Bobby

Tonight, it feels like the world is nervously holding its breath. As the presidential election votes are being counted, I find I can't sleep. A thought has popped into my head - "at least Bobby doesn't have to worry about all this..." As well as bringing back the terrible sadness of his sudden passing, just a …

Reminded of Laugharne

Last year my wife and I had a very enjoyable holiday in the Welsh town most famous for its association with the great poet Dylan Thomas: Laugharne. I was reminded of this when I came across two items related to Thomas. Firstly, I was reminded by this short article that Stan Tracey's quartet are playing …

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 …

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 …

The Nine Muses and its ghosts…

With one of the highlights of my year, The Cambridge Film Festival, only a few tantalising weeks away, it just so happens that I have been re-watching one of the films shown at last year's festival - The Nine Muses. At the time I found the film beautiful and poetic, although I also felt it …

The Stan Tracey Quartet: A Child’s Christmas Jazz Suite

Stan Tracey has been saying for some years now that his composing days are a thing of the past. Thankfully, we now have tangible proof that this no longer holds true: he has just released a CD with his quartet, full of new tunes. And if that wasn't enough, like his classic Under Milk Wood - …