Jazzwise

This year’s EFG London Jazz Festival, which runs from 11-20 November, has revealed a second wave of acts as the event celebrates its 30th birthday this year. These include the guest vocalists for their opening night gala concert, Jazz Voice, which will feature US Grammy Award-winner Kurt Elling, American singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah, British lovers rock singer Carroll Thompson and South Carolina-raised jazz singer Dana Masters who will be backed by the expansive EFG London Jazz Festival Orchestra led by arranger/conductor Guy Barker at the Royal Festival Hall (11 Nov). Also announced is a new iteration of CHICAGOxLONDON – the first since the inaugural 2018 two-city collaboration – this time taking over the Barbican on the first weekend. A deep dive into the culture and sounds of both scenes, past and present,…

On 16 September, Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings will release a 3-CD box set collection of two discs of previously unreleased studio sessions plus a third disc, Miles Davis – Live in Montreal July 7, 1983. Available in digital and physical formats, the latest chapter in Columbia/Legacy’s acclaimed Miles Davis Bootleg Series shines a fresh light on an underrated period of the musician’s restless, forward-looking musical quest, and frequently features gritty funk grooves and extended improvisations by several hard-hitting line-ups. The triple CD set includes two discs of previously unreleased studio material from the Star People, Decoy and You’re Under Arrest sessions, and a third disc showcasing Miles Davis live in Montreal on 7 July 1983. The collection comes in a slipcase with individual album mini-jackets and a booklet featuring liner notes by…

There’s a nice line that says “everyone follows the bass player” – and for the likes of our cover star this month, Charles Mingus, it rings especially true. As Kevin Le Gendre points out in his incisive article, while Mingus is rightly in that circle of jazz giants which includes Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Sonny Rollins, that “it is arguably more appropriate to state that he broke new ground as a bandleader who played bass rather than a horn”. Indeed, a bassist of Mingus’ stature is not just the ‘anchor’ to an improvising band’s sound, but more accurately the sonic glue between harmony and rhythm that can be the game changing difference between a good and great band. In this issue we also celebrate the achievements of…

The winners of this year’s All Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2022 were announced at a ceremony held at Pizza Express Live, Holborn on 5 July with the recipients representing the continued strength and depth of the UK jazz scene. The winners are as follows Jazz Vocalist of the Year – Claire Martin; Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year – Tony Kofi; Jazz Venue/Promoter/Festival of the Year – The Globe Newcastle upon Tyne; Jazz Media Award – Jane Cornwell; Jazz Education Award – Jazz Camp For Girls; Jazz Album of the Year – Daniel Casimir’s Boxed In; Jazz Ensemble of the Year – Kansas Smitty’s House Band and Jazz Newcomer of the Year – Emma Rawicz. The Services to Jazz Award went to celebrated pianist Mike Westbrook and the Special Award went to…

Dynamic virtuoso jazz harpist Alina Bzhezhinska is set to release her new album, Reflections, on 23 September via BBE Music. It’s an expansive and varied suite of music performed by her UK-based HipHarpCollective, whose horn section features altoist Tony Kofi and trumpeter Jay Phelps, and rhythm section of bass guitarist Mikele Montolli, drummer Adam Teixiera and percussionist Joel Prime, while the album also features vocalist Vimala Rowe (on a stirring take of Mongo Santamaria’s ‘Afro Blue’) with additional strings performed on several cuts by Ying Xue (on violin and viola) plus additional double bass from Julie Walkington. Coming to prominence with her imaginative reworkings of Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby’s jazz harp explorations, Bzhezhinska salutes both on the new album with a psychedelic funk reworking of Ashby’s ‘Soul Vibrations’ and…

B:Music, the music charity responsible for Birmingham’s Town Hall and Symphony Hall has announced the line-up for B:JazzFest, which will take place from Monday 22 to Friday 26 August. Now in its second year the week of music will showcase the full spectrum of jazz and includes performances from international touring artists to local community bands. With a range of guest tutors in the city for this year’s Jazzlines Summer School, B:JazzFest, in partnership with Jazz FM, will allow audiences to enjoy free and low-cost performances at The Spotted Dog in Digbeth, on stage at Symphony Hall and in Symphony Hall’s Jennifer Blackwell Performance Space. The Jazzlines Summer School returns in August, with Symphony Hall opening its door to young musicians from Birmingham and the surrounding areas. This year’s free,…