CHICKENBONE JOHN ISSUE 166 SUMMER 2021 UK £3.25 Photo by Merlin Daleman CONTENTS CHICKENBONE JOHN, The Godfather of the Cigar Box Guitar, featured in HENRY’S BLUESLETTER (pages 32-33) 4 NEWS 6 UPCOMING EVENTS 6 I GET A KICK OUT OF... LIZ BIDDLE of Upbeat Records features 7 EXTRA DAYS FOR COVID The Festival that expanded in the pandemic 8 JAZZ IN LOCKDOWN Top jazzers share their experience 10 CROSSING THE OCEAN RON SIMPSON interviews FAPY LAFERTIN 12 BENNY MEETS DIZZY MEETS THE DUKE The endlessly versatile PETE LONG 14 50 JAZZ VIBRAPHONISTS SCOTT YANOW counts them in 16 BIG TOURS AND STRONG OPINIONS The ever-busy NIGEL PRICE Photo by 18 REMEMBERING FREDDY RANDALL Merlin Daleman DIGBY FAIRWEATHER recalls a cornet great FIND US ON FACEBOOK 21 CD REVIEWS The Jazz Rag now has its own Facebook page. For news of upcoming festivals, gigs and releases, 32 PRACTISE, MAN, PRACTISE... features from the archives, competitions and who RON SIMPSON has a look at Carnegie Hall knows what else, be sure to ‘like’ us. To find the 34 BOOK REVIEW page, simply enter ‘The Jazz Rag’ in the search bar Digby Fairweather’s Ace of Clubs at the top when logged into Facebook. THE JAZZ RAG PO BOX 944, Birmingham, B16 8UT, England UPFRONT Tel: 0121454 7020 Decca Records recently proudly announced that an auction would be held on July Fax: 0121 454 9996 6 to raise funds for Decca Bursary. So far, so estimable! Decca Bursary has already Email: [email protected] supported many schools and individuals in making their way in music. Web: www.jazzrag.com However, jazz fans – ever-ready to take note of real or imagined prejudice Publisher / editor: Jim Simpson against jazz, probably because so often it is real – were shocked to find that such News / features: Ron Simpson items as 11 original test pressings of Tubby Hayes albums were to be auctioned Reviews editors: Charlie Moore off to help fund ‘young artists overcoming difficulties when entering the classical world’. Jazz sold off to fund classical music (which gets much more funding International editor: Yue Yang anyway), ran the cry! Commercial Director: Tim Jennings Subscriptions & accounts: Charlie Moore Actually, it’s not as simple as that. Other items are classically-based or related Designed by Nerys James to no particular style of music (a day in Universal Studios, for instance), but Printed by Warwick Printing the simple question remains: it is admirable to fund struggling young classical www.warwickprinting.co.uk musicians, but why only classical? Jazz musicians have at least as many difficulties to overcome and are equally valuable to the music community. © 2021 THE JAZZ RAG. All original material including advertising artwork remains the sole copyright of the Publisher and may not be reproduced without permission THE JAZZ RAG 3 NEWS NEWS return of course, with Alan 2-5. Four days of top-class jazz Photo by Barnes resuming his Lancashire Jay Phelps Simon Spillett includes an album launch with the Merlin Daleman NEWS comedian role as MC as well Jazz Defenders and three or four FESTIVAL DOUBLE as closing the Festival with his nicely contrasted high-quality acts FOR NEWCASTLE Octet playing Jazz Portraits. A each of the four days. Sampling the In the space of six weeks mere three days packs in a host bill comes up with Liane Carroll, Newcastle-on-Tyne boasts two of top groups and musicians: Adrian Cox, Pee Wee Ellis/Ian jazz festivals. The Newcastle Jazz Hans Koller’s Bird Migration Shaw, Dennis Rollins’ Funky Funk Festival (August 13-15) has Jay Big Band (not likely to be a and the Electric Lady Big Band. Phelps and Dennis Rollins as conventional Charlie Parker at www.bristoljazzandbluesfest.com headliners, while the Newcastle 100 tribute), Tony Kofi’s Portrait Festival of Jazz and Improvised of Cannonball, Zoe Gilby, Nikki KIRKCUDBRIGHT Music (September 30-October Iles’ Jazz Orchestra, the Julian JAZZ 3) features such names as Fergus Joseph Trio and many more. Among different stratagems McCreadie, Zoe Rahman and Pat www.scarboroughspa.co.uk/ adopted by jazz festivals to Thomas. event/scarborough-jazz-festival- make sure they can still operate, www.newcastlejazzfestival.co.uk september-2021 excellent programme of top ONWARD AND the 23rd Kirkcudbright Jazz www.newcastlefestivalof British bands and musicians UPWARD AT Festival opted for a four-month jazzandimprovisedmusic.com VENTURING in single-set concerts, with TEIGNMOUTH – postponement. So the good AWAY TO JAZZ such names as Dave Newton, IN 2022! news is that this celebration of REVIEW OF JAZZ Venture Away Music Weekends Art Themen, Gilad Atzmon, Trad, New Orleans, Dixieland IN ENGLAND The popular West Country event, have two tempting jazz Nikki Iles/Stan Sulzmann and the Teignmouth Jazz Festival, has and Swing Jazz on the beautiful Following a delay caused by – programmes on offer this year, John Etheridge with Vasilis fallen victim to the pandemic Solway Firth will go ahead on what else – the Covid pandemic, both three nights in top-class Xenopoulos. in a slightly different way. This October 14-17, with The Big Easy the All Party Jazz Appreciation seaside hotels with five traditional www.hertsjazzfestival.co.uk year’s festival has been cancelled (Cadogan Hall), Vijay Iyer/Linda plus an extra Sunday lunch with Jimmie Noone, King Oliver, and The Red Hot Rhythmakers Group launched a Review of Jazz jazz bands. Blackpool Jazz not because of social distancing May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey, The Golden Eagle Jazz Band (29). Bing Crosby, Sam Wooding, Red among bands already announced. in England on May 28. The review and Lights at the Savoy Hotel VARIED regulations, but because the main London Sinfonietta and Laura Jurd Already booked for September Nichols, Oscar Aleman and www.kirkcudbrightjazzfestival.co.uk is being undertaken by APPJAG’s (September 17-20) features New PROGRAMME AT venue has been converted into and Nu Civilisation Orchestra (all are the Scott Hamilton Quartet Fletcher Henderson. secretary, Chris Hodgkins, and Orleans Heat, Baby Jools and the RONNIE’S flats during lockdown and because Queen Elizabeth Hall), Cleveland (1), Georgie Fame & Sons (8) www.whitleybayjazzfest.com CROWDFUNDING an expert advisory panel. The Jazzaholics, the Eagle Jazz Band and In the absence of imported talent, the festival is, unaccountably, not Watkiss and Django Bates and the and the Swing Unlimited Big MARSDEN deadline for responding to this the Savannah Jazz Band, while the Ronnie Scott’s has put together eligible for the recovery fund. Average White Band (both Royal Band (29), with Louisa Revolta’s SEPTEMBER The popular and well-established review has been extended to first three bands return for the an excellent programme of top The organisers are currently Festival Hall) and Kandace Springs Celebration of Ella Fitzgerald IN THE PARK festival at Marsden in the Pennines August 1 and details, briefing Torquay Jazz Weekend (November British players, with more one- negotiating a deal with the local (Alexandra Palace Theatre). (6) and Martin Taylor and Ulf Jazz festivals have taken many is faced with additional expenses papers and questionnaires can be 5-8), together with the Dart and two-nighters than usual and Yacht Club which, if successful, www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk Wakenius (20) lined up for different approaches to dealing in the wake of Covid. To ensure found on www.appjag.org/review- Valley Stompers and the Riviera fewer week runs. Apart from will make it, in the words of the October, plus another Thursday with the Covid pandemic and for the festival goes ahead in October, of-jazz-in-england. Ramblers Hot Rhythm Band. performances by the various organisers, ‘the swankiest jazz club SLIGHT DELAY night special with King Pleasure Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival the the Festival needs £10,000 which www.ventureawaymusicweekends.co.uk house bands, a sampling of the AT TJCUK admirable solution has been to it hopes to raise by crowdfunding. JAZZ AT THE SPA in the region worthy of the icons and the Biscuit Boys (7). next two months’ calendar of 40s New York and Chicago’. The Jazz Centre UK had www.theconcordeclub.com follow several individual events www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-bring- Where once Max Jaffa ruled RETURN OF comes up with the James Taylor So, with funds built up again and announced that it would reopen with a September Festival in marsden-jazz-festival-back-in-2021 supreme in the Palm Court, HERTS FEST Quartet (July 12-14), Liane a classy new venue, Teignmouth on June 26 with new exhibits. The WHITLEY BAY Lakota Gardens on September Scarborough Spa, is now host to The 10th Herts Jazz Festival has Carroll (17-18), James Pearson 2022 promises much! look and feel of its Walkthrough CLASSICS the always excellent Scarborough been able to retain much of the with a portrait of Dudley Moore History of Jazz is re-modelled Mike Durham’s International Darius Brubeck Jazz Festival every September line-up from last year’s cancelled (21), John Etheridge’s Sweet EFG LONDON and new exhibits celebrate British Classic Jazz Party, aka the Whitley – not quite every September, of festival and comes back stronger Chorus (22), Alex Garnett’s FESTIVAL GOES jazz artists and the history of the Bay Jazz Festival, has been course, as 2020 was inevitably than ever. The festival at South London Supersax Project (30), AHEAD! 100 Club, also also the subject providing classic jazz on Tyneside postponed, with much of Mill Arts in Bishops Stortford Polly Gibbons (August 4), James The EFG London Jazz Festival of a new book edited by Digby since 1990. This year’s festival, the programme transferred has a full-length concert each Copus (5), Laurence Cottle with returns on November 12 to Fairweather.