jazz
John Etheridge & Philip Catherine/Igor Gehenot Trio, The Vortex, DalstonSunday, 24 November 2013
Distinguished jazz guitarists Philip Catherine and John Etheridge made (a little bit of) history at The Vortex last night, playing together for the first time. In a perfect balance of youth and experience, the evening also saw the launch of a debut... Read more... |
Ian Shaw, The Elgar Room, RAHSaturday, 23 November 2013
Even Joni Mitchell wasn’t spared an affectionate ribbing, as jazz singer Ian Shaw continued his Joni at 70 Tour with a combination of sincerity and satire, both red-raw, in the Elgar Room last night. Stripping pretensions compulsively, Shaw gave an... Read more... |
Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, BarbicanFriday, 22 November 2013
For someone who has built a reputation for limpid, introspective piano playing, last night was a new adventure both for Brad Mehldau and his (mainly) supportive audience. He has covered fellow introvert Nick Drake’s songs, and he is a master of... Read more... |
Christian Scott Quartet, Ronnie Scott'sThursday, 21 November 2013
With the bell of his Dizzy Gillespie-style “bent” trumpet pointing skywards like a rocket launcher, Scott dominated the stage at Ronnie Scott’s last night, every bit the iconic jazz trumpeter. Instead of the clearly-articulated, pure-toned pulse of... Read more... |
Jaimeo Brown and Gogo Penguin, XOYOWednesday, 20 November 2013
What does a stuffed penguin have in common with the religious concept of transcendence? Even less than you might think, it emerged last night, during one of the London Jazz Festival’s less well matched programmes, featuring one trio named... Read more... |
Lee Konitz and Dan Tepfer, Kenny Wheeler Quintet, QEHTuesday, 19 November 2013
Last night’s Konitz and Wheeler concert was the sort of event at which the audience’s jaw has dropped before the music starts. Lee Konitz and Kenny Wheeler already have substantial legacies: Konitz’s cool sax style was a landmark sound, for decades... Read more... |
Wayne Shorter Quartet with the BBC Concert Orchestra, BarbicanMonday, 18 November 2013
Wayne Shorter’s Quartet were introduced as “the greatest jazz band on the planet”. It’s an unexceptional thing, like the Rolling Stones being introduced as “the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world”. But unlike the Stones, who really haven’t done... Read more... |
Arild Andersen Quintet and Reijseger/Fraanje/Sylla, QEHSunday, 17 November 2013
Five minutes into this concert, at that stage a polite cello and piano duo, there was a raucous bellowing from the rear, so loud that the front stalls leapt. The delicate cello spiccato continued, despite the persistent bellowing. Gradually, the... Read more... |
René Marie, Pizza Express Jazz ClubSunday, 17 November 2013
In a fascinating interview with the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, published in The Los Angeles Times in June 1979 around the release of Mingus, Mitchell signs off with the following aperçu. “You know, pigeonholes all seem funny to me. I feel like... Read more... |
Jazz Voice 2013, BarbicanSaturday, 16 November 2013
Harp glissandos, trilling flutes, the heft of a swinging brass section. Yes, last night's Jazz Voice once again kick-started the EFG London Jazz Festival in typically exuberant fashion. Arranged, scored and conducted by the indefatigable Guy Barker... Read more... |
A Tribute to Abram WilsonThursday, 14 November 2013
A little more than a year after the death of acclaimed jazz trumpeter and composer Abram Wilson, his former manager and widow Jennie Cashman Wilson has teamed up with EFG London Jazz Festival producers Serious to stage the only London tribute... Read more... |
Brother Face, The Vortex, DalstonSaturday, 09 November 2013
Liam Noble has kept his fans waiting so long for some new music, they were beginning to wonder if he’d turned into David Bowie. The British jazz pianist’s last album of originals, Romance among the Fishes, was released in 2004. Since then he’s... Read more... |
