The Jazz Rag

THE JAZZ RAG ISSUE 137 SUMMER 2015 UK £3.25 CONTENTS LEROY JONES (PAGE 8) THE NEW ORLEANS TRUMPETER PREPARES FOR A MAJOR UK TOUR IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, ALSO FEATURING JOE STILGOE AND IAN SHAW 4 NEWS 6 UPCOMING EVENTS 7 LAWRENCES' JAZZ WEEKENDS 11 THE SURPRISING MELODY GARDOT 12 VISITING BIRMINGHAM EUROPEAN MUSICIANS AT THE FESTIVAL 14 CLUB 90 REVISITED Photo by Katja Toivola 15 KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON SUBSCRIBE TO THE JAZZ RAG WILLARD MANUS ON CLARK TERRY FILM THE NEXT SIX EDITIONS MAILED 16 TALE OF THREE CITIES DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR FOR ONLY PETER VACHER IN NEW ORLEANS, CHICAGO £17.50* AND NEW YORK Simply send us your name. address and postcode along with your payment and we’ll commence the service from the next issue. 18 GREAT BIG BANDS POST-1945 OTHER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: WITH SCOTT YANOW EU £20.50 USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA £24.50 Cheques / Postal orders payable to BIG BEAR MUSIC 20 CD REVIEWS Please send to: JAZZ RAG SUBSCRIPTIONS 30 BOOK REVIEWS PO BOX 944 | Birmingham | England * to any UK address 32 BEGINNING TO CD LIGHT THE JAZZ RAG PO BOX 944, Birmingham, B16 8UT, England UPFRONT Tel: 0121454 7020 NO TITLEY, BUT SPIRIT LIVES ON Fax: 0121 454 9996 When it first started, Titley Jazz Festival was seen as a successor to the sadly-missed Appleby Jazz Email: [email protected] Festival. Now Titley has ceased to be, but the spirit lives on. In the introduction to the new Web: www.jazzrag.com Llandudno Jazz Festival’s website, the festival is proud to put itself in the direct line from Appleby and Titley. Publisher / editor: Jim Simpson The new festival (July 24-26) in a marquee in Bodafon Fields fills three days from midday to News / features: Ron Simpson nearly midnight with single-set concerts by 40 of the top British musicians. Themed concerts pay Reviews editor: Russell Fletcher tribute to Cannonball Adderley, George Shearing, John Coltrane, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers International editor: Yue Yang and the Ernie Wilkins Big Band. As always the list of musicians serves as a reminder of the quality Commercial Director: Tim Jennings on today’s British jazz scene: a random selection includes Peter King, Dave O’Higgins, Denys Subscriptions & accounts: Russell Fletcher Baptiste, Anita Wardell, Art Themen, Alan Barnes, Mark Nightingale, Steve Brown, Jamie Designed by Nerys James Brownfield and Andy Cleyndert. Printed by Warwick Printing As well as the intensive programme on the Main Stage, Fringe events around the town of www.warwickprinting.co.uk Llandudno feature the Big Chris Barber Band and the Digby Fairweather Quartet among others. © 2013 THE JAZZ RAG. All original material including advertising artwork remains the sole copyright of the Publisher and may not be Tel.: 01492 872000 reproduced without permission www.llandudnojazzfestival.com THE JAZZ RAG 3 NEWS NEWS JAZZ AT THE bands fill the rest of July and Jean Toussaint KING PLEASURE AT the Humphrey Lyttelton Band names as Kurt Elling, Cassandra 80 IS JUST A NUMBER... CONCORDE August: John Maddocks’ Jazzmen THE FESTIVALS (20). The Watermill is looking Wilson, the Average White Band John Critchinson, who celebrated (July19), Muskrat Ramblers (26), forward to September 10 when and James Farm. Singers figure Wednesday Jazz at Eastleigh’s July sees King Pleasure and the his 80th birthday last December, Westside Syncopators (Aug. 2), the club room will accommodate largely, with Melody Gardot at Concorde Club is a little Biscuit Boys at the Ascona Jazz is returning to a classic jazz piano Cuff Billett’s New Europa Jazz two grand pianos for solo/duo the Royal Festival Hall and Cecile irregular in the Summer months. Festival in Switzerland (3-5), trio with Dave Green and Trevor Band (9), Bob Dwyer’s Bix and performances from Gwilym McLorin Salvant and Juliet Kelly, On July 8 the Main Club session followed by the Birmingham Jazz Tomkins. As leader and sideman Pieces (16), Brian White’s French both at the Cadogan Hall. Also is replaced by free admission jazz and Blues Festival (9) and the Simcock and Michael Wollny. Free Critch has played with a Who's Quarter All Stars (23) and the announced (among many others) in the Moldy Fig with Dave Truck Festival, Steventon (17), entry jam sessions are on the Who of the finest British players, Solent City Jazzmen (30). are Maceo Parker, the Steve Shepherd and Paul Francis, then followed in August by the Y Not afternoons of July 5 and August 2. notably Ronnie Scott with whom Tel.: 023 8061 3989 Gadd Band and Andy Sheppard. on July 29, August 26 and Festival in Matlock (2) and Silda Tel.: 07415 815784 he worked for 16 years, and an www.theconcordeclub.com Alex Webb’s theatrical September 3 there is no jazz. In Jazz Festival in Norway (6-9). An www.watermilljazz.co.uk impressive roster of trans- presentation of the songs of Billy between, however, there is plenty earlier visit to Norway takes the Atlantic stars, such as Chet Baker, JURASSIC JAZZ Strayhorn, Lush Life , unites singers of good music. On July 15 the 19- band to Havly Pensjonat and Cafe EFG LONDON JAZZ Johnny Griffin, Bud Shank, Michael Swanage Jazz Festival (July 10-12) piece Bratislava Hot Serenaders David McAlmont and Allan Harris Brecker, Joe Henderson and many bills itself as ‘great jazz on the in Bremanger (July 12-13). Other FESTIVAL hold the floor, followed by the with the Frank Griffith Festival more. Now, as well as his many beautiful Jurassic Coast’ and once Summer dates include Woking Bateman Brothers’ Tribute to the The EFG London Jazz Festival Tentet. other commitments, he looks to again has an impressive line-up Park (July 11 - lunch-time), Astor Louis Armstrong All Stars with (November 13-22) has just www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk pay tribute to the great jazz for a Summer weekend. A mere Theatre, Deal (11 - evening), Maggie Reeday (22). August announced a second wave of piano stylists. sample comes up with the names Walsall Arboretum (19), St. brings the Dutch Swing College bookings to add to such big www.johncritchinson.com of Keith Nichols’ Blue Devils, the George’s Guildhall, Kings Lynn Band (5), the Kourosh Kanani Laurie Chescoe Reunion Band, (24), Lynton Town Hall (31) and Quartet (12) and a celebration of Martin Litton’s Red Hot Peppers, the Lowry, Salford (Aug. 11). the 45th Anniversary of the the Hot Jazz Alliance, Ben Holder, Tel.: 0121 454 7020 Concorde (19). On its opening in Spats Langham, the Stan Tracey www.kingpleasureandthebiscuitboys.com Stoneham Lane the club featured Dynasty Octet, Alan Barnes Reed the Alex Welsh Band. In this Breed Octet, Jean Toussaint, Art 40 YEARS OF NORTH celebration a top-class band plays Blakey Project and Karen Sharp- in a similar style: Rico Tomasso, SEA JAZZ Robert Fowler Quintet Plays Al Roy Williams, Julian Marc Stringle, The first North Sea Jazz Festival and Zoot. bands and musicians of a Huggett’s Band of Gold with Jim Martin Litton, Dave Green and included performances from such Tel.: 01929 422215 generally traditional persuasion. Fryer, Men Behaving Tradly, Reeds Bobby Worth. Meanwhile Sunday jazz legends as Sarah Vaughan, www.swanagejazz.org Some of the names featured this United and the Remi Harris Trio Jazz is pretty much undisturbed, year are Bob Dwyer’s Bix and with John Hallam. Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie. though on July 12 Fanfare for the BUDE JAZZ Pieces, Dave Stradwick’s Sussex Tel.: 01288 355694 Sadly these are no longer with Few, an all-afternoon show with Jazz Kings, Digby Fairweather’s www.jazzfestivalbude.co.uk us, but for this year’s 40th festival Swing Unlimited Big Band, takes Bude Jazz 2015 (September 1-4) Half Dozen, Jeff Barnhart's St. (July 10-12) five artists from the over. Regular traditional-style has the usual packed line-up of Austell Tribute Jazz Band, Jeremy first festival return to Rotterdam as part of the Founding Fathers of ’76 series. Drummer Han Bennick played on the opening day of the first festival and pianist Randy Weston, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, saxophonist Hans Dulfer and drummer John Engels also took part in 1976. In 2015 they share the headlines with Melody Gardot, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, Jamie Cullum, Dianne Reeves, Roy Hargrove and many others. www.northseajazz.com/en/ SAME VENUE, NEW NAME FOR THE WATERMILL Watermill Jazz at Dorking continues in the same venue, now re-christened the Aviva Sports and Social Club following the merger between Aviva and Friends Life. The Julian Arguelles Septet plays the club on July 9, followed by the Jim Mullen Organ Trio (16), the Mark Nightingale/Ben Castle Quintet (23) and the Brandon Allen Quartet (30). August gigs arranged so far feature the Man Overboard Quintet led by violinist Thomas Gould (13) and 4 THE JAZZ RAG THE JAZZ RAG 5 UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENTS Robert Glasper UPCOMING In association with the City of John Hallam THE LAWRENCES’ JAZZ WEEKENDS 1990-2015 EVENTS London Festival, the Royal July 17 at the Mercure Whately Hall Hotel in Banbury sees the final Exchange, a historic building full event in one of the longest-running and successful enterprises in of luxury boutiques and British traditional jazz: the Denise and Tony Lawrence Jazz The Robert Glasper Trio has a restaurants, is staging a series of Weekends. Starting in 1990, the Lawrences’ jazz weekends built up short tour of the UK in August jazz performances by up-and- in number to 20 a year by the late 1990s and remained consistently with the slogan, ‘The next coming singers from July 6 to 10.

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