Album review: Sharp Little Bones -Step up! Get Down! (Full Beam Music)

Tony Kofi (tenor sax); Paul Deats (Rhodes, Moog); Simon Paterson (electric/acoustic bass, composer); Andrew Wood(drums)

Eleven originals by Paterson reflecting Sharp Little Bones' quest for a unique identity. I'm not sure they've quite got there yet. Nevertheless, it's a work in progress that is getting there - drawing inspiration from Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and latter-day Miles along the way.

Difficult to single out any one player - everybody's spicing up the stew but...Tony Kofi is extra special. I've heard him many times on alto and once on baritone but this is the first time I can recall hearing him on tenor. In a year where the tenor sax has been dominant thanks to celebrations of the life and death of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Kofi can hold his head high alongside such illustrious company. Fast and furious, tender and emotional or just somewhere in between, Kofi and his worthy constituents of Sharp Little Bones deliver the goods.

Angela O’Neill and the Outrageous8 A Live Musical Tribute to Peggy Lee (Outrageous8 Records)

Angela O’Neill (leader. vocals); Al Timss (vocals); Sam Morgan (M.D., tenor sax); Dennis Mitcheltree  (alto sax); Richard Walker (baritone sax, flute); Paul Litteral (trumpet, flugelhorn); Harry Smallenburg (trombone, arranger); Rocky Davis (piano, arranger); Bill Bodine (bass guitar); Tony Pia (drums)

Outrageous A Train: An instrumental to kick off the gig at LA's Velvet Martini Lounge at Vitello's Restaurant in Studio City*. Solos by tenor, alto, trombone, bass. piano, drums and trumpet No need to tell you about this tune!

I'm a Woman: The material may be Peggy's but that's where the story ends and, in Angela's case begins.

Hallelujah, I Just Love Him So: The voice may be less silky than Peg's, its earthier, but she has the same power to connect with the drinkers and the diners.

Album review: Eddie Parker’s Airborn Featuring Rob Luft (Pig Records)

Eddie Parker (flutes, keys, piano); Rob Luft (guitars); Dave Manington (bass); Jay Davis (drums)

Some albums reveal themselves almost immediately. Others keep moving just as you think you have them worked out. Eddie Parker’s Airborn belongs firmly to the latter.

There is an extraordinary amount going on here. Odd metres, recurring melodies, shifting ensembles, baroque flute, electric and 12-string guitars, passages of genuine beauty rubbing shoulders with jazz-rock muscle and moments that seem deliberately designed to wrong-foot you. 

Yet remarkably little of it feels like hard work.

That may be Airborn’s greatest achievement: this is complicated music that doesn’t feel complicated.

Album review: Ally Fiola & The Next Quest - Exit 10

Ally Fiola (alto/tenor sax - track 7); Donald MacLennan (violin - tracks 1, 3, 5, 6); Simon Oakey (trombone);  Addison Sowery-Quinn (sousaphone, trombone - track 6); Tom Richards (keys, trombone - track 6); Lowell Whitty drums); Larry Bjornson (electric Bass - tracks 4, 5, 6, 7);  Michele King (tap dancing - tracks 2, 3, 6);  Mary Beth Carty (accordion - tracks 3, 5);  Evan Mahaney (tenor sax - track 1); Clare Macdonald (drums - track 7); Jah’Mila (vocals - track 7).

This won't be my album of the year - not by a long chalk. Yet, paradoxically, it could be the one I play most - particularly at a party where the booze is flowing and inhibitions have long gone down the pan.

Despite the detailed listing above I soon lost track of who played what on what (instrument). It didn't matter I was having too much fun listening.

Press release: Six World-Class Jazz Stars Announced for Autumn/Winter Residency at London’s Bechstein Hall

Leading live music promoter All Blue Music, in partnership with Bechstein Hall, is thrilled to announce an exceptional lineup of six premier jazz performances running from September to December 2026. Located in the heart of London at 22 Wigmore Street, this exclusive series – The Bechstein Hall Sessions – will play host to a vibrant mix of UK music icons, rising international stars, and award-winning instrumentalists.

The Bechstein Hall Sessions include two exclusive shows as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. Music lovers can enjoy pre- and post-performance drinks at the venue's bar for every show.

Ken Marley Trio play "Ken's Favourite Album" @ The Moor Club, Stockport - Sept. 13

Ken Marley (double bass); Andrzej Baranek (piano); Dave Walsh (drums).

A packed Moor Club audience was thrilled by a masterclass of jazz piano trio playing by the above musicians. The focus of the material was a live album recorded at the Village Vanguard in 2014 by Christian McBride, Christian Sands and Ulysses Owens Jr which Ken explained is his personal favourite recording. The trio transported the ambience and spirit of the legendary Greenwich Village basement club over to Stockport, recreating the form and energy of the original performances with each member adding their own personal stamp to the music. 

The opening number, a contemporary take on the nineteenth century anti-war spiritual Down By the Riverside featured a tightly arranged head, with gospel inflections and swinging expressive solos from Baranek and Marley. Walsh propelled the trio through an uptempo version of Wes Montgomery’s Fried Pies, notable for an exuberant and dazzling piano solo from Baranek. A lesser known JJ Johnson composition followed, Interlude, highlighted by an extended passage of energetic interchanges between bass and drums. The final number of the first set, a harmonically complex Christian Sands jazz waltz entitled Sand Dune,  successfully captured the feel and flavour of mid-1960s Herbie Hancock. 

Snarky Puppy to tour UK - well, part of it!

In 2027 Snarky Puppy are to "tour" the UK next April - no foolin' - that is if you class London, Manchester and Glasgow a UK tour.

I can remember, back in the day, UK tours covered theatres, cinemas and concert halls in more cities than there are teams in the Premier League - or the First Division as the current VAR infested competion was then known.

See graphic for tour dates. Lance

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Due to a Blogger glitch which, hopefully, has now been fixed several recent comments didn't get posted. I'll do my best to add them to the New Comments section in the left hand column. This may take a while... Lance

The Conor Guilfoyle Septet with Barry McGovern: Joyce Notes @ The Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin - Sept. 3

A Jazz Suite composed by Louis Stewart with Readings from Ulysses by James Joyce.

Conor Guilfoyle (drums), Kelan Walsh (tenor sax); Patrice Brun (alto sax); Yuzuha O’Halloran (flute); Mathew O’Connell (guitar); Scott Flanigan (piano); Barry Rycroft (bass) + Barry McGovern (spoken word).

This concert was previewed on BSH and the re-mastered recording of the original event has also been reviewed here.

Although I had a ticket for this event, a number of practical factors (including the presence of the Irish Sea) meant that sadly I was not able to attend. However the co-opting of a Dublin-based honorary BSH assistant correspondent means that an on-the-spot, eye-witness account has now been received.

The concert took place in the Whyte Hall, a purpose built 300 seat concert hall in the Royal Irish Academy of Music, one of the oldest music conservatories in the world with 1,500 students.

Running Wild!

Bill Shaw cartoon from BSH archives ©

Today's Great North Run where 50k+ mad reckless fools (I once was one of them!) ran the 13+ miles from Newcastle to South Shields was not without a degree of musical interest. At the start, Johnny 'Blue Hat' Davis was blowing tenor to help the runners along the way.

Further down the road the Vieux Carré Hot Four were helping the runners to add an extra spring to their step. The camera man managed to catch David 'Showtime' Gray's trombone slide - presumably he was at the business end of the 'bone.

Out on the course I have it on authority that tenor ace Harry Keeble was looking good.

Were any other jazzers out there thinking of miles rather than Miles? Lance