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Music and Jazz

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First Word - Terry Callier

First Word - Terry Callier

28 May 2009

First record you ever bought The first record I ever bought was ‘Crying In the Chapel’ by Sonny Til and the Orioles. Last time you were chatted up The last time I was seriously chatted up was after a concert last year at Wayne State University…

Led Bib: Sensible Shoes

Led Bib: Sensible Shoes

(4 stars)28 May 2009

The iconoclastic free jazz-meets-punk-and-rock band and the equally experimental American label seem a good match up. The London-based quartet deliver another full-on blast of the formula that has brought them a lot of attention, and do not seem…

Archie Shepp: Phat Jam in Milano

Archie Shepp: Phat Jam in Milano

(3 stars)28 May 2009

Saxophonist Archie Shepp has a long history of issuing rather uneven albums, and this latest live set falls into that category. His previous disc featured contributions from Chuck D, and this time around he has rapper and human beat box Napoleon Maddox…

Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship

Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship

(4 stars)28 May 2009

Tortoise have always followed their own path, moving slowly, steadily and deliberately – much like their reptillian namesake. Their six albums in little under 20 years suggest a group at ease in their own skin, building records out of fragments of jazz…

The Hotclub of Cowtown

Glasgow Americana Festival

14 May 2009

Scotland in general, and Glasgow in particular, has had a long love affair with the dusty backroad heartbreak of Americana and anything with a folky bent from across the pond. In the past the Big Big Country festival run by late promoter Billy Kelly was…

Paul Towndrow

Paul Towndrow and Nigel Hitchcock: Encounters

14 May 2009

This encounter between saxophonists Paul Towndrow and Nigel Hitchcock has its roots in the Celtic fusion of the Peatbog Faeries, where the Skye-based Hitchcock is a regular with his fellow island resident, trombonist Rick Taylor. Towndrow did some gigs…

Branford Marsalis Quartet - Metamorphosen

Branford Marsalis Quartet - Metamorphosen

(5 stars)30 Apr 2009

JAZZ While brother Wynton has garnered greater attention over the years with a string of ambitious large scale projects, the saxophonist has arguably produced the more consistently satisfying body of work on record. This quartet with pianist Joey…

Bill Wells & Maher Shalal Hash Baz - Gok

Bill Wells & Maher Shalal Hash Baz - Gok

(4 stars)30 Apr 2009

JAZZ/FOLK Inhabiting the Cartesian co-ordinate that melodically aligns Tokyo with Falkirk, Gok is a sublime anthology of avant-garde lullabies and gentle jazz, from Scots outsider dignitary Bill Wells and Japanese folk-punks Maher Shalal Hash…

Julian Argüelles

Julian Argüelles

30 Apr 2009

Saxophonist Julian Argüelles is originally from the Birmingham area, but has spent a lot of his time in East Lothian since moving to Scotland five years ago to join his partner, singer Cathie Rae. He may be an adopted local, but his work on the jazz…

Dave O’Higgins Quintet - Sketchbook

Dave O’Higgins Quintet - Sketchbook

(4 stars)30 Apr 2009

JAZZ Sessions featuring two tenor saxophones have been a staple of jazz at least since the heyday of Jazz At The Philharmonic, but can often turn into a rather overbearing display of athletic rather than musical abilities. No such worries here as…

Scottish Guitar Quartet

Scottish Guitar Quartet

16 Apr 2009

The Scottish Guitar Quartet have been around for the best part of a decade, and still feature the same four players – Malcolm MacFarlane, Ged Brockie, Kevin MacKenzie and Nigel Clark – that launched the band at MacFarlane’s behest back in 1999. They…

Tom Harrell - Prana Dance

Tom Harrell - Prana Dance

(4 stars)16 Apr 2009

(High Note Records) There is no shortage of high quality, progressive post-bop around, but Tom Harrell’s new disc stands out as a particularly noteworthy outing in that style. The trumpeter is a well-established name in contemporary jazz, and has…

Geoff Eales Trio - Master of the Game

Geoff Eales Trio - Master of the Game

(4 stars)16 Apr 2009

(Edition Records) Pianist Geoff Eales is highly regarded as a player of standards, but consciously chooses to push the envelope (as he puts it himself) on this disc for the Edition label, run by musician Dave Stapleton and photographer Tim…

Enrico Rava - New York Days

Enrico Rava - New York Days

(4 stars)2 Apr 2009

JAZZ Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava presents a new line-up on this quintet outing, in which his protégé and regular collaborator, pianist Stefano Bollani, is joined by an American trio of saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer…

Paul Clarvis & Liam Noble - Starry Starry Night

Paul Clarvis & Liam Noble - Starry Starry Night

(4 stars)2 Apr 2009

JAZZ A delightful duet release from percussionist Paul Clarvis and pianist Liam Noble. The premise is simple – take a set of songs, ranging from established jazz standards to contemporary material like Don MacLean’s ‘Vincent’ (the Van Gogh link is…

Dave Milligan

Colin Steele & Dave Milligan

2 Apr 2009

PREVIEW This is the final element in Assembly Direct’s current series featuring trumpeter Colin Steele, and should be a memorable occasion. Steele’s plangent, lyrical trumpet work and Milligan’s harmonically sophisticated pianism is already a…

Joel Frahm & Michael Janisch Quintet

Joel Frahm & Michael Janisch Quintet

19 Mar 2009

This quintet is led by two Americans, one of whom is likely to be more familiar than the other to audiences in these parts. Bassist Michael Janisch has been based in London for a while now, and has collaborated with a number of Scottish musicians…

Courtney Pine - Transition In Tradition

Courtney Pine - Transition In Tradition

(4 stars)19 Mar 2009

JAZZ The saxophonist sub-titles this powerful and eclectic outing ‘En homage à Sidney Bechet’, but admirers of that early jazz master may find that to be a bit of a red herring if they expect it to actually sound like the first great soprano…

Big Air - Big Air

Big Air - Big Air

(5 stars)19 Mar 2009

JAZZ An inspired debut from this Transatlantic aggregation, although one that has been a while in the making. Big Air features London-based trumpeter Chris Batchelor and saxophonist Steve Buckley with Americans Myra Melford on piano (and harmonium…

Mr McFall’s Chamber with Michael Marra

Mr McFall’s Chamber with Michael Marra

5 Mar 2009

COLLABORATION If there is one thing predictable about Mr McFall’s Chamber, it is that they are never predictable. Every performance brings something completely out of the ordinary. For their latest musical adventure, the core string quartet is joined…

The Killers

Hitlist - Music

5 Mar 2009

● The Killers Brandon Flowers and co. present their newly synthed-up rock sound of Day & Age. SECC, Glasgow, Fri 6 Mar. (Rock & Pop) ● Elbow These prize plundering miserablist Mancunians might brighten your night with their version of ‘Independent…

Tim Garland - Libra

Tim Garland - Libra

(4 stars)5 Mar 2009

JAZZ The centrepiece of this multi-faceted and hugely impressive double set is the saxophonist’s four-piece suite Frontier, written for his Lighthouse Trio (with pianist Gwilym Simcock and percussionist Asaf Sirkis), plus the Royal Philharmonic…

The Blue Note 7 - Mosaic

The Blue Note 7 - Mosaic

(3 stars)5 Mar 2009

JAZZ This septet was convened to celebrate this year’s 70th anniversary of the founding of Blue Note Records by Alfred Lion, although both the recording and an extensive American tour took place last year. The band features a number of top names in…

Niki King

Niki King

5 Mar 2009

The renowned Scottish vocalist pays tribute to one of her heroes, Billie Holiday. ‘The time of prejudice that she worked through, the hardship and awful situations endured growing up; all of this pain and vulnerability comes through in her songs,’ says…

Colin Steele

Colin Steele - Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

19 Feb 2009

It was one of the most historic recording sessions in jazz. On 2 March 1959, Miles Davis took a group of musicians that included John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, both Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb into Columbia’s 30th…

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