One of the highlights of the Parabola Arts Centre (PAC) programme is always the Saturday morning sold-out student exchange project, where students from overseas conservatoires (in this case from Hamburg and Siena), join with students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire [...]
Like any jazz fan I’m conscious of the vibes as a jazz instrument and could probably name half a dozen well-known players if pushed, but I didn’t know the history of the instrument or its importance and influence until I [...]
Nubya Garcia’s return to the UK at Cheltenham after a two-month American tour supporting her new album Osyssey saw her at the top of her game in a set that was both uncompromisingly visceral and a deeply personal appeal to [...]
There have long been songs in which women turn the tables on despicable men who have acted shamefully. It’s normal, necessary. Think Peggy Lee and how scathing she was in “Why Don’t You Do Right?”. Or think Shirley Horn, softly, [...]
Alison Bentley wrote over 300 articles and reviews for LondonJazz News (*), right up to the month before her death from a long illness in September 2023. As a professional singer and singing teacher she really knew her stuff, writing [...]
The following is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and pianist/composer Shai Maestro. His new album, Solo: Miniatures & Tales, was released 2 May via naïve records. Links to stream the album and to Maestro’s website can be found [...]
The undoubted highlight of this year’s Torino Jazz Festival was its closing event, staged on 30 April to coincide with UNESCO’s International Jazz Day. For the occasion, Artistic Director Stefano Zenni conceived a bold and unique European premiere, handing the [...]
Muhammad Dawjee is a South African saxophonist, composer, researcher & educator from the indian apartheid group-area, Laudium, on the western outskirts of Pretoria. He sees improvisation as a research process and has collaborated with Dr Abdullah Ibrahim, Andile Yenana and [...]
