jazz
Norah Jones, Ronnie Scott's review - heartfelt music that transcends blandThursday, 28 September 2017
When we were at peak Norah a decade ago, she looked rather intimidated by the large crowds at venues like the Forum. Having been suddenly catapulted into the limelight she looked nervous, lacked any real stage charisma and her so-so band looked like... Read more... |
CD: David Crosby - Sky TrailsSunday, 24 September 2017
David Crosby might be entering life’s twilight but, like a tired drummer, he seems to be speeding up towards the end. Perhaps he’s simply hit a rich vein of form – the success, both artistic and critical, of 2014’s Croz, and the 2016 follow-up,... Read more... |
Mads Mathias, Pizza Express Jazz Club - honeyed yet preciseTuesday, 19 September 2017
Caressing the microphone, and gazing into the audience with winsome, soulful sincerity, tousled auburn locks glistening in the stage light, Mads Mathias looks like nothing so much as Ed Sheeran’s more handsome older brother. His voice has the... Read more... |
10 Questions for Pianist Søren BebeWednesday, 13 September 2017
Danish pianist Søren Bebe has led a trio for 10 years, building a reputation as one of Europe’s most distinctive jazz ensembles. His warm, spacious and melodic sound is often compared to Esbjorn Svensson and Tord Gustavsen, or the influential sound/... Read more... |
Bridgewater Hall 21st Birthday review - from voice and guitar to four pianosMonday, 11 September 2017
Every 21st birthday deserves a party, and the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester celebrated the anniversary of its opening with a weekend of fun and "access" events, ending with a recital by four pianists on its four Steinway pianos – playing them all... Read more... |
Prom 53 review: Buckley, Metropole Orkest - extravagantly entertaining jazzSaturday, 26 August 2017
Think Charles Mingus, and it’s unlikely that a neon-coiffed saxophonist playing acoustic house while doing a solo can-can around the stage will come to mind. A highly original, introspective figure whose best music is a thrillingly rumbustious... Read more... |
Green Man Festival review - rustic Welsh epic is wet but joyfulWednesday, 23 August 2017
After the gruelling five-hour coach journey to Powys, Wales, we strolled over a bridge into Glanusk Park, through two security guards, and into Green Man with only so much as a sing-song “Bore da”. Satisfied, we picked a spot and set up camp in the... Read more... |
CD: Alan Broadbent - Developing StorySunday, 16 July 2017
Hearing the London Metropolitan Orchestra ripping a hole in the silence with the impassioned opening theme of the three-movement "Developing Story", I’m not entirely convinced that the New Zealand-born, US-based pianist, composer and arranger Alan... Read more... |
theartsdesk on Vinyl 30: Moby, The Beach Boys, Napalm Death, John Coltrane and moreThursday, 13 July 2017
If there’s a downside to the resurgence of vinyl, it’s that all that’s left in most charity shops these days is James Galway and his cursed flute and Max Bygraves medley albums. Then again, there’s always new stuff coming in so it’s down to... Read more... |
CD: Denys Baptiste - The Late TraneSaturday, 24 June 2017
Denys Baptiste's deep dive into the mid-1960s work of jazz icon, sax player and composer John Coltrane also serves to mark 50 years since Coltrane's shockingly early death at the age of 40. The saxist's core quartet features two... Read more... |
CD: Django Bates - Saluting Sgt. PepperWednesday, 21 June 2017
Sgt. Pepper is a popular choice for a tribute but also a dangerous one. How to say anything meaningful about a work widely agreed to be the most influential in rock history? How to approach a work that is already a multi-layered pastiche, in places... Read more... |
CD: Goldie - The Journey ManSunday, 11 June 2017
Clifford Price – Goldie – has long cut an imposing, and complicated, figure in the music industry. Part larger-than-life entertainer, part monster (as satirised in music industry grotesque Kill Your Friends), part irrepressible raver, part grandiose... Read more... |
