R.I.P. Ralph Towner (1940 - Jan. 19, 2026)

© Ken Drew

The passing of guitarist Ralph Towner sent echoes of sadness across a music world of which jazz was only one of the many segments enhanced by his musicality.

Although an ECM recording artist for over 50 years he was equally comfortable playing classical guitar, straight ahead jazz, folk and blues often reverting to a 12 string guitar for the latter format.

In that memorable year 2018, BSH reviewed an outstanding concert by Towner and Norma Winstone (photo above) at the late lamented Gateshead International Jazz Festival - HERE.

A year earlier, I reviewed a solo guitar album by Ralph Towner - My Foolish Heart which contained a beautiful version of the title track. Played on classical guitar, it  will be a memory that will stay with me forever. Lance

Jazz on the Tyne Welcomes David Becker, Paul Wertico & ‘Tuxedo Man’

In this special edition of the podcast, presenter Colin Muirhead talks with Grammy and Emmy nominated guitarist David Becker and multiple Grammy Award winning drummer Paul Wertico.  David and Paul discuss their new album ‘Tuxedo Man’, as well as their own projects and Paul’s time playing in the Pat Metheny Group.  Together with tracks from ‘Tuxedo Man’, you’ll hear music by David Becker, the Pat Metheny Group, Bill Bruford with Ralph Towner and Eddie Gomez, plus the new single by Joe Steels.

You can listen to the show anytime HERE.

Plus, you can request music for future programmes, or pass on news or feedback by emailing Colin at jazz.tyne.hive@gmail.com or by heading to www.jazzonthetyne.org.

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes the Munch Manship Quartet featuring Richard Wetherall (piano), Dave Lynane (bass) and Dave Hassell (drums).

Sunday January 25th

Every Sunday 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Album (EP) review: Oná Ensemble - Traces of Brazil, Voices of Toronto

Olivia Esther, Victor Prado (French horn); Sheba Thibideau (bassoon); Colleen Allen (reeds); André Valério (guitar, composer, arranger): Rich Brown (bass); Alan Hetherington (drums).

The instrumentation immediately drew my attention. I mean to say, 2 x French horns; 1 x bassoon; 3 x reeds (soprano sax, flute, clarinet) + guitar, bass, drums! Not the average line-up down at your local hot club.

Unless, that is, you live in Toronto where the Oná Ensemble are based. It's an ambitious and, ultimately, successful experiment. The voicings are harmonically pleasing teaming jazz and classical music over Latin rhythms into a musical rainbow. It's the sort of fusion first envisaged by forward thinkers such as Gil Evans, Claude Thornhill, Gunther Schuller, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. 

Ray Anthony - Randle's Island

Ray Anthony celebrates his 104th birthday today. The last living survivor of Glenn Miller's civilian band, the trumpet player later led his own band and appeared in several movies in the 1950s as well as having a big hit with his recording of the theme tune from the cop show Dragnet.

The above disc was supposedly a play on New York's Randall's Island although I seem to recall it referring to a New York disc jockey by the name of Randle. Whatever, it's a masterpiece of dance band arranging.

The  flip side, Marilyn, is a token of love to Ms. Monroe. As Anthony was married to another Hollywood blonde bombshell, Mamie Van Doren, it may have led to some domestic discontent!

Many happy returns. Lance

Josh Bentham Sax Solo at The Chapel - TS5 4BY

For those that couldn't get along to The Chapel (TS5 4BY) on the 4th of January they missed a great afternoon of jazz. 

Our guest was the fantastic young saxophonist Josh Bentham. We've made the above short video of Josh in action.

Next bash is on Sunday 1st of February between 1.00 and 3.00.

 

Our guest on that date will be top north east trumpet player Bill Watson BEM. Best real ales on tap, hot food to order and a fantastic atmosphere. What better way to KEEP MUSIC LIVE. Adrian Beadnell

The Glenn Miller Orchestra @ the Glasshouse - Jan. 18

© Sylvia

Mark Porter (vocals, M.D.); Dave Ford, John Hinch, Alan Berlyn*, Danny Hammerton* (trumpets); Dale Gibson Jr., Ray Wordsworth*, Keith Hutton (trombones); Bob Maslin (bass trombone); Andy Potts, Simon Meredith (alto sax); Martin Dunsdon, Daniel Faulkner (tenor sax); Loren Hignell (baritone sax); Bunny Thompson (piano); Paul Scott (bass); Bob Cleall (drums);  Catherine Sykes (vocals) + John James (guest vocalist)

*Berlyn, Wordsworth and Hammerton joined Porter and Sykes to form the Moonlight Serenaders.

The legend lives on. Eighty plus years since Glenn Miller's mysterious disappearance the memory of the man and his music can still come close to filling major concert halls across the land. This afternoon at Gateshead's the Glasshouse, only the very top floor of the main auditorium wasn't occupied.

Michael Young Trio with Rod Sinclair @ The Engine Room, Sunderland - Jan. 18

Michael Young (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums); Rod Sinclair (guitar)

The Engine Room was busy: reserved tables for diners, tables and booths occupied by social drinkers and, for those who were interested, a house trio with a special guest. If truth be told, most were there for the food and drink. Half a dozen or so were there to listen to the Michael Young Trio with special guest, guitarist Rod Sinclair. 

Album review: Pedrito Martinez, Antonio Sanchez, Michael League - Elipsis (Ground Up Music)

Martinez (congas, batas, vocals); Antonio Sanchez (drums, electronic programming, mellotron); Michael League (keyboards, ngoni, guitars, electric bass, Moroccan darbuka, vocals)

Martinez is the only name here that’s new to me. Sanchez has been Pat Metheny’s drummer of choice for a while (and should have had an Oscar for the Michael Keaton film Birdman) and League is one of the big dogs in Snarky Puppy. For this album the three have come together to celebrate Cuban music and acknowledge its roots in West African soil. A celebratory time is had whilst the cause of the music’s uprooting of the rhythms that survived the ‘Middle Passage’ in slavery’s triangular trade is also acknowledged in the music’s shadows and the fervent protestation in every boldly declaimed word.

By and large, Martinez and Sanchez provide the rhythms and League fills in any gaps as necessary. This creates a sort of prog-Afro-Latin mash up with synth washes and occasional rampaging guitars over layers of romping drums. Mi Tambor is probably the most explicit example of this. Full of fury, it’s almost Led Zeppelin-esque in the breadth of its attack. The frantic congas and pummelling drums are supplemented by an insistent, driving keyboard bass line whilst fuzz guitars add stabs that break up the chanting. Overwhelming, says this writer.

The Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman's Jazz Club, Middlesbrough - Jan 15

Mark Toomey (alto sax); Jeremy McMurray (piano); Peter Ayton (bass);Paul Smith (drums); and special guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Starting the new year with Mark's group as guest band certainly gave the audience a night of fine jazz played with passion and excitement by some of the area's most experienced jazz musicians. This also gave Mark the opportunity to both lead the band and have a platform to show his considerable skills as an original composer and arranger with several of his own compositions.

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen.

Playlist 18/01/26 (repeated Tuesday 20/01/26)

Requests: Rick Loughlin, Monty Alexander, Eric Bouvelle, Dave Brubeck, Sérgio Mendes.

Martin Luther King Day: Nina Simone, John Coltrane.

Memories: Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman.

Requests: Stan Kenton, BuJazzO 25.

New Release: Ron Carter, Ricky Dillard.

Requests: Diana Kraal, Chet Baker/Lee Konitz.

What’s on in the NE: Ronnie Scott's All Stars, Will Todd.

Martin Luther King reprise: Charlie Mingus.

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area or via your smart speaker.  

Press release: The Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll: 2025

Francis Davis founded The Annual Jazz Critics Poll in 2006. It was published by The Village Voice through 2011. It has since been picked up by Rhapsody (2011-12), NPR (2913-20), and Arts Fuse (since 2021). The Poll was supervised by Davis through 2021, with various degrees of help from Tom Hull, who keeps it going, and manages this website. Hull wrote a history/memoir of the Poll up through 2022 here.

One change to the website as of 2023 is that album titles in the complete results and ballots files have a link (look for →) which will print out a list of everyone who voted for the album. From there, you can get to the ballots for each voter.

The BBC Royal Charter Review, Green Paper and public consultation

The government is consulting the public to aid decision-making on the terms for the BBC Charter’s renewal and any changes needed to help the BBC to continue to serve the public. If you value democracy with pluralistic news services plus a pluralist media landscape, it is crucial that you respond to the consultation.

Re-reading George Orwell's 1984 in the light of the publishing of fake news online and in print, plus the cries from certain quarters that such an article is fake news when the opposite is true:

"The Ministry of Truth - Minitrue, in Newspeak...........From where Winston Smith stood it was just possible to read, picked out on white face in elgant lettering the three slogans of the party:

War is Peace

Freedom is slavey

Ignorance is strength"

 

This might all seem somehow familiar - in Newspeak - "a future feeling of deja vu".

Late Night Chicago Radio w. Denny Farrell (Jan. 15 - Jan. 21)

Pat Moran: Come Rain or Come Shine.

Louis Stewart: Darn That Dream.

Ella Fitzgerald: Midnight Sun.

Stéphane Grappelli: Makin' Whoopee.

André Previn: I'll String Along With You.

Harry Connick Jr.: Stardust.

Bobby Dukoff: You Don't Know What Love is.

Ahmad Jamal: Speak Low.

Louis Armstrong/Jack Teagarden: Rockin' Chair.

Buddy DeFranco/Dave McKenna: Darn That Dream.

Tony Bennett: The Shadow of Your Smile.

Etta James: At Last.

LISTEN 24/7

JATLP Lunchtime Concert Series: The Giles Strong Quartet - Jan. 16

© Patti

Giles Strong (guitar); Pete Tanton (trumpet); Ian Paterson (bass); John Bradford (drums)

Another successful lunchtime session at the Literary and Philosophical Society - the Lit & Phil to you and I. These third Friday in the month concerts are always sold out well in advance so, as our genial host invariably suggests, book for the next one while you still can.

What makes these gigs extra special is the variety of jazz offered as well as the presence of a grand piano when needed and, a rarity at jazz gigs, a printed programme.

The piano wasn't needed for this afternoon's session by the guitar-led Giles Strong Quartet although the programme was useful with its mini biographies of the musicians as well as a set list which, within the allocated 60 minutes, was more or less adhered to.

Album review: Julian Lage - Scenes From Above (Blue Note)

Julian Lage (guitar); John Medeski (organ, piano); Jorge Roeder (bass); Kenny Wollesen (drums)

A guitar/organ quartet on Blue Note! This was going to be something else. I ordered a takeaway wings 'n' fries with eggs over easy on the side from the local Chicken Shack.

Nine tracks later, the food was cold and untouched. This  certainly had been something else and not what I'd expected. In many ways it was, to quote the last of the nine, Something More. It was different, unlike the Smiths, McGriffs and McDuffs whose approach is formulaic, Lage, Medeski, Roeder and Wollesen have their own individualistic approach that will appeal to those who can see beyond twelve bars.  

Album review: Olly Chalk – In Those Remote Stars (Resonant Postcards)

Olly Chalk (piano, synthesizer); Ruta Sipola (flute);  Daniel Kemshell (guitar); Hugo Piper (bass); Corrie Dick (drums)

There is a palpable sense of return, renewal and hard-won joy running through In Those Remote Stars, the new album from south-east London pianist and composer Olly Chalk. Developed collaboratively with a close-knit quintet and released on Jonny Mansfield’s artist-led imprint Resonant Postcards, the record feels less like a statement of intent than a deeply considered exhale: music rediscovered, re-centred and quietly glowing.

Written in the aftermath of the pandemic - and following a brief, bruising detour into stand-up comedy - Chalk’s compositions are shaped by the experience of falling out of, and then decisively back in, love with music. That emotional arc gives the album its particular gravity. These are chamber-jazz pieces infused with warmth and curiosity, where virtuosity is always in service of atmosphere, narrative and shared exploration.

The Jazz Cavern w. Frank Griffith

Below is information of my weekly radio show - The Jazz Cavern on www.purejazzradio.com

My next show will be broadcast starting Monday, 19 January. It will include new releases from the newly formed label - Jazz In Britain  (www.jazzinbritain.org)

Included will be tracks from Stan Sulzmann, Gordon Beck,Tony Coe, Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet, Chris Laurence and Geoff Castle. All of which originally recorded in the 1970s and '80s.

Frank

Press release: Brick Lane Jazz Festival - April 23 - 26, 2026.

Having firmly established itself as a cornerstone of East London’s musical landscape, Brick Lane Jazz Festival has earned a reputation for spotlighting local artists and emerging trailblazers from the city’s thriving underground scenes, whilst honouring the jazz legends that have come before them. Always striving to find new ways to support the next generation of talent, the festival has today announced details of a new conference programme along with a new release of Pro Pass tickets that will give attendees access to a range of talks, workshops, exhibits, and exclusive performances.

Album review: Loren Schoenberg and his Orchestra - So Many Memories (Turtle Bay Records)

Kate Kortum (vocals); Warren Wolf (xylophone); Joe Boga, Anthony Hervey, Summer Camargo (trumpet); Andre Perlman, Nick Mesler (trombone); Julian Lee, Adam Stein, Langston Hughes ll, Daniel Cohen (reeds); Loren Schoenberg (piano, MD); James Zito (guitar); Jon Murray (bass); Matt Lee (drums).

Subtitled Unheard Eddie Sauter Arrangements for Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey, So Many Memories helps to put Eddie Sauter's place in the pantheon of jazz arrangers beyond question. Coupled with his early contributions to the big bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Red Norvo in the 1930s through to his collaboration with fellow arranger Bill Finegan in the '50s, Sauter's high standing is carved in stone.

One person who recognised this was Loren Schoenberg: saxophonist, pianist, jazz historian and educator at prestigious seats of learning such as Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music. After gaining access to an archival collection of unrecorded Sauter arrangements scored for the Red Norvo Orchestra with vocalist Mildred Bailey the seeds for this project were sown.

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes the Dean Stockdale Quartet featuring Dean Stockdale (piano), Tim Williams (guitar), Gavin Barras (bass) and Gaz Hughes (drums).

Sunday January 18th

Every Sunday 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Preview/Press release: Pete Roth Trio feat. Bill Bruford - north east dates

After taking a near 15-year hiatus and stepping away from the drums altogether, Bill Bruford made the decision to return to the instrument, rebuilding his voice from the ground up until he could once again speak through the kit in the unmistakable way only he can. During this process, he joined the Pete Roth Trio, led by German born guitarist and composer Pete Roth, alongside British session bassist Mike Pratt. Rooted in jazz but never confined by it, the trio has developed a powerful and original sound that draws on prog rock, blues, fusion, and world music.

Nick Mondello Interviews Vocalist, Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger and Musical Dir. for Crystal Gayle - Jay Patten

Jay Patten - And Sinatra Sang Our Song.

Brian Carrick funeral arrangements...

Wednesday 4 February 11:15am.  

St Gregory's RC Church

99 Borough Road

South Shields

NE34 6NR

Family only at the cemetery, afterwards all welcome at the Little Haven Hotel, River Drive NE33 1LH.

Thoughts of our departed friends

Who was the late trumpet player in B.Cs band video Talking Clarinet? LINK.

Also my thoughts turn to Oliver Soden's Video of the New Century with the late and greatly missed Don Fairley:- LJNK.

There is a new estate where the above Miners 'Tut venue was. I think it was the best night I ever put on (free concert with a grant from UK Coal  opencast site) Really well attended!!

John T

Album Review: Wait A Moment – BBIT (Big Band Italia) - Universal Music Italia S.R.L.

Wait A Moment, from BBIT, i.e., Big Band Italia, presents seven fine selections performed by the finest jazz musicians in Italy and featuring world-class guest artists. It’s a high-octane musical Maserati, offering stellar ensemble playing, killer solos and outstanding arrangements.

Big Little Lies, composed by Pierluigi Villani, opens the session with tenor saxophonist Bob Franceschini launching the melody with a robust sound that reminds this listener of Ernie Watts. The initial four note motif dances and entwines its way throughout the ensemble. The tension builds in intensity and volume con il fuoco. Trumpeter Giovanni Falzone launches into a fiercely-played solo with superior rhythm section response. Note drummer Villani’s highly engaged responses to the soloist’s statements. This is a highly muscular track that seductively brings surprises every phrase with layers upon layers of phrases and the tenor sax wailing before things eventually simmer down to a more placid close. An extravagantly fascinating track

George Benson speaks

"I want to play things that have never been done before, that's easier said than done." - (DownBeat June 29, 1967).

"The trouble is, if you advertise a jazz concert, people don't know what they're going to hear. They might hear anything from Louis Armstrong's music to John Coltrane, or even further. Now that's too wide a gap to have one name.” – (Crescendo April 1974).

"I asked him (Wes Montgomery) if he'd teach me something. He said, 'Man I'm too busy trying to learn something myself.' " - (Downbeat July 1996). 

“I released my first record when I was 10.” – (Jazz Times August 2013)

“One of my greatest enjoyments still is to put on a Nat Cole record.” – (Jazz Times August 2013).

Album (double) review: Paul Marinaro - Mood Ellington (Origin Records)

Paul Marinaro (vocals); Rich Moore (alto sax, clarinet. flute); John Wojciechowski);  Ted Hogarth (baritone sax, bass clarinet); Eric Jacobson (trumpet, flugelhorn); Raphael Crawford (trombone); Tom Vaitsas (piano); Mike Allemana (guitar); John Tate (bass); Neil Hemphill (drums) + 12 violins.

A somewhat belated review, it was released in November but only reached my Victrola this month otherwise  it would have been highly placed in the 2025 Vocal Albums of the Year. Apologies to all concerned. 

I reviewed one of  Marinaro's previous albums - Not Quite Yet - back in 2022 and I was impressed. Mood Ellington is equally impressive maybe even more so because of the material, the arrangements and Marinaro himself. 

Preview: Mama Terra @ Pilgrim - Jan. 28

Marco Cafolla (piano, vocoder); Konrad Wiszniewski (tenor sax); Rachel Lightbody (vocals); Doug Hough (drums); Brodie Javier (double bass) + Mikey Owers (trombone); Cameron Jay (flugelhorn, trumpet)

Glasgow based band Mama Terra, heard above at jazzahead! 2024, are to play in Newcastle at Pilgrim (formerly Hoochie Coochie) on Wednesday January 28 which, going by the video, is going to be an incredible evening.

Wiszniewski I've heard many times over the years with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and I also recall hearing Cafolla with American saxman Pee Wee Ellis and The Federation of the Disco Pimp. I was impressed back then and already I'm chomping at the bit to see them again in this totally different, but no less exciting, line-up. Lance

TICKETS

The Blue Kings @ The Globe, Newcastle - Jan. 9

Neil Hunter (keyboards, vocals); Dave Dunston (tenor sax); Terry O'Hern (trombone); Dave Dryden (guitar); Mick Hutchinson (bass); Lloyd Howell (drums)

A Friday night at Newcastle Jazz Co-op HQ. Not a jazz gig, but a blues-soul, rhythm and blues blowout featuring an all-star band. Six musicians who have been around the block more than a few times, along the way picking up any number of fans, it came as little surprise that the Railway Street venue was packed long before the advertised eight o'clock start.

You Upset Me, Baby, as sung by BB King. That'll do for starters! The Blue Kings are a six piece band, but the focal point, inevitably, was Neil Hunter. The man has 'presence', a big voice, not to mention a geet* big Santa Claus beard. Playing keyboards on this evening's gig, Hunter sang on each and every number.

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen.

Playlist 11/01/26 (repeated Tuesday 13/01/26)

Epiphany: Sackville All Stars.

Memories: Wilbur de Paris, Trummy Young, Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass.

Requests: Duke Ellington and his quartet.

New Year: Benny Goodman, Miles Davis.

Requests: Billy Hart Quintet, Clifford Brown & Max Roach, Steve Lacy & Charlie Rouse.

New Release: Oscar Lavën.

Requests: The One O'Clock Lab Band, Toshiko Akiyoshi.

What’s on in the NE: Giles Strong Quartet, Glenn Miller Orchestra UK.

Peace: McCoy Tyner.

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area or via your smart speaker. 

 

Album review: Alyn Shipton's New Orleans Friends - The Oxford Concert (self-released)

Alan Gresty (cornet); Tom Sancton (clarinet); Martin Litton (piano); Simon Picton (banjo); Alyn Shipton (bass); Trevor Richards (drums)

Jazz historian, broadcaster, bassist and bandleader Shipton formed his New Orleans Friends back in 2019 to celebrate the music of the legendary New Orleans clarinettist George Lewis.

Lewis had, during his lifetime, probably influenced more traditional musicians and fans  in Europe and the UK than he did in America, outside of New Orleans that is. I recall him playing to a packed City Hall in Newcastle and he was certainly a major part of Ken Colyer's D.N.A. as well as that of Big Pete Deuchar and the recently deceased Brian Carrick .

Add Alyn Shipton to the roster.

Nauta @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle - Jan. 9

Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass); Bailey Rudd (drums)

Jesmond Library's first monthly Friday lunchtime concert of 2026 featured Nauta. To be precise, three fifths of Nauta. This afternoon it was Jacob, Jamie and Bailey - guitar, bass and drums. All things considered - early January, sleet/snow showers never far away - there was a respectable turn out.

Ten compositions, one of them a Jacob Egglestone composition, guitarist Egglestone and bassist Jamie Watkins shared the solos, drummer Bailey Rudd tucked in behind. From Pat Metheny to Abdullah Ibrahim, many of the selections were taken slightly uptempo to the norm and, if anything, Jacob's Epiphone was a little under-amplified.

Press release: Upstairs at Ronnie’s To Open In Four Weeks With World-Class Lineup

*Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club’s newly reimagined first-floor venue will open on February 6, 2026, marking the next chapter for the iconic Soho institution

*Ronnie Scott’s Gospel Choir • Piano Trio Series • Vocal Jazz Jam • Classical Series • Late Late Show hosted by Tomorrow’s Warriors • Cassidy Janson • Tawiah • Bill Laurance • Tony Momrelle • Oscar Jerome • Chineke! String Quartet • David Arnold • Juliet Stevenson • Ashley Henry • Ian Shaw • Vula • Vanessa Haynes and much more

Knats releases new single "Wor Jackie" and announces new album "A Great Day In Newcastle" (Gearbox Records)

(Press release): Today, Newcastle upon Tyne jazz trailblazers Knats have shared details of their highly anticipated new album "A Great Day In Newcastle". The record comes with production from long-time friend and collaborator Geordie Greep (black midi) - who also features on one of the tracks - and will be released 6th March digitally and 29th March physically via London analogue specialists Gearbox Records (Abdullah Ibrahim, Elliot Galvin, Liza Lo, Cahill/Costello). 

Windy City Weatherbirds @ Jamboree, London - Jan. 7

Magnus Pickering (trumpet); Gustavo Clayton Marucci (clarinet, vocals); Ed Parr (trombone); Cornelius Corkery (guitar); Chris Hyde-Harrison (double bass)

From Soho to King's Cross. Exiting Ronnie Scott's (Gilad Atzmon's amazing Organology), racing down to Leicester Square Underground station (negotiating the traffic and dodging kamikaze cyclists), down onto the platform, then four stops on the Piccadilly line to King's Cross. 

Out of King's Cross, taking a left turn, crossing at the lights (dodging kamikaze cyclists), over to Gray's Inn Road, then down St Chad's Place to Jamboree. From A to B in thirteen minutes! What's the hurry? The Windy City Weatherbirds were about to take to the stage! 

R.I.P. Rebecca Kilgore (1949 - Jan. 7, 2026)

The sad news of the passing of vocalist and songwriter Rebecca Kilgore has begun filtering through on social media. A long time favourite of mine 'Becky' leaves behind a host of wonderful albums which are never far from my player. 

Impossible to pick out a favourite, all are vocal masterclasses, with an impeccable choice of material. Two of them remember Maxine Sullivan, another is with Dave Frishberg and there are several with various combos led by trombonist Dan Barrett. As a F/b friend I knew there had been health issues which ultimately led to her retiring in her hometown of Portland Oregon. 

Organology @ Ronnie Scott's - Jan. 7

Gilad Atzmon (alto sax); Ross Stanley (Hammond organ); Joel Barford (drums)

A first house of two this evening and Ronnie Scott's was all but full. No mean achievement for the first week of January, especially with Storm Goretti on the horizon. Gilad Atzmon's Organology the attraction (that's alto saxophonist Atzmon, Hammond maestro Ross Stanley and the impossibly good Joel Barford, drums), it promised to be an 'I was there' occasion. 

In December last year, your correspondent missed Organology's appearance at the Exchange 1856 in North Shields (reviewed by BSH's LL). And for very good reason, someone had to review Giacomo Smith's 'Ellington Nutcracker Suite' which was playing to four sold out houses at...Ronnie Scott's! 

Late Night Chicago Radio with Denny Farrell (Jan. 8 - 14)

Paul Desmond: I've Got You Under my Skin.

Louis Bellson: Serenade in Blues.

Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd: Desafinado.

Rosemary Clooney: Learning the Blues.

Bennie Green (trombone): Summertime.

Phineas Newborn Jr.: For All we Know.

Chet Baker: Daybreak.

Oscar Peterson: Rockin' Chair.

Buck Clayton: All the Cats Join in.

Billie Holiday: St. Louis Blues.

Patti Dunham: Flamingo.

LISTEN 24/7.

Book of the Year

I didn't get as many books to review in 2025 but, nevertheless, they were all good reads including two with a strong local interest. Based on the impact they made upon me after reading, this is how the top five stacked up:

1. Sonny Simmons with Marc Chalon: Better Do It Now Before You Die Later.

2. Colin Harper: Northumbrian Blues: The Lost World of Big Pete Deuchar: Volume 1: 1933-60.

3. Barnett Singer, Jesse A. Read: Artie Shaw Icon of Swing.

4. Paul Alex Bacon: The Mississippi Dreamboats.

5. Bill Moody - The Sound of the Trumpet (Fiction).*

Lance

* I know this isn't a new book but it was new to me and, with a storyline that dated back to the death of Clifford Brown, I felt it was worthy of inclusion.

Album review : Edward Simon Trio - Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2 (ArtistShare)

Edward Simon (piano); Reuben Rogers (bass); Adam Cruz (drums) + Jackeline Rago (cuatro, maracas on tk 5)

Pianist Simon continues his exploration of the Latin American Songbook visiting the music of Venezuela for volume two. Actually recorded in California, Simon's arrangements and re-imagined interpretations of six folk melodies indigenous to the South American country paint a totally different picture to what is currently being portrayed in the media.

Simon's jazz infused improvisations bring universal appeal to the material without losing contact with his homeland's rich heritage in Punta Cardón and elsewhere.

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes the Dean Masser Quartet featuring Dean Masser (tenor sax), Andrzej Baranek (piano), Gavin Barras (bass) and Gaz Hughes (drums).

Sunday January 11

Every Sunday 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Album review: Roberto Fonseca & George Segal - Nuit Parisienne à la Havane (Artwork Records)

Roberto Fonseca (piano); Vincent Segal (cello)

An interesting album that, over its 39 minutes, grew on me, drawing me deeper and deeper into the empathy shared by the two musicians. It isn't jazz and nor was it intended to be although there are moments when it comes close.

However, irrespective of genre, the fusion of European classical music with the Afro-Cuban influences present in the mix is at times compelling, breathtaking, exciting and emotional. The Cuban pianist and the French cellist inhabit each other's musical world freely and with total compatibility. Fonseca, as agile or as sombre as the piece demands. Segal, majestically sonorous, reminding me just how beautiful the sound of the cello can be.