This was an other-worldly, out-of-the-ordinary evening. Remarkable, eclectic musicians and a wonderfully diverse programme from Bob Dylan to Bach and from Queen to Samuel Barber. It was also a truly special family affair. It must have been a proud moment [...]
The friend in the next seat told me I’d been laughing uncontrollably throughout this performance, the opening set of eight in this years Sparks&Visions Festival. Last year, at this great new festival, a duo performance by vibraphonist Evi Filippou and [...]
‘THE ART OF NOISE MUST NOT LIMIT ITSELF TO IMITATIVE REPRODUCTION’ declared the Futurist painter Luigi Russolo in 1913 in his radical manifesto, The Art of Noises, which challenged conventional ideas of musical composition, instrumentation and performance. Russolo sought to [...]
Drummer Winston Clifford is a long-time regular at the 6, on many occasions through his playing with saxophonist Dan Reinstein’s bands, and has been a powerhouse behind the kit for a wide variety of great bands, led by the likes [...]
Here is proof – if any were needed – of the restlessness and need for variety that frequently drives jazz musicians. Saxophonist Tony Kofi’s most recent project was a wonderful duo with harpist Alina Bhzezhinska, music with a meditative, lush [...]
Rick Margitza, in London for two evenings in Dean Street last week is just an astonishing and individual player. Born in Michigan, he has been based in Paris for the past two decades, where he has a regular residency on [...]
On this second night of the Schlippenbach Trio’s two day residency, the trio was augmented to form a quintet which, in two telepathically flowing sets, brought out the best from key players in the world of jazz and improvisation, some [...]
Formed post-pandemic, the first live gig featuring the band Glebe was in January 2023 at The Spice of Life in Soho. In the last two years, duo frontmen, Chris Bland (keyboards) and Kieran Gunter (guitars) have been hard at work [...]
Paul Burwell was the driving force behind the legendary Bow Gamelan Ensemble, a performance collective who, literally, diced with danger, commandeering construction vehicles, combustible fluids and materials on locations including Bow Creek at night where, in the late 80s, I [...]
Hunched over the piano keyboard, his pose akin to that of a statistician analysing code, Benjamin Lackner picked out abstracted blues lines with mathematical precision. His solo on set opener ‘Mosquito Flats’ – in which he demonstrates his gift for [...]
