Albums that influenced me: Salisbury Suite by the Stan Tracey Octet

The second in this series of albums that influenced me. I spent my late teens and early twenties completely immersing myself in jazz. My friends thought I had lost my mind! My guide to navigating this new musical landscape was found in the local public library - my oasis of calm, and a place of …

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 …

Herts Jazz FILM Festival 2016: John Akomfrah on Stan Tracey

This is the third in a series of posts about films being screened in the first ever Herts Jazz FILM Festival (HJFF), which takes place on 16-18 September and 2 October in Welwyn Garden City. The festival showcases compelling films that all have a distinctly jazz flavour. Timed to complement the Herts Jazz Club’s well-established and prestigious annual Herts …

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 …

Bobby Wellins – Birds of Brazil

Good news! The website of top British saxophonist Bobby Wellins reports that:- Bobby’s CD, Birds of Brazil, recorded in 1989 and long unavailable has been re-released by HEP records. Just checking out who's in Bobby's quartet on this album lets you know that you're in for some quality jazz: there's the late great Pete Jacobsen …

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 - …