Columbia Icefield is a group led by trumpeter/ composer Nate Wooley, and this is their second album. Their first, (Columbia Icefield, Northern Spy, 2019) traced the route of the Columbia River from Wooley’s hometown in Oregon upstream and northwards to [...]
Black Lives: From Generation to Generation is a sprawling tapestry of Black music drawn from African, Caribbean and African-American musicians (full list below), the product of Stefany Calembert’s (partner of jazz bassist Reggie Washington) creative vision. The lyrical and improvisational [...]
There is more than a hint of gentle self-mockery here. “Opus Magnum” is the slightly ironic name for a band which is a compositional vehicle for the characterful Italian drummer Ettore Fioravanti. For those in search of a bit of [...]
It is great to see how Catherine Lima is developing both as a singer and as a programme-builder. She built a fascinating show about Peggy Lee with which she made her Ronnie Scott’s debut (REVIEWED HERE), and in her new [...]
Day eight of a very full jazz festival, and I was beginning to flag. Needing something to pep me up; saxophonist Laura Macdonald doesn’t disappoint. Her straight-ahead take on jazz is always an uncomplicated delight, and she only plays rarely [...]
‘You can get up and dance now’ said Joe Stilgoe, and the field in front of him flowered with wriggling hips, swirling swing dancers dotted amongst them as the trio notched Putting On The Ritz up a gear. Compère for [...]
Festivals and conferences crowd the Summer calendar: the World Harp Congress now in session in Cardiff is a bit of a hybrid of both. Harpists of all persuasions gathered for the first time in Europe for 14 years, at an [...]
For this fourth and last daily piece on my visit to the Siena Jazz Summer Academy, I attempted to be a fly-on-the-wall, to get slightly closer in to the heart of the matter, to extend the concept of “jazz tourism” [...]
Much is made in the literature of US trumpeter/composer Tom Harrell’s ongoing struggle with schizophrenia and his success in building a valid career as both sideman and leader despite this disability. I do recall seeing Harrell at the Brecon Jazz [...]
This year the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival had a mini-festival of six concerts featuring either Italian groups or collaborations between Italian and Scottish musicians. The Italian scene is in the process of recovering from the pandemic and is fostering [...]
