This news story was originally written for Londonist.com. The full line-up for the London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, was announced this morning. From 21 June to 9 September, London will be the focus of an unparalleled programme of music, theatre, film comedy, exhibitions, art and outdoor events. In short, this is… [Read more…]
April 24, 2012 by Catherine Marks
At the end of this month trumpeter Jack Davies will be releasing three new albums on the V&V Music label. This includes work from his quartet Southbound, a small acoustic group (with accordion!) called Flea Circus, and also a release for his Big Band. Despite being released on the same date, each album is pretty unique due to… [Read more…]
March 23, 2012 by Culture Capital
This piece was originally written for Independent blogs. There was a similar blog post on the Guardian today too. World music. To some it’s a long-defunct marketing invention, a crude catch-all for bringing global folk styles – and numerous dodgy attempts at fusion – under one pointless umbrella. Questioning the validity of the term is… [Read more…]
March 19, 2012 by Culture Capital
Pizza Express Jazz Club is not what you’d call a spacious venue. Tables and chairs take up a lot of room and the stage area is tight to say the least. So it is a marvel that the Dean Street Club manages to squeeze two grand pianos into the club each year for its annual… [Read more…]
March 14, 2012 by Culture Capital
This article was originally written for Londonist.com. Ask a Londoner to name a jazz venue in town and chances are the answer will come in the form of a certain Soho joint with an unforgettable name and a cool sign. Open since 1959, Ronnie Scott’s is, by a long stretch, the most renowned jazz club… [Read more…]
February 27, 2012 by Catherine Marks
In a recent NPR interview Robert Glasper was very clear that “jazz is the father of hip-hop – without jazz there would be no hip-hop”. But despite this ancestral link, these two genres are rarely put together. Admittedly I saw British jazz/hip-hopper Soweto Kinch play in the capital only last month, but it is still… [Read more…]
January 31, 2012 by Culture Capital
Of the three jazz all-rounders brought together by Kings Place for its eXplorations mini-series, Alex Wilson – composer, pianist and Latin Jazz evangelist – is the most idiosyncratic, and his gig was suitably individual. After opening with the second ever performance of his Concerto for Kora & Piano, the second half was split between Wilson’s… [Read more…]
January 30, 2012 by Catherine Marks
This concert at Kings Place was part of eXplorations, a three-night run of concerts with collaborations between trumpeter Jay Phelps, saxophonist and rapper Soweto Kinch, and pianist Alex Wilson. Soweto Kinch split his gig in two, with the first half featuring his most recently released album The New Emancipation. After opening with the soulful ‘Trying… [Read more…]
January 23, 2012 by Culture Capital
This article was written for Independent blogs. Standing at the bus stop the other day, I bumped into an acquaintance who had been working outside London for the last few years. When I asked how he liked living in Bristol, and then Liverpool, he reeled off a list of positives before saying, “but culturally, there… [Read more…]
January 16, 2012 by Catherine Marks
From January 26th – 28th Kings Place will play host to three jazz stars. Over three nights Jay Phelps, Soweto Kinch and Alex Wilson will each play their own concerts and also collaborate with each other on stage. Canadian-born Trumpeter Jay Phelps appears on the 26th to direct a suite for big band with special… [Read more…]
April 26, 2012 by Culture Capital
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