Django Bates Beloved – Confirmation

Django Bates' 2010 trio album, Beloved Bird, was a revelation. Its audacious dismantling of Charlie Parker's compositions only to reform them into startling new, shifting forms was exciting and inspirational. Now the same trio (with Petter Eldh on bass and Peter Bruun on drums) are back with a new album, Confirmation. This time there are …

Treacherous Orchestra – Origins

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but somehow (I can't remember how) I came across the Treacherous Orchestra, the most exiting folk band I've heard since discovering Bellowhead. The Orchestra's debut album, Origins - released in February this year - is spectacular. It's full of invigorating music to delight and enrapture, …

Herts Jazz Festival 2012

Some brief notes... Alyn Shipton says* in his 5 star review of the Herts Jazz Festival in The Times:- This young festival is only in its second year, but it deserves already to be ranked as one of Britain’s finest and most high quality jazz events. Shipton quite rightly focuses on what was the highlight …

Cambridge Film Festival 2012

And so another successful Cambridge Film Festival drew to a close yesterday. I'm already missing it... Here are some very quick thoughts on this year's experience. Lead by the inspirational director Tony Jones and his team of programmers, this important, ambitious festival prides itself on bringing a wide-range of quality films to Cambridge. What is …

The Temptation of St Tony

Here is my review of this film published in Take One magazine:- The deliciously intriguing, witty opening – a peculiar funeral procession which is rudely interrupted in a most unexpected manner – sets the tone for this Estonian curiosity. It’s the beginning of a bizarre story which follows Tony, a middle manager who seems in …

A Cube Of Sugar

Here is my review of this film published in Take One magazine:- Iranian cinema has given us so many great films – including those made by Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and last year’s fantastic A SEPARATION by Asghar Farhadi – that expectations are always raised when you come across another Iranian contribution. Thankfully, …

It doesn’t get much better than this – the Herts Jazz Festival 2012…

As well as the Cambridge Film Festival, I am also very excited about the upcoming Herts Jazz Festival, which is taking place at Campus West in Welwyn Garden City over the weekend of 14-16 September. The host of this event - Herts Jazz Club - holds a very special place in my affections. It is …

Sleep Furiously and the Cambridge Film Festival…

In my last post I mentioned the fast approaching Cambridge Film Festival, one of the highlights of my year. Among the many reasons I love the festival so much is that it affords the opportunity for discovering some real cinematic gems. I can still vividly remember being mesmerised by Guy Maddin's DRACULA: PAGES FROM A …