ISSUE 162 SUMMER 2020 ANNIE ROSS UK £3.25 Photo by Merlin Daleman CONTENTS Photo by Merlin Daleman ANNIE ROSS (1930-2020) The great British-born jazz singer remembered by VAL WISEMAN and DIGBY FAIRWEATHER (pages 12-13) THE 36TH BIRMINGHAM, SANDWELL 4 NEWS & WESTSIDE JAZZ FESTIVAL Birmingham Festival/TJCUK OCTOBER 16TH TO 25TH 2020 7 WHAT I DID IN LOCKDOWN [POSTPONED FROM ORIGINAL JULY DATES] Musicians, promoters, writers 14 ED AND ELVIN JAZZ · BLUES · BEBOP · SWING Bicknell remembers Jones AND MORE 16 SETTING THE STANDARD CALLUM AU on his recent album LIVE AND ROCKING 18 60-PLUS YEARS OF JAZZ MORE THAN 90% FREE ADMISSION BRIAN DEE looks back 20 THE V-DISC STORY Told by SCOTT YANOW 22 THE LAST WHOOPEE! Celebrating the last of the comedy jazz bands 24 IT’S TRAD, GRANDAD! ANDREW LIDDLE on the Bible of Trad FIND US ON FACEBOOK 26 I GET A KICK... The Jazz Rag now has its own Facebook page. with PAOLO FORNARA of the Jim Dandies For news of upcoming festivals, gigs and releases, features from the archives, competitions and who 26 REVIEWS knows what else, be sure to ‘like’ us. To find the Live/digital/ CDs page, simply enter ‘The Jazz Rag’ in the search bar at the top when logged into Facebook. For more information and to join our mailing list, visit: THE JAZZ RAG PO BOX 944, Birmingham, B16 8UT, England UPFRONT Tel: 0121454 7020 BRITISH JAZZ AWARDS CANCELLED WWW.BIRMINGHAMJAZZFESTIVAL.COM Fax: 0121 454 9996 Email: [email protected] This is the time of year when Jazz Rag readers expect to have the opportunity to vote for the Jazz Oscars, the British Jazz Awards. Sadly this year’s event has Web: www.jazzrag.com Or contact: been cancelled. Though what is essentially an on-line operation could take place Phone: 0121 454 7020 email: [email protected] safely in the pandemic age, the organisers feel that the awards’ integrity would be Publisher / editor: Jim Simpson compromised: after all, the awards relate to voters’ reactions to performances in a Write: PO Box 944, Birmingham B16 8UT News / features: Ron Simpson single year, not existing reputations. Reviews editor: Nick Hart International editor: Yue Yang The official statement put it clearly: ‘To make an award in a year which gave pitifully Commercial Director: Tim Jennings few opportunities for musicians to perform would be a mockery of this well- Subscriptions & accounts: Nick Hart respected event.’ Designed by Nerys James Printed by Warwick Printing So, for the first time since Humphrey Lyttelton and Benny Green inaugurated the British Jazz Awards in 1987 with a splendid event in Birmingham’s Grand Hotel, the www.warwickprinting.co.uk awards take a sabbatical - back in 2021! © 2019 THE JAZZ RAG. All original material including advertising artwork remains the sole copyright of the Publisher and may not be reproduced without permission 2 THE JAZZ RAG THE JAZZ RAG 3 FROM JULY TO OCTOBER NEWS FROM JULY TO OCTOBER Enrico Tomasso As with all festivals in the UK This goes to the heart of one Jim Dandies scheduled for Spring and Summer, way that Birmingham 2020 will the 36th Birmingham, Sandwell be different from usual. Normally and Westside Jazz Festival didn’t a succession of European bands happen this year – except that, become firm festival favourites in a way, it did. The Virtual, but year on year – and it is sadly easy Remarkably Real, Jazz Festival see why, in planning a festival appeared daily between July 17 two months in advance there is and 26, the original dates of the little hope of programming bands Festival. Not only that, but the from, say, France or Spain. For Photo by DJC de la Haye Fergus McCreadie festival – in real, live, though all that, the European contingent possibly socially distanced, form is to be headed by the always is on for October 16-25. exciting Jim Dandies from Italy WHITLEY BAY year, after the customary features in this issue we report on the levels), harmonica, ukulele, conga and The Schwings from Lithuania. PLANS AHEAD on Lester, WKCR celebrates Vieux Carre Jazz Band resuming drums and mandolin. A couple of The Virtual Festival contained When our Lockdown edition Bird’s centenary with 120 hours its regular residency at the Sunday daytime concerts are also features that we associate With 60 events scheduled as Photo by Merlin Daleman was being prepared, we singled of programmes! The whole Holystone. On September 6 the scheduled: the Dime Notes in with the real thing such as against the customary 200- out the Mike Durham Classic feast of jazz runs from midnight band re-starts its series lunch- the Mancini Forum (Sept. 13) and photographic galleries, sketches plus and contingency plans events will be free, festival goers star Alex Clarke. Look out for Jazz Party (aka Whitley Bay on August 27 to midnight on time gigs at the Spanish City in pianist John Lenehan with The and cartoons, plus sessions and being developed for some will have the chance to jitterbug top instrumentalists Alan Barnes, Jazz Festival) as one of the few September 4. Whitley Bay. Roaring Twenties (20), old films stories from previous years. One performances being streamed and play the ukulele, though not Bruce Adams, Dave Newton, scheduled events still going www.wkcr.org and the music of Gershwin, Fats attractive element was the large into venues rather than staged at the same time, and jazz will Julian Marc Stringle and Art ahead. Sadly, as the Lockdown KEEP CALM – AND and the Duke, among others. number of friendly ‘missing you’ live, this will be a different occur in the most surprising Themen, singers Val Wiseman Jazz Rag was being printed, ANOTHER GIANT PLAY THAT CD! By October a fuller programme messages of good will, and a tune festival from usual – a one-off places, though not quite as many and Roy Forbes, and blues and/ the organisers bowed to the STEP Pitlochry is not generally thought is scheduled. Instrumental or two, from (mostly) young before the Birmingham, Sandwell as usual. The British musical or Americana from Tipitina, the inevitable and cancelled. As the As we move further in time of as a hotbed of jazz, but for workshops continue, with far musicians and groups from all and Westside Jazz Festival (as, contingent is full of festival Whiskey Brothers, Shufflepack, pandemic developed as a global from the classic jazz recordings many years it’s been home to more live events, including the over Europe who had enjoyed hopefully, with life in general) favourites, from the Festival Chickenbone John and Bob crisis, there was no hope for a and have the technical means Hep Records, responsible, among Fergus McCreadie Trio (14 – appearing at Birmingham over returns to normal in 2021. Patron Digby Fairweather (who Wilson/Honeyboy Hickling. festival whose 30-plus musicians to issue them in many different other things, for classy reissues Stage 2), Nearly Dan in the main the years and planned or hoped played the Festival Jam Session were drawn from the UK, five forms, a luxury market has of the finest big band and swing auditorium (17) and Joanna Eden to return in 2020. However, some things will be even before it was officially a www.birminghamjazzfestival.com European countries, Australia developed alongside the CDs music. At a time when many of us in daytime performance in the just as usual. At least 90% of festival) to young saxophone and (a sizeable contingent) the and downloads that just bring us are spending more time at home, Mancini Forum (18). November USA. The Classic Jazz Party as much music as possible. The Hep Records are offering many headliners include Elkie Brooks is not the sort of festival that 60th anniversary of the issue quality CDs ar bargain prices (12 and 14) and Clare Teal (20). works in an abbreviated (and on Atlantic of John Coltrane’s for Jazz Rag readers. Now is the www.stables.org non-international) form, so innovative and much-garlanded time to boost your collection of the positive course of action album, Giant Steps, is a pretty Buddy Rich or Benny Goodman CONCORDE JAZZ was to announce that, as good reason for a luxury reissue – and dip into a collection of YET TO TAKE OFF far as practicable, the same and in September Rhino provides Harlem groups of the 1930s, with Reports from Eastleigh’s musicians would perform the just that: the music re-mastered, such stars as Buster Bailey and Concorde Club are mixed. same programme at the Village original and newly written notes, Roy Eldridge and a few much less Jazz events (which the club has Hotel in Cobalt Business Park all sorts of ephemera, outtakes familiar names. promoted for over 60 years) on November 5-7, 2021. So galore. If the 60th Anniversary De www.hepjazz.com are only part of the mix and, Guy Fawkes Night next year Luxe Edition is not enough for as, for instance, the Ellington will see fireworks from such you, try the Super De Luxe, with SLOWLY Lodge hotel begins to return UK stars as Rico Tomasso, no fewer than 28 re-mastered RETURNING to normal and a modified Martin Litton, Spats Langham outtakes and alternative takes. Like Ronnie Scott’s whose programme of mainly tribute and local favourite Emma Fisk, early August live gig with Pete shows is scheduled for outdoor a host of Americans such as THE NEW NORMAL Long and Simon Spillett had performance, jazz to date plays Duke Heitger, Andy Schumm The EFG London Jazz Festival is to become closed doors at little part in the Concorde’s and Josh Duffee, musicians from due to be staged from November the last minute, the Stables at new normal.