14Z

A plainly ludicrous headline (who was the old ambassador for jazz? and where's the embassy?) but this interview with Gwilym Simcock echoes some of the points made in Alex's post. It's interesting that Gwilym suggests that the recent changes at Ronnie Scott's aren't that positive...

Let the Good Times Roll?

2006-10-11T16:58:25Z

The usual jazz discourse is about crisis and under-recognition – and probably always has been. But here’s an interesting thought. Admittedly this is a London-centric way of looking at things (though some would say jazz has always tended to be a London-centric phenomenon in the UK), but right now there are probably more jazz venues in London than there have ever been.

]]> Thinking in terms of venues whose main business is programming jazz in the broadest sense, and who do so most nights in a week, there’s Ronnie Scott’s, the Pizza Express Dean Street, Pizza on the Park, the 606, the Vortex, the Octave Bar, the 100 Club, and the Bull’s Head. Add in restaurants like the Quecumbar, the Dover Street Wine Bar, Smollensky’s and the swish dining-and-music newcomer the Pigalle, and we’re well into double figures.

And this is before we get into the important venues which operate one, two or three times a week – such as Soho’s Spice of Life room and many other bars and restaurants.

None of these venues, incidentally, is Arts Council-subsidised. So though the jazz promoter’s life is indubitably hard, it must be economically justifiable too. It would be ironic if, after yet another “jazz revival” hype dies down and the media’s attention moves elsewhere, jazz was actually seeing a grass-roots revival which really meant more, and much-needed, live work and listening opportunities.

Veryan Weston's Quintet Of Uncertainty - a Jazz on 3 special

2006-10-06T10:42:32Z

If you're interested in the place where small group composition meets free improvisation, and want to know a bit more about how the music's conceived and realised, don't miss tonight's Jazz on 3, featuring pianist Veryan Weston's international quintet. For this week's show, I sat in on the rehearsal process, took photographs, acquired a bit of sheet music and talked to all the musicians involved. It meant approaching the Jazz on 3 session a little differently, focusing on the process as much as the outcome. We really hope you enjoy the results. If you'd like similar features in future, don't forget to drop us a line, or comment below.

More details, including a line-up, photographs, an extra track, and links to the sheet music, here.

A Letter to the Times

2006-09-27T12:44:34Z

An interesting if slightly peculiar letter in today's Times laments Radio3's jazz coverage. I was particularly struck by the last couple of paragraphs, which suggest that maybe it was written in the 1950s and has been lost in the post for a few decades...

LIPSHTICK

2006-09-26T16:10:51Z

When Maynard Ferguson died I was one of what must have been hundreds of radio presenters who paid tribute to his remarkable abilities and considerable achievements. His approach to band-lelding had been consistently adventurous and his playing routinely displayed a range, power and endurance that were truly awe-inspiring. For a middle register hornman like me - whose range peters out after high C - the effect of his beligerantly intimidating displays was almost emasculating but, fortunately, I was always rescued by the small voice reminding me that size isn't everything.
Duke Ellington valued Cat Anderson for his blazing section work and for the occasional stratespheric feature but that's not to say that he treasured him more than the likes of Shorty Baker or Ray Nance. Chet Baker was a man who played in a whisper and usually stayed within the compass of a couple of octaves but a glance at the CD racks suggests that his music still gets through to an audience of millions. "Kind Of Blue" doesn't boast any thrillingly transgressive trips beyond the trumpet's accepted upper limit but SO WHAT?
My point, of course, is that athleticism and creativity are not the same thing. You could certainly argue that Maynard was blessed with both and there, I think, I'll hand the discussion over to you.