An amiable, impressive figure with a streak of mischievousness (I once witnessed him doing an impromptu James Brown impersonation in the middle of an otherwise “serious” jazz performance), Christian McBride introduced this duo gig with pianist Jason Moran by telling [...]
“The notes of a musically conscious man, ideally free of conceit” is how virtuoso bassist Eberhard Weber describes this, his autobiography, originally published in German in 2015 but now available in English, courtesy of translator Heidi Kirk. In his Prelude, [...]
At the age of eighteen, semi-literate, destitute, bewildered and directionless after spending his adolescence in Liverpool’s so-called ‘care’ system, Malik Al Nasir (then known by his former name Mark T. Watson) talked his way backstage after a concert to meet [...]
When Charlie Watts appeared with his Tentet at Ronnie Scott’s in June 2001, I interviewed him on 5 April of that year so that he could give the readers of Jazz at Ronnie Scott’s a preview of what the band [...]
Julius Daniels/Lil McClintock (1927–30) Texas Alexander Vol. 3 (1929–30) Peg Leg Howell (1926–27) Sanctified Jug Bands (1928–30) St. Louis Bessie (1927–30) Texas Alexander Vol. 4 (1934–50) This six-CD set, the fourth in the series of reissues of Saydisc vinyl recordings [...]
Disc 1: Memphis Harmonica Kings 1929–30 Disc 2: Texas Alexander 1928–29 Disc 3: Ramblin’ Thomas 1928–32 Disc 4: Country Girls 1926–29 (Various Artists) Disc 5: Rufus and Ben Quillian 1929–31 Disc 6: De Ford Bailey and Bert Bilbro 1927–31 (Harmonica [...]
