When I was in London last month, I went back to one of my old haunts, the Vortex jazz club in Dalston. I had noticed a tweet from a band I like that they were playing whilst I was in town, booked a ticket, and here I was. Well, after an excellent meal and three bottles of wine with friends. (That was about a bottle of wine each of those drinking. I ( Read more... )

Yesterday afternoon, I gave a brief introductory talk to Miles Davis' iconic 1959 album "Kind of Blue". My friends (and current paymasters!) at Edinburgh Jazz Festival were invited to introduce the record to a Sunday afternoon Classic Album session, and, unable to make it, asked if I wanted to do it ( Read more... )

At the end of October and the beginning of November, it felt like I was practically living at the Queens Hall: I went to four concerts there in two weeks.

First up were two jazz gigs: Scottish National Jazz Orchestra played a concert of Ellington pieces, and a week later I saw Tommy Smith's Karma. (Smith is also director of SNJO.) The Ellington ( Read more... )

Suddenly it is nearly two months on from Edinburgh International Jazz Festival; so I really ought to get my thoughts down on this year's festival. (And in another week it'll be time for Islay, too ( Read more... )

There's a debate about photography at jazz gigs over on LondonJazz. A lot of people don't like it - understandably. It is a topic that has been on my list to write about for a while...


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The Cockpit Theatre in London has been hosting a new, monthly jazz night, hosted and (I think) curated by Jez Nelson, called Jazz in the Round - because the audience sit on all sides. A square rather than a round, but hey ( Read more... )

More jazz... Brass Jaw in Finchley. At an arts' centre. Where they were advertising their Christmas show, "The Gruffalo's Child"...


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Still trying to catch up with things I meant to post about - and getting further behind... - I spent a lot of time at the London Jazz Festival last November - something like fifteen gigs over ten days.

I took a lot of photographs.


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(An edited version of this review appeared on LondonJazz last week. With fewer photos ( Read more... )

It was a cold, gloomy evening before Christmas when I wandered to the relatively local King's Head pub to see Chris Biscoe. The saxophonist is one of my favourite British musicians, and I reckoned if he were to play in my back yard, I ought to do him the honour of turning up and supporting him. (Some might call this "community". I'm sure they'd be ( Read more... )