In many aspects of our lives, the pandemic can look like a diminishing dot in the rear-view mirror. Yet the marking of annual milestones has the ability to remind us that we haven’t left COVID as far behind us as [...]
As a celebrated drummer and composer, Dan Weiss draws inspiration from sources that are technical and emotional, and occasionally some which could classify as both. His trio’s new album Dedication – a collection of pieces honouring some of these sources of inspiration [...]
Ten years after the death of Paul Motian, an ensemble led by Jakob Bro and Joe Lovano met in Copenhagen to record Once Around the Room, a powerful personal tribute to Motian’s work. This three-way conversation with Bro and Lovano [...]
The documentary “Hargrove – The man, his trumpet, and the music that kept him alive” was premiered at the Tribeca Festival in NYC in June, In anticipation of the film’s London premiere, (Barbican Cinema 2, 6 November, 17.30 part of [...]
There was no extended chat from the concert hosts at Green-Wood Cemetery to introduce this concert, just a cursory introduction to the William Parker Quartet. For some musicians this might be seen as a slight, but in his home town [...]
The first day of the 26th Annual Vision Festival celebrated Wadada Leo Smith by awarding him a Lifetime Achievement Award to honour his pivotal role in creative music (free jazz, essentially). There were two immediate conclusions from the evening’s showcase: that [...]
Documentaries about jazz musicians are typically about figures from history long after they have died. Occasionally, rarely, they are about existing elder statesmen. Hargrove stands alone in the genre: as a documentary which was originally conceived as one about a young vibrant [...]
On Saturday night Manel Fortià returned to New York for the launch of his latest album, Despertar. A set nestled in the middle of the first night of the 5th Mediterranean Jazz Festival at Drom in Alphabet City in the East Village. I [...]
In August 1972, the Charles Mingus Sextet had a two-week residency at Ronnie Scott’s. Now, almost 50 years after the residency and 100 years after Mingus was born, Resonance Records are releasing The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s – uncovered [...]
On 1 November 2021 Patrick C Azzara – better known as Pat Martino – died in Philadelphia. Pat Martino was undeniably a giant of jazz guitar, and his passing was discussed touchingly by many in the industry. LJN carried tributes [...]
