Jack Davies

LondonJazz: Dagda Quartet

2012-01-29T12:39:00.001Z

My latest LondonJazz Blog is about Tom Harrison's Dadga Quartet tour coming up in April.

North London Tavern in February

2012-01-24T16:50:00.003Z

For the last gig of January we welcome trumpet player Robbie Robson and his band to the NLT, as well as another Rob - saxophone player Rob Cope, and his band that includes Tom Cawley and Josh Blackmore.

We've got also got great gigs for the whole of February - starting on the 5th with sax player Tom Challenger's new brass project and trumpeter Mark Crown (who played at the first ever NLT!) and his quintet.

On the 12th we welcome a great improv trio of drummer Mark Sanders, bassist John Edwards and clarinet player Shabaka Hutchings. They will play opposite Joe Wright's astonishingly good Octet.

The 19th will be a special one: Henry Lowther brings his own small group to the NLT for the first time, a truly great band which includes Pete Saberton, Pete Hurt, Dave Green and Paul Clarvis. This night will also be the second gig on Josh Arcoleo's album launch tour - his album is coming out on Edition Records - and his quartet will be Ivo Neame, Calum Gourlay and James Maddren.

Saxophonist Andy Scott and drummer / percussionist Dave Hassell headline our last gig of the month - their duo is refreshingly unique, and this will be a rare London appearance. The other band will be my own quintet, featuring the great George Crowley, Tom Taylor, James Opstad and Dave Hamblett.

LondonJazz: The Forge

2012-01-20T16:21:00.003Z

My latest London Jazz blog is about the great things happening at The Forge in Camden.

The V&V Music label launch will be happening there on April 27, with Flea Circus and Southbound playing.

LondonJazz: Cobweb Collective / Birmingham Jazz London night

2012-01-16T15:19:00.002Z

HS2? There's a much less controversial new link between London and Birmingham. New blog up on LondonJazz.

New Year at the NLT

2012-01-03T18:03:00.005Z

Jazz @ the NLT returns this Sunday, and we have another great month of jazz:

January:

8 - Mark Hanslip / Stéphane Payen + Tim Thornton Trio
15 - Trevor Mires Quintet + Tom Taylor Quintet
22 - Tom White Septet + Ant Law Quintet
29 - Robbie Robson Group + Rob Cope's Constellation Project

As usual, Sundays from 7.30pm, £5 in. Nearest tube: Kilburn (Jubilee) / Brondesbury (Overground)

LondonJazz: Dave Douglas Q&A

2011-12-31T13:14:00.003Z

Thanks to Nick Smart and LondonJazz's Seb Scotney, I was recently able to do a Q&A with Dave Douglas. Dave gives great answers, well worth a read!

It's up on LondonJazz now.

Recording, recording...

2011-12-13T20:29:00.002Z

Last week I went into the studio with my big band to record our first album, produced by the awesome Colin Towns.

The band played amazingly, and the sound off the desk was already great, but we also spent three days with Colin and sound superhero Toby Wood polishing things up. The end result is something really exciting.

The band line up should tell you all you need to know:

Saxophones:

Martin Speake

Mike Chillingworth

Josh Arcoleo

Joe Wright

Rob Cope

Trumpets:

Andy Greenwood

Tom Walsh

Percy Pursglove

Nick Smart

Reuben Fowler

Trombones:

Kieran McLeod

Richard Foote

Patrick Hayes

Ed Hilton

Guitar:

Alex Munk

Piano:

Tom Taylor

Bass:

James Opstad

Drums:

Jon Ormston

The trumpets also saw James Bond himself. Not a bad day's work..

The Jack Davies Big Band album will be released in early 2012. Watch this space!

Jazz @ the NLT in December

2011-11-28T10:54:00.004Z

December is almost here, and the NLT will be going up to 11 December.

The Christmas gig on 18 December has had to be cancelled, sorry about this.

On the 4th is my big band, featuring an amazing line up:

Saxophones - Martin Speake, Mike Chillingworth, Josh Arcoleo, Joe Wright, Rob Cope

Trumpets - Tom Walsh, Nick Smart, Reuben Fowler, Rory Simmons

Trombones - Kieran McLeod, Patrick Hayes, Tom Green, Sam Freeman

Guitar - Alex Munk

Piano - Tom Taylor

Bass - James Opstad

Drums - Jon Ormston

We're going into the studio to record our album with Colin Towns 2 days after this gig so should be a lively one!

On the 11th, we welcome two fantastic bands: Percy Pursglove's London Trumpet Ensemble and the Martin Speake Trio. Percy's band features himself, Robbie Robson and Steve Fishwick on trumpets, and an amazing rhythm section of Michael Janisch, Andrew Bain and Malcolm Edmonstone. Martin Speake's trio is similarly stellar: made up of drummer Jeff Williams, and guitarist Mike Outram.

As usual, Sundays, 7.30pm, £5.

December -

4 - The Jack Davies Big Band

11- Percy Pursglove's London Trumpet Ensemble + Martin Speake Trio

LondonJazz: State of British Jazz / Open Space discussion

2011-11-25T18:09:00.003Z

My article on the state of British jazz, and a response to Monday's Jazz Open Space meeting is up on the London Jazz Blog.

The first comment said the article was "depressing", and also suggested jazz musicians embrace waiting on tables as a career alternative. Feel free to chime in..

Project updates

2011-11-22T17:20:00.008Z

The London Jazz Festival has left me bleary eyed and exhausted. It's been a busy week: as well as the great gigs I was able to get to as an audience member (Henry Threadgill, John Escreet, Fringe Magnetic being the highlights) Flea Circus and the Jack Davies Big Band both played near-on sold-out gigs at the Spice of Life and the North London Tavern.

We're going into the studio with Southbound on Thursday, followed soon after by the big band recording at Pinewood Studios, before all three albums get mixed and mastered before Christmas.

The Jack Davies Big Band is playing another show at the North London Tavern on 4 December - come down if you missed our LJF slot!

Halfway there then, watch this space, or sign up to my mailing list for more!

LondonJazz: London Jazz Festival so far

2011-11-18T15:16:00.003Z

My round up of the London Jazz Festival so far is up on the LondonJazz Blog.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Hans Koller

2011-11-18T15:09:00.002Z

Hans Koller is our newest podcaster, speaking about his quartet, and the very underground album launch that is his gig at the NLT this Sunday as part of the London Jazz Festival.

If you haven't checked out the podcasts yet, please do! They are free, and so far we have had Ivo Neame, Paul Clarvis, Chris Batchelor, Tom Harrison, Tom Taylor, Nick Smart, Dave Hamblett, Trish Clowes, Barry Green, James Opstad, Rory Simmons and Reuben Fowler all talking about their music.

Subcribe to the podcasts on iTunes here, or if you're a non-Apple type, the raw XML feed is available here.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Paul Clarvis

2011-11-05T14:04:00.003Z

"He plays, I have a listen, and then I join in" - Paul Clarvis on his duo with Liam Noble, in an interview with drummer Jon Ormston.

Paul and Liam are playing at the NLT this Sunday, and so is Jon Ormston, as part of Southbound (myself, Rob Cope on tenor and Tom Taylor on piano).

Check out the podcast, and subscribe to hear the nine previous episodes on iTunes, free.

LondonJazz: John Butcher / UK free and improv scene

2011-11-05T13:56:00.002Z

My article about John Butcher's recent Paul Hamlyn Foundation award and the UK improv scene is now up on LondonJazz Blog.

Flea Circus album recording

2011-11-01T16:26:00.002Z

We were in the studio last week putting down the tracks for the first Flea Circus album, which will be 10 tracks long, and released in April 2012.

The band (Rob Cope - bass clarinet / clarinet, Aidan Shepherd - accordion, James Opstad - bass) is sounding really great, and it's always a huge amount of fun too.

You can catch us playing opposite the Ivo Neame Trio at the London Jazz Festival on 13 November at 8pm.

Jack Davies Big Band in the London Jazz Festival - 13 November

2011-11-01T10:20:00.004Z

My big band is playing on 13 November for the London Jazz Festival at the Spice of Life, Soho at 1pm.

We'll be playing new music that will be recorded on our upcoming studio album with Colin Towns, and I'm lucky to have an amazing line up:

Saxophones: Tom Harrison, Mike Chillingworth, Josh Arcoleo, Joe Wright, Rob Cope

Trumpets: Tom Walsh, George Hogg, Mark Perry, Reuben Fowler

Trombones: Kieran McLeod, Tom White, Richard Foote, Ed Hilton

Guitar: Alex Munk

Piano: Tom Taylor

Bass: James Opstad

Drums: Jon Ormston

Tickets available here

More info on Facebook and the London Jazz Festival website.

Hope to see you there!

Jazz @ the NLT in November

2011-10-28T20:41:00.004+01:00

November is Jazz Festival month, and we have another really strong selection of bands for you.

The first gig of November features one of our favourite bands, the great duo of Paul Clarvis and Liam Noble (check out their album Starry Starry Night), alongside Southbound - made up of myself, Rob Cope on tenor, Tom Taylor on piano and Jon Ormston on drums.

Our first jazz festival gig is on the 13th features the star pianist Ivo Neame and his trio (Andrea DiBiase and Dave Hamblett) and my own band, Flea Circus - fresh from our debut album recording!

For the second LJF gig we welcome pianist and composer Hans Koller's quartet - an awesome line up including Percy Pursglove on bass / trumpet, François Théberge on tenor and Jeff Williams on drums. The first set will be from pianist Tom Taylor's brand new Octet with Josh Arcoleo on tenor, amongst others.

Finally, for the last gig of the month Dave Manington presents his Riff Raff band - with Brigitte Beraha (voice), Tom Challenger (tenor), Rob Updegraff (guitar), Ivo Neame (piano), Tim Giles (drums) and a new stellar duo from vibes player Lewis Wright and Kit Downes on piano.

As usual, we're on every Sunday, doors 7.30pm and a bargain £5 entry.

November:

6- Liam Noble / Paul Clarvis + Southbound

LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL:

13 - Ivo Neame Trio + Jack Davies' Flea Circus

20 - Hans Koller Quartet + Tom Taylor Octet

27- Dave Manington's 'Riff Raff' + Kit Downes / Lewis Wright

LondonJazz: London Jazz Festival preview

2011-10-28T10:06:00.003+01:00

My preview of the London Jazz Festival is up on the LondonJazz Blog.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Chris Batchelor

2011-10-28T09:59:00.002+01:00

Our latest podcast is from the great trumpet player Chris Batchelor.

His trio is appearing this Sunday at the NLT, alongside Nadim Teimoori's ensemble which includes many of the younger jazz scene's brightest lights.

Subscribe to the podcasts, free, here.

Great idea?

2011-10-27T08:43:00.003+01:00

The contract with a single "creative communications agency" to come up with the ideas for the recent "GREAT Britain" advertising campaign cost £600,000.

This is the initial contract only - and doesn't cover launch costs, or further developments of the campaign.

Some perspective: the best funded NPO for jazz is Serious, which will receive £449,302 in 2012/13.

Perhaps the DCMS should spend a bit more on the things they think are so great, rather than cutting the Arts Council's budget by 30%.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Tom Taylor / Tom Harrison

2011-10-21T18:55:00.002+01:00

Our first joint NLT podcast comes from pianist Tom Taylor and saxophonist Tom Harrison ahead of their gig this Sunday. Also playing is a new trio led by Mike Chillingworth.

Subscribe to the podcasts free here, or simply stream on iTunes website.

LondonJazz: Big bands

2011-10-21T17:59:00.005+01:00

My latest post on LondonJazz is about the young big band scene in the UK - disagree with John Fordham, they are not a rarity!

A response from the Arts Council

2011-10-19T10:20:00.004+01:00

In reply to my questions about the Arts Council's relatively small cut to its travel and food spend following a 30% total budget cut and the general imbalance in Grants for the Arts and RFO / National Portfolio funding, the Arts Council have sent me this response:

"The Arts Council is committed to supporting the development of jazz in England and believes it has an important role to play in delivering our strategy for the arts ‘Achieving great art for everyone’. We are currently undertaking conversations with the national portfolio organisations to ensure that over the next period we address some of the key development needs in jazz, particularly in relation to developing artists and audiences across the country.

There has been significant investment in jazz through Grants for the Arts, however there is scope for the Arts Council and its funded organisations to promote the opportunities available to artists and organisations through this scheme. There is potential for the jazz sector to work more collaboratively and strategically with the wider arts sector to raise awareness of jazz (particularly new British jazz talent) and develop opportunities for artists to progress their careers within the UK market.

The Arts Council is working with the jazz sector in the North area to support a coherent approach to jazz development across the area from 2012/13 onwards. We are working with sector stakeholders to develop a suitable proposal for this during 11/12. The Arts Council will invest at least £4,236,943 in specialist jazz organisations through the national portfolio from 2012-15. These include Jazz Services, Serious (London Jazz Festival), Tomorrow’s Warriors, Manchester Jazz Festival. This represents 2% of our funding to music organisations. In the context of an overall cut to our budget of 30%, our investment in organisations entirely focussed on jazz has reduced by 6%.

Beyond these core jazz organisations we also fund a significant number of cross-artform venues and festivals who present major jazz programmes. These include Cheltenham Festivals, Barbican Centre, Bath Festivals, Band on the Wall. Over the past 3 years we have invested £1,968,571 in jazz through Grants for the arts. These include awards to Marsden Jazz Festival, East Midlands Jazz for organisational development, Kenny Wheeler 80^thbirthday tour. Around a third of Grants for the Arts applications were successful in 2010/11; around 40% of applications for jazz were successful.

All Arts Council expenditure with third parties is procured in line with government policy and regulations on public procurement to help ensure value for money. As you will see from the figures you have quoted this represents a 22.86% reduction in travel and food spending from 2009/10 to 2010/11 which is over and above the 15% reduction in admin expenditure requirement that was given to the Arts Council as part of our 2007 CSR spending settlement."

While it is interesting to note the success rate of jazz Grant for the Arts applications, in 2010 the Grants for Arts for jazz were just 13% of the total amount for classical music, opera and jazz.

LondonJazz blog

2011-10-14T17:58:00.001+01:00

My first "thought piece" for LondonJazz is now up, stay tuned for more!

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Nick Smart

2011-10-12T19:48:00.004+01:00

Trumpeter Nick Smart is our latest NLT podcaster, and is playing at the NLT this coming Sunday. He talks about his band, Jazz Mantanzas, and the process of fusing Cuban and jazz music. Subscribe to the podcasts, free, here.

Quick note: Instead of All in One Helmet this Sunday, we have James Gardiner-Bateman's 'Demon Hell-Riders', featuring a burning (sorry) line-up of Josh Arcoleo, Alex Garnett, Lewis Wright, Calum Gourlay and James Maddren.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Dave Hamblett

2011-10-08T18:34:00.002+01:00

Our latest podcast is with drummer Dave Hamblett ahead of his sextet's gig tomorrow, alongside Ryan Trebilcock's 'Holler'.

Subscribe to the podcasts on iTunes, free.

Arts Council still spending £1m a year on travel and food

2011-10-03T21:08:00.009+01:00

Last year saw a cut of 30% to Arts Council England's total budget, however, in the year following this announcement, there was just a 22% reduction in ACE's food and travel spending.

Total Arts Council England travel and food spending:

2009/10 - £1,254,896

2010/11 - £967,925

Travel and catering spending fell, while "subsistence" almost doubled to £79,448 from £41,795.

The total amount spent by the Arts Council on jazz is £1,170,000.

This year it was also announced that Jazz Services will have its budget reduced by a huge 30.3%.

Jazz @ the NLT in October

2011-10-03T12:14:00.006+01:00

October's Jazz @ the NLT started brilliantly last night with the first ever outing for Trish Clowes' 'The Odd Trio', and a set from pianist Alcyona Mick and drummer Paul Clarvis.

Next week (the 9th) we welcome bassist Ryan Trebilcock's 'Holler', with an unmissable line up of George Crowley on reeds, Lewis Wright on vibes, Hannes Riepler on guitar and Josh Morrison on drums. The other band will be the award winning drummer Dave Hamblett's Sextet, featuring a similarly starry band of Ivo Neame on piano, Josh Arcoleo and Joe Wright on tenors, Alex Munk on guitar and Calum Gourlay on bass.

On the 16th trumpeter and Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy Nick Smart returns with his stunning cuban / jazz outfit 'Jazz Mantanzas'. The first set will come from the brilliant alto player James Gardiner-Bateman's All in One Helmet, which comprises Freddie Gavita on trumpet, Pete Randall on bass and James Maddren on drums.

For the 23rd October we have two brand new bands fronted by alto players, one led by Mike Chillingworth and Josh Morrison, and the other a quartet featuring Tom Harrison, Tom Taylor, James Opstad and Dave Hamblett.

We're very excited to say the last gig of the month will be from trumpeter Chris Batchelor's band, with a first set from powerful tenor player Nadim Teimoori's eight-piece ensemble.

Hope you agree this looks set to be an amazing month of gigs, and don't forget to subscribe to our free podcasts on iTunes with band leaders talking about their music.

October
2 - Alcyona Mick / Paul Clarvis + Trish Clowes' Odd Trio
9 - Dave Hamblett Sextet + Holler
16 - Nick Smart's Jazz Matanzas + All in One Helmet
23 - Mike Chillingworth / Josh Morrison band + Tom Harrison Quartet
30 - Chris Batchelor Group + Nadim Teimoori Ensemble

As ever, doors 7.30pm, £5 entry.

The Jazz Warriors

2011-09-24T22:35:00.005+01:00

A sad case of tribalism within the UK jazz scene with an underlying race-based agenda has just come to my attention.

A facebook page and website have been created, heralding the return of the Jazz Warriors:

"The Jazz Warriors will be stepping back into the spotlight of the Jazz arena and reclaiming our rightful place as leaders for change, fairness, balance and equal opportunities for all within the Arts."

"It is now established in 2011 in order to respond to the recognised bias, discrimination and bigotry experienced by Black UK Jazz musicians in the UK"

I am afraid that this race-based ranting will serve no purpose other than to undermine unity in a community which desperately needs cohesion, not more tribal dividing lines.

Yes, there are shamefully few opportunities for black jazz musicians. However, it is not because of the colour of their skin, it is because of the genre of music they choose to play.

Jazz in the UK is underfunded to the point of crisis. Our greatest musicians regularly play door money gigs, and as I have continually stated on this blog, we suffer from the lack of organisational support that sustains the classical music community. This new movement seems to be symptomatic of that feeling of crisis, but we all need to refrain from the knee-jerk reaction of blaming people within the jazz community.

Various posters on the facebook page have urged the boycotting of the Vortex, the 606 and Ronnies, accused the promoters at Manchester's Band on the Wall of racist discrimination, and indeed of Manchester's jazz scene of being racially discriminatory. This anger should not be being directed at the UK's jazz promoters. Our community's ire should be focussed on the fact that we are so badly underfunded.

Please see my previous blogs here here and here to put this into context.

The Jazz Warriors state the means by which they intend to achieve their mission:

"Utilising the expertise and experience within its leadership and steering group with some of the UK's highly respected Black UK Jazz musicians and experts in the field of UK Jazz
Challenging and holding to account the policy and decision makers who can have a direct influence in supporting the company's vision and mission.
Research and showcasing the extensive heritage of Black UK Jazz
Developing a Centre of Excellence for the study and archiving of the rich heritage of Black UK Jazz music and artists
Utilising jazz as an educational tool to encourage youth to embrace UK Jazz's rich history
Increasing awareness by broadening the jazz audience
Establishing 'Creative Idea Hubs' where the views of the Black UK Jazz environment can contribute to the delivery of the vision of the company
Introduction of Black UK Jazz into areas and situations that would not usually be considered for expressions of Jazz"

I would argue that all of these are things that the whole of British Jazz needs - we do not need to divide our small community further on race grounds. How can we have a Black British Jazz Centre of Excellence when no British Jazz Centre of Excellence exists?

The Open University is midway through a research project into Black British Jazz, costing £495,643 over two years. This money comes from the AHRC, which in turn receives its budget from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills. There is no comparable research project into jazz with no race remit, none covering British jazz as a whole.

Last year, all of British jazz received just £1.17m from the Arts Council.

The scene suffers from a lack of financial support, and this is reflected in the difficulty faced by musicians trying to secure gig dates. I spend much of my time working as a promoter (for no money), and am currently trying to book tour dates for my own bands. I have seen both sides of the coin, and there is no issue of discrimination here, certainly not on race grounds. Many promoters, such as myself, operate on a volunteer basis, and as such, do not have the time to dedicate the hours the musicians and music deserve. This is reflected in various negative ways, but perhaps the most unfortunate is the difficulty in securing a gig if the promoter does not know you. This is something faced by musicians of every race, and is nothing to do with discrimination against black musicians.

Shabaka Hutchings has posted a new blog here where he mentions the creation of a new venue(s) which seeks to draw in new black and working-class audiences. This sounds like a great idea, and every new venue in the UK scene is a welcome addition.

Cleveland Watkiss, one of the group's leaders, posted this quote from Dr. Claude Anderson:

"Racism is a competitive relationship between groups of people that are competing for the ownership and the control of wealth and resources and power.That's what racism is.A group phenomenon.Racism is a team sport.You can not participate in racism if you don't play as a team."

I am sad that Cleveland seems to be stirring up such tribalism. Surely this page and this website serve only to divide the community into two of these "teams".

I can only hope we come together, and realise we are in the same boat, and facing the same problems. Only by coming together can the British Jazz community hope to attain the funding and support it deserves.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Barry Green

2011-09-24T14:25:00.002+01:00

The latest Jazz @ the NLT podcast comes from pianist Barry Green, appearing tomorrow with his Blue Notes band.

There's a feature on our podcasts on the LondonJazz Blog.

Check out our podcasts, and subscribe free here.

NLT Podcasts: Rory Simmons + James Opstad

2011-09-06T14:37:00.003+01:00

We've got another two Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts for you, the first with trumpeter Rory Simmons (playing with Monocled Man on 11 September), and the second with bassist James Opstad (playing with the James Opstad Septet on 18 September).

You can subscribe to our podcasts, free, here.

A British Jazz Wishlist

2011-08-24T22:57:00.006+01:00

I have mentioned several times on this blog the fact that British jazz suffers from a lack of properly funded institutions.

The classical music world has a sophisticated network of such organisations, and British jazz should aspire to have the same.

Here is a very modest organisational wishlist, with details of the comparable existing classical counterparts and how much funding they received from the Arts Council last year:

National Jazz Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra - £2,193,283

National Jazz Centre

Royal Opera House - £26,342,464

Small Group Jazz / Composition Development Centre

Aldeburgh Music - £1,368,199

National Centre for Early Jazz / Repertory Jazz

National Centre for Early Music - £233,416

Jazz Education / Development Programme

Royal Opera House Bridge Development - £730,000 (from next year)

For each of the classical counterpart organisations I listed, I could have easily listed a tiresome number of examples. There are also many other structures I have not suggested jazz alternatives to.

The whole of British jazz received a paltry £1.17m this year.

This must change.

Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts: Reuben Fowler

2011-08-18T19:05:00.003+01:00

Jazz @ NLT Podcasts have arrived! Follow this link, or open iTunes, go to "Advanced", "Subscribe to Podcast" and enter this address: http://www.jdaviesmusic.co.uk/podcast.xml

Episode 1: Trumpeter Reuben Fowler. Playing at the NLT on 4 September.

Reuben Fowler discusses working with Stan Sulzmann, Jim Hart, and the British jazz trumpet tradition.

Jazz @ the NLT: September

2011-08-17T13:18:00.000+01:00

Jazz @ the NLT will be returning very soon, kicking off on 4 September with Reuben Fowler's band featuring the great Stan Sulzmann on saxophones and Jim Hart on drums.

We've got a great month of gigs, including trumpeter Rory Simmons' 'Monocled Man' on 11 September, bassist James Opstad's septet on the 18th, and the fantastic pianist Barry Green's 'Blue Notes' on the 25th.

We're also launching our podcasts very soon, which will feature a different band leader talking about their music.

See you on the 4th!

September
4 - Reuben Fowler Group feat. Stan Sulzmann & Jim Hart + Elliot Galvin Trio
11 - Rory Simmons' Monocled Man + Kieran McLeod Group
18 - James Opstad Septet + Paul Baxter Trio
25 - Barry Green's Blue Notes + Sam Rapley Quintet

As usual, North London Tavern, Sunday nights from 7.30pm, £5 entry, nearest tube: Kilburn (Jubilee) / Brondesbury (Overground).

Flea Circus on Radio 3 from the Proms

2011-08-17T10:47:00.004+01:00

You can listen to some Flea Circus from the Proms on iPlayer for the next week here.

9min 20 in is "Lamppost" from Three Miniatures (hear the whole piece here)

17min 05 in is "Tresses".

Album and tour coming next year.. watch this space!

Richard Turner

2011-08-13T10:08:00.009+01:00

Richard Turner was one of the most incredible trumpet players I've ever met, a lovely lovely incredibly funny guy, and one of the most important people in the London jazz scene.

That's really not an exaggeration at all. Everyone that turned out to the Con Cellar Bar last night knows how ridiculously hard he worked to promote great music and support local musicians, as well as incredible balls - not only the weekly Con gigs, but starting his own festival, bringing huge US bands over with guaranteed fees, and managing it all so well that somehow it all worked.

He was such a welcoming and supportive guy, and he is a glowing example to everyone who knew him.

Rich sent me the recording of a gig Round Trip did at the NLT last year - we were going to use the tracks as part of a podcast of Rich talking about the band which we never got to record.

Listen to E1 here.

He was an inspiration, a mentor and a friend.

I'll miss you Rich.

Coming soon: Jazz @ the NLT Podcasts

2011-08-03T18:57:00.003+01:00

We've started recording our first Jazz @ the NLT podcasts, which will take the form of band leaders talking about their bands and music and other things ahead of their appearances at the North London Tavern.

We thought it would be interesting to hear about the whys and hows that go into creating the bands on the current London jazz scene.

The first podcast will go up at the end of August, and will be available on iTunes.

The format was inspired by the great Tate Shots podcasts from Tate Modern, and there will be a new podcast featuring a different band leader released each week.

The arts suffer while the monarchy's budget increases

2011-07-17T17:31:00.006+01:00

In a parliament that has seen the budget of the Arts Council slashed by 30%, and the entire budget of the DCMS cut by 24%, the finances of the Monarchy are being shored up with the new Sovereign Grant.

The grant will, for the first time since 1760, give the monarch a 15% share of the net revenue from the Crown Estate. This is a major change, and will be a 3.2% real-terms rise in comparison to the grant-in-aids currently being dished out. The Sovereign Grant also comes at a time when the revenue of the Crown Estate is expected to massively increase - the Crown Estate income from renewables grew by 44% in 2009-10 and is expected to continue increasing. In addition to this, Prince Philip will continue to receive his annuity of £359,000 p.a. This does not include the subsidy the monarchy receives from the MoD and the police (even the total amount of security funding is kept secret because of "security" reasons).

How, when culture and art budgets have been recently been decimated, can this be justified?

George Osborne states: "We are trying to establish arrangements that are not to do with the current personality of the monarch, but that endure beyond that and allow the royal household to plan for the future with certainty."

In other words, an unassailable and indeed growing fund for unpopular future monarchs, such as Charles.

Flea Circus at the Proms

2011-07-12T12:36:00.004+01:00

Flea Circus will be playing at a "Proms Plus Late" on August 13 at 9.40pm.

The short set will be recorded, with one tune being played on Radio 3 in the interval of a prom the following week.

More info here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2011/august-13/181

National Jazz Centre?

2011-07-11T21:12:00.014+01:00

"A jazz equivalent of a National Theatre company or ENO has never been seriously broached in England, though a National Jazz Centre was almost built in Covent Garden in the early 80s, before overoptimism, underfunding and Thatcherism sank it."

- John Fordham, The Guardian October 28 2010

"Happily, I was conferring only the other day with colleagues on the South Bank about the place that jazz should have in the musical life of the South Bank. I am happy to say that they are very conscious of that place. It is not simply the neglect of the media and the funding authorities that is a problem; it is the fact that there is no visible centre for jazz. A few years ago there was a project to have a national jazz centre in Covent Garden and it was to be perhaps the start of a new era for jazz—somewhere where the enthusiast could meet the jazz musician and the jazz musician could meet the public [...]

That, alas! foundered as part of the general miasma which followed the abolition of the GLC. The site still exists; the property is in the hands of the London Residuary Body, as it should be; but somehow the steam has gone out of the enterprise. I wish it could be put back in. A centre for jazz is needed. Whether it should be there or somewhere else, I know not. However, I should love to see that enterprise revivified so that something could be done to allay the fears and the dismay that the noble Lord has uttered about jazz.

That brings me to the principal thing I should like to say this evening. It stems from the lack of capital funding, because, frankly, it was such a lack that did for the national jazz centre."

- Lord Birkett, House of Lords 25 May 1988

Mr. Simon Hughes To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage

what representation his Department has received concerning the creation of a national jazz centre.

Mr. Dorrell My Department has received no such representations.

- Written Answer on a National Jazz Centre, 24 January 1995

"The arts cannot live by bread alone, just as human beings cannot,

and they certainly cannot live without bricks and mortar."

- Lord Birkett, House of Lords 26 November 1986

What happened to the British jazz community's desire and ambition to have a physical home?

A challenge

2011-07-11T12:01:00.004+01:00

At the end of this year I will be going into the studio with the three projects I'm recording to launch V&V Music, the label I'm setting up as a result of winning the Deutsche Bank Award.

Already some very exciting things are in the pipeline, and with the big band line up fully fixed, Flea Circus sounding great and Southbound developing an entirely new set, the musical side of things is coming on nicely.

I'm already realising how huge the task of recording and releasing three albums and setting up a label is. I've never spent so much time looking at spreadsheets and making phone calls. However, I'm really lucky to have the assistance of a mentor from Deutsche Bank, and the help and advice of lots of amazing people.

The albums will be released in April 2012, with a national tour.. watch this space.

A challenge then, but one I'm really looking forward to!

Gigs next week

2011-06-10T14:16:00.005+01:00

Next week is a busy week, and I'll be doing three gigs in London:

On 15 June, Southbound are playing at the Green Man in Great Portland Street, with a whole load of new music some of which we'll be recording for our debut album at the end of the year.

On Saturday the 18th, it's my last ever gig with the Royal Academy of Music Big Band - playing the music of Steve Gray at Kings Place with Norma Winstone, Julian Siegel and conducted by Pete Churchill. More on that from London Jazz Blog here.

Finally on Sunday 19th will be the first gig for Alex Roth's Yellow Bell Trio, with myself and wonderful Irish drummer Matt Jacobson. We'll be playing music by all three of us plus some music by Dave Douglas. The gig is at the North London Tavern.

Hopefully see some of you there..

June at the North London Tavern

2011-05-30T09:41:00.007+01:00

We've got a great varied programme for you in June, ranging from free improv to straight up swinging jazz.

On the 5th we welcome saxophonist Rachel Musson, alongside the great Liam Noble on piano and Mark Sanders on drums. Pianist Barry Green also makes another appearance, this time alongside the fantastic vocalist Emilia Martensson.

We've got a more straight-up night on 12 June, with the incredible Tom Stone Nonet (featuring pianist Sam Leak, James Gardiner-Bateman on alto, Freddie Gavita on trumpet amongst others) and pianist Gabriel Latchin's trio.

The 19th sees the first gig for guitarist Alex Roth's Yellow Bell Trio, with Irish drummer Matt Jacobson and myself on trumpet. The other set will come from drummer Pete Ibbetson's quartet.

Finally, for the last Jazz @ the NLT before the summer break, we welcome two fine pianists and their quartets: Matt Robinson and Tom Millar.

June:

5 - Rachel Musson / Liam Noble / Mark Sanders + Barry Green / Emilia Martensson

12 - Tom Stone Nonet + Gabriel Latchin Trio

19 - Alex Roth's Yellow Bell Trio + Pete Ibbetson Quartet

26 - Matt Robinson Quartet + Tom Millar Quartet

As always, Sunday nights, doors at 7.30pm, a mere £5.

The role of the door gig

2011-05-21T10:55:00.003+01:00

As part of the team that run Jazz @ the North London Tavern on Sunday nights, I've spent a bit of time thinking about the consequences of running a night where we attract fantastic musicians, and are only able to pay them what we take on the door.

There is real risk that door gigs get held up as an example of the jazz scene finding ways to thrive without any funding or financial support whatsoever.

These nights exist to give opportunities for people to play, and fundamentally I think that is a good thing - we put on some fantastic bands that would struggle to get gigs at Ronnies or Pizza Express, but we need to be fully aware of the danger of devaluing live jazz.

It should not be the role or responsibility of nights such as Jazz @ the NLT, Jazz @ the Con Cellar or Jazz @ the Oxford to financially support jazz in the UK. These nights are an amazing undercurrent of innovative and risk-taking music, but they should be brewing under the umbrella of a network of jazz clubs paying good fees to our great musicians on a regular basis.

It often concerns me that we might be seen as an example of the "Big Society" - showing that you don't need to fund UK jazz. Relying on door gigs to support the scene would be completely unsustainable long term, and venues that can afford to pay a fee need to shoulder the responsibility of doing that. We operate a completely different model to the major jazz clubs, and door gigs should be seen as a feeding system for the big clubs, not as a cheap alternative model.

Deutsche Bank Award

2011-05-19T15:09:00.005+01:00

I'm incredibly lucky to be able to say that I've won the Deutsche Bank Award in Performance and Composition through the Royal Academy of Music.

The award will allow to me to start my own record label, V&V Music, and release three albums: one by Flea Circus, one by Southbound and one by the Jack Davies Big Band.

Needless to say this is an incredible opportunity, and I'm very excited about it.

Southbound at the Green Man

2011-05-16T08:43:00.004+01:00

Southbound will be playing at the Green Man near Great Portland Street on 15 June.

We'll be playing some old stuff and some new stuff, should be a fun gig!

Ambrose Akinmusire

2011-05-14T09:29:00.003+01:00

My preview of Ambrose Akinmusire's gig at Ronnies Scott's next Wednesday is up on the London Jazz Blog . Really looking forward to the gig!

The Royal Train (and other adventures)

2011-04-29T00:23:00.003+01:00

Since there's a wedding tomorrow, I thought I would highlight a small part of the expenditure of the Royal Family.

The Royal Family receive a travel grant of £7.3 million from the Department for Transport, £1 million of which they spend on rail travel.

The journeys detailed below all used the Royal Train for non-essential visits, not the performance of necessary tasks.

Below is the list of Royal Train journeys in 2009/10 that cost over £10,000 (so any £9,000 journeys will not show up):

On 2 April, Prince Charles took the Royal Train from Euston to Oxenholme in the Lake District at a cost of £14,756. The most expensive ticket you could possibly buy on a normal train is £207.50.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh took the Royal Train from Euston to Wigan on 21 May at a cost of £17,559 the most expensive normal ticket? £199.50.
On 5 June, Prince Charles was back in the train, this time traveling from Aberdeen to Portsmouth. A long way, but was it really worth the £23,792 it cost?
Charles was back in the train on 8 June, this time spending £23,830 traveling from Aberdeen to Gillingham.
Prince Philip and the Queen took the Royal Train to Euston to Weymouth on 10 June, at a cost of £16,367.
The Queen was back on the rails on 25 June, this time traveling to Edinburgh from Euston at a mere cost of £19,541.
Charles borrowed the train on 6 September for trip to Kemble at a cost of £19,492 and again on 10 September to head to Exeter, at a cost of £19,747.
October 8, Charles and Camilla used the train to commute from Scotland to London costing £22,447.
Charles was back in the train again on 22 October, costing £21,665.
The Queen used the train on 5 November to travel from London to Newcastle for the bargain price of £18,348.
An essential Royal Train trip on 7 December to the Royal Variety Performance for the Queen cost £21,002.
On February 3, Charles spent £36,185 on a trip to Llandovery.
On February 17, £24,637 on a trip to Stoke.
The Queen used the train on 10 March to travel to Exeter, costing £17,595.
Charles and Camilla nipped to Oxenholme again on 30 March costing £16,209.
The Queen travelled to Derby a day later, costing £13,596.

Given that the Royals are happy to fly from Moscow to London at a cost of a mere £13,070 (16 December), why is it that it costs over twice as much to travel to Wales on their train?

Is this really a good use of money?

Oh ok, I'd better make it jazz-related. About the same amount of money is spent every year on these jolly Royal train excursions as is spent on all of UK jazz.

Enjoy the street parties.

Source: British Monarchy

Southbound on iPlayer this week

2011-04-26T12:59:00.003+01:00

If you missed Southbound's broadcast on Jazz Line Up on Sunday night, you can catch it all week on iPlayer here.

There's about 30 mins of our set from the Southport festival in February.

If Boris wants to attract tourists, he should invest in culture, not cable cars

2011-04-26T12:48:00.003+01:00

Boris Johnson has announced he will be spending £50m on upfront funding for a new cable car to go across the thames.

This is not a serious transport solution, it's a gimmicky tourist attraction. Surely the experience of the Dome (one of the venues linked by the new cable car) should have taught us that pointless gimmicky tourist attractions don't work.

If the Mayor of London really wants to attract more tourists to the city, how about a bit more investment in culture?

This cable car will cost the same as 43 years of UK jazz at current funding levels (which are dropping all the time). Does that really make sense?

Tourists aren't attracted by novelty ways of crossing a river, they're attracted by the culture this city has to offer.

Gender is the real issue with jazz audiences, not age

2011-04-25T20:22:00.006+01:00

There was a great deal of debate on this London Jazz Blog article about the age of jazz audiences, but in my opinion, the problem jazz has regarding audience demographics is to do with gender, not age.

Take a look at these figures for the audience for Jazz @ the North London Tavern (based on Facebook page membership) :

81% of members are under the age of 35, while only 32% of members are female.

This is obviously distorted in terms of the age demographic - there are far more 20 and 30 somethings using Facebook than 50 and 60 year olds, but actually it is a fairly good representation of our regular audience.

Our mailing list has an even greater gender imbalance: 75% male and just 25% female.

In my opinion, gender imbalance is the real issue the jazz community has to deal with, not audience age.

Thoughts?

Some perspective

2011-04-21T17:00:00.002+01:00

Completely non-music related, but I think this is amazing.

In the 1996 the Hubble Space Telescope was pointed to a tiny, apparently empty piece of sky, and the resulting image contains at least 1,500 galaxies. Not stars, galaxies!

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1996/01

Flea Circus: Guy's & St Thomas' recitals

2011-04-18T13:49:00.003+01:00

Flea Circus have been invited to give two recitals at Guy's & St Thomas' at lunchtime on 16 May and 29 June.

If you want to catch Flea Circus live, here is the updated gig list:

16 May - Guys & St Thomas' Recital Series, London 1.30pm
20 May - Jazz @ the Gallery Cafe, Bethnal Green 7.30pm
6 June - Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston Kingsland 7.30pm
21 June - Oliver's, Greenwich 7.30pm
29 June - Guys & St Thomas' Recital Series, London 1.30pm

Jazz @ the NLT in May

2011-04-18T13:21:00.004+01:00

Another month has passed, and we've got another five fantastic gigs for you in May.

The first gig will be from pianist Barry Green, with an incredible band including Henry Lowther on trumpet. The first set will come from pianist Sam Leak and tenor player Alex Merritt's new project.

The second gig of the month will feature two trios; one led by saxophonist Josh Arcoleo (Kit Downes), and the other led by bassist Olie Brice.

For the third gig of the month, we welcome two extremely heavyweight bands. The fantastic Troyka will make their debut at the NLT, with the other set coming from Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy Nick Smart's new jazz / latin band.

The next gig will see award winning guitarist Alex Munk with his quartet including Josh Arcoleo, Dave Hamblett and Calum Gourlay, with the other set coming from saxophonist Chris Morgan.

The last gig of the month will feature two quintets: one led by guitarist Vitor Pereira, a great band including James Allsopp on tenor, and the other being a new venture from inventive pianist Tom Taylor.

May:
1 - Barry Green Quartet + Sam Leak / Alex Merritt Quartet
8 - Olie Brice Trio+ Arcoleo Trio
15 - Nick Smart + Troyka
22 - Alex Munk Quartet + Chris Morgan Quartet
29 - Vitor Pereira Quintet + Tom Taylor Quintet

As usual, doors 7.30pm, £5 entry.

Next Sunday

2011-04-15T15:56:00.004+01:00

Next Sunday you'll be able to hear Southbound's set from the Southport Jazz Festival (featuring Tom West on bass) on Radio 3's Jazz Line Up at half 11.

However, if you want to hear Tom play live, he's also playing that evening with my quintet at the North London Tavern, along with pianist Sam Leak, tenor player Nadim Teimoori and drummer Dave Hamblett. Dave's also written a new suite for septet which he'll be premiering after our set.

Hopefully both options are more appealing than staying in to watch reruns of Top Gear on Dave..

Some things I've been doing

2011-04-13T23:24:00.006+01:00

I've been busy with a few things recently: getting an application together for the Deutsche Bank Award, and gathering together some more music for Flea Circus.

I've nicked a bit of Mahler (Uri Caine does it so it must be ok) thanks to the amazing IMSLP library and I've been transcribing some Poulenc, which sounds really pretentious, but has actually been a lot of fun (and because it wasn't on IMSLP).

I've been working with pianist Tom Taylor on some improvisation exercises / pieces for his dissertation on free jazz / improv, which are sounding really nice. Hopefully we'll get a gig or two in the diary. Tom promises to publish it all in the form of a blog or website before too long, which should be interesting.

Flea Circus - recordings and more gigs

2011-04-11T23:18:00.004+01:00

Flea Circus did its first gigs in March, and you can hear some live recordings on my website (scroll to the bottom of the page).

We've got a few more dates coming up, including the lovely Gallery Café in Bethnal Green in May (a new night curated by Simon Roth), and the Vortex (for my RAM final recital) and Oliver's in June. There are a couple of recital type gigs which will be happening soon, with dates TBC.

20 May - Jazz @ the Gallery Café, Bethnal Green

6 June - Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston Kingsland

21 June - Oliver's, Greenwich

More doom and gloom for jazz funding

2011-03-31T15:46:00.007+01:00

Arts Council England have changed the name of Regularly Funded Organisations to National Portfolio Organisations, and have released the levels of funding for the next few years. This is how the picture looks for jazz:

The total amount being given to jazz-specific National Portfolio Organiations is £1.17m in 2012/13 - that's down from £1.4m in 2011/12.

There are a few things worth pointing out about the list below. It looks at first as though the Manchester Jazz Festival has received a massive funding increase, but when you factor in that NW Jazzworks is no longer funded, that equates to a decrease in funding.

The most shocking thing to note is the decrease in funding to Jazz Services - a whopping 30.3%. Jazz Services provides the only national touring support for jazz musicians, and this cut will surely have serious knock-on consequences.

Three jazz-specific organisations are no longer being funded: NW Jazzworks, Jazz Action and Jazz Yorkshire. Birmingham Jazz is no longer a jazz-specific NPO, but is collaborating with Town Hall Symphony Hall (couldn't find out what their new NPO name is!).

*=non jazz-specific NPO

1. Serious Events: £449,302 (2012/13) [-£21,172] , £459,635 (2013/14), £472,496 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: -14.9%

2. Jazz Services: £340,000 (2012/13) [-£93,723] £347,820 (2013/14) £356,863 (2o14/15)

REAL % CHANGE: - 30.3%

3. *The Stables: £110,000 (2012/13) [-£145, 403] £345,000 (2013/14) £395,738 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: +31.3%

4. *Cheltenham Festivals: £212,320 (2012/13) [NO CHANGE] £217,203 (2013/14)£222,851 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: - 11%

5. *Bath Festivals Trust: £190,218 (2012/13) [NO CHANGE] £194,593 (2013/14) £199,652 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: -11%

6. Tomorrow's Warriors: £161,778 (2012/13) [NO CHANGE] £170,861 (2013/14) £186,528 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: -2.3%

7. *The Anvil: £145,000 (2012/13) [+3,807] £145,000 (2013/14) £145,000 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: -12.9%

8. *Inner City Music: £173,656 (2012/13) [+£54,544] £145,359 (2013/14) £99,093 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: -29.5%

9. Manchester Jazz Festival: £90,000 (2012/13) [+£26,925] £92,070 (2013/14) £94,464 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: +26.9%

10. East Midlands Jazz: £77,000 (2012/13) [+25,596] £78,771 (2013/14) £80,819 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: +33.2%

11. J-Night: £51,300 (2012/13) [+£31,232] £52,531 (2013/14) £53,897 (2014/15)

REAL % CHANGE: +127.7%

11. *Turner Sims: £45,000 (2012/13) [+£6,404] £45,000 (2013/14), £45,000 (2014/15) REAL % CHANGE: -1.2%

NO LONGER FUNDED:

*Music Beyond Mainstream (£136,876 2011/12)

Jazz Action (£65,623 2011/12)

Jazz Yorkshire (£54,766 2011/12)

NW Jazzworks (£31,006 2011/12)

April at Jazz @ the NLT

2011-03-28T10:35:00.004+01:00

It's been one year since we started programming gigs at the NLT, and next week will be our first birthday gig.

We've got a very special line up for the occasion: a solo set from master of the saxophone James Allsopp followed by a variant on Richard Turner's Round Trip, with George Fogel on piano and a slightly different rhythm section.

The following week (10 April) sees the first gig for Alex Roth (ARQ) and Dave Morecroft's (World Service Project) latest joint venture: Hyphen. The band features Mark Perry, Duncan Eagles, Dafydd Williams, Dave Manington and Jon Ormston. Also appearing will be Lauren Kinsella's Thought-Fox, an anglo-irish band led by vocalist Kinsella, using poetry as a springboard for composition and improvisation. The band comprises trombonist Colm O'Hara, pianist Tom Gibbs, bassist Mick Coady and Simon Roth on drums.

On 17 April we welcome american trumpeter André Canniere (Maria Schneider, Darcy James Argue) and his stand-out band of Hannes Reipler on guitar, Sebastian Weiss on piano, Ryan Trebilcock on bass and Daoud Merchant on drums. Support will come from guitarist Graham Garside and bassist Paul Baxter's duo.

For the final gig of the month, we welcome back drummer Dave Hamblett and his excellent band, as well as my own quintet - featuring Nadim Teimoori (tenor), Sam Leak (piano), Tom West (bass) and Dave Hamblett on drums.

April:

Birthday Gig

3 - Richard Turner band + James Allsopp

10 - Lauren Kinsella's 'Thought-Fox' + Alex Roth / Dave Morecroft's 'Hyphen'

17 - André Canniere Quartet + Graham Garside / Paul Baxter duo

24 - Dave Hamblett Quartet + Jack Davies Quintet

As usual, doors 7.30pm, music from 8ish. £5 entry.

Swiss Bells

2011-03-12T13:38:00.003Z

Along with guitarist Alex Munk and pianist Sarah Tandy, I've been given the chance to write music for the new bell tower which will be built outside the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square, under the tutelage of Django Bates.

Due to his links with Switzerland, Django was asked to get involved in writing music for the tower, and he's working with us as students from the Royal Academy of Music, as well as three of his students from Berne.

Hopefully if all goes well, there should be some very interesting sounds indeed being played hourly in Leicester Square!

More on the bell tower: BBC News Londonist

Cumulus

2011-03-12T12:48:00.002Z

This will be the first of a series of blogs charting the progress of my latest idea for a project, with the working title of Cumulus.

I've been a great fan of the music of Imogen Heap for quite a while, and have arranged some of her music for big band, as well as for Southbound.

This idea for a project has been a slow-burner: I've taken a long time mulling over the idea of putting together a band to play her music, with the idea of opening sections up for improvisation and reframing the often exquisite melodies, whilst retaining the original feeling and mood of the songs.

Having gone through the various options in my head, I've settled on a line-up (band members TBC!), and already finished two arrangements. The line-up will be:

Voice

Trumpet

Tenor Saxophone / Electronics

Soprano Saxophone / Bass Clarinet

Guitar

Piano

Bass

Drums

Percussion

The band will be a nonet, using both electronic and acoustic textures, as well as a three-piece horn section, voice and rhythm section.

One of the things that attracts me most to Imogen Heap's music is the airy tone of her voice, complimented by her use of Arve Henriksen's flute-like trumpet tone. I've taken the name Cumulus from an instrumental track which features Arve on uncompromising form.

I think it's fair to say that Imogen Heap is incomparable to the average pop artist, and I'm really looking forward to developing a different take on her music.

NLT for March

2011-02-22T15:39:00.004Z

Another month has passed, and we've finalised the programme for Jazz @ the NLT for March.

On the 6th we welcome pianist Sam Crowe and his band, with support from saxophonist Rob Cope's sextet - influenced by Dave Douglas' Keystone, and featuring Joe Wright on saxophone / electronics, Alex Munk on guitar, Pete Lee on piano, Tom West on bass and Mike Clowes on drums.

Joe Wright returns the next week, this time with his new large group, featuring harp, horns and a stellar rhythm section. Joe was recently chosen to receive a MBF Development Award, and after his duo performance with James Maddren, we're really looking forward to this one. The first set on the 13th will be my new band Flea Circus, with Rob Cope on clarinet / bass clarinet, James Opstad on bass and Aidan Shepherd on accordion.

On the 20th, we welcome back two NLT favourites: renowned saxophonist Martin Speake and his quartet, and fantastic pianist Rick Simpson and his quartet.

The final gig of the month will be from the glorious Kit Downes / Mike Chillingworth Band, who seem to be lighting up the London scene at the moment with their blistering original compositions. Support comes from the NLT's own pianist / composer Tom Taylor and his trio featuring Tom West and Jon Ormston.

March:

6 - Sam Crowe Group + Rob Cope Sextet

13 - Joe Wright Septet + Jack Davies' 'Flea Circus'

20 - Martin Speake Quartet + Rick Simpson Quartet

27 - Kit Downes / Chillingworth Band + Tom Taylor Trio

As usual, Sunday nights from 7.30pm, £5 entry.

Association of British Orchestras

2011-02-17T10:21:00.003Z

If there is any doubt of the validity of the argument that setting up a National Jazz Orchestra would have knock-on benefits in the form of satellite support organisations, take a look at the Association of British Orchestras.

Founded in 1947, and now funded by the Arts Council, the Association now has 150 member orchestras. If you want a picture of the scope and size of the fantastic British orchestral landscape, have a look here.

The Association's mission statement says the following:

"The ABO exists to support, promote and advance the interests and activities of professional orchestras in the UK.
Our vision is of a society where orchestral music is valued as a core component of contemporary culture. [...]
"The ABO exists:
to be an advocate for the orchestral profession of the UK, ensuring that the voice of British orchestras is heard by all relevant parties.
to provide the principal forum through by which members communicate collectively with each other to facilitate shared knowledge, collaborative initiatives and problem solving.
to provide accurate, timely and comprehensive information on issues and events that impact on the management, development and legal responsibilities of orchestras.
to provide and enable training and continuing professional development opportunities for all levels of orchestral management "

Sounds good, doesn't it?

We have a fantastic legacy of structured support for classical music in this country, and the jazz community should seek to achieve the same level of support.

The Association of British Orchestras is an example of exactly the kind of support organisation which could only exist for jazz music once we have a National Jazz Orchestra.

Flea Circus in March

2011-02-16T12:15:00.006Z

Having spent quite a while thinking, planning and composing, my new project Flea Circus is ready to go.

We'll be doing our first gigs in London next month:

3 March - LSO St Luke's, Old Street (supporting Jeremy Pelt Quintet)

13 March - North London Tavern, Kilburn

I'm very lucky to be working with three incredible musicians (Rob Cope [clarinet, bass clarinet], Aidan Shepherd [accordion] and James Opstad [bass] ) who have immediately captured the essence of the music and made it their own straight away.

The band is loosely inspired by Dave Douglas' Charms of the Night Sky project, and has a strong European flavour, with influences including Bulgarian clarinetist Ivo Papasov, French accordionist Gus Viseur, as well as drawing from European classical composers.

I'm really looking forward to gigging with the guys, and hopefully will see some of you at one of the concerts.

Radio 3

2011-02-16T12:01:00.004Z

On Monday Jez Nelson quoted from this blog on Radio 3's Jazz on 3, in relation to the ongoing National Jazz Orchestra debate. He also put forward some of the anti-National Jazz Orchestra argument, quoting from band leader Ben Cottrell's blog.

Radio 3 also came to record Southbound's gig at the recent Southport Jazz Festival, and some of the gig plus an interview with me and saxophonist Rob Cope will be aired on Jazz Lineup in about a month's time.

Arts Council Jazz Policy: The document that disappeared

2011-02-13T15:30:00.008Z

In 1995, the Arts Council published a Review of Jazz in England, an assessment of the state of the English jazz scene and its funding system. This review was then followed a year later by the publishing of the Arts Council's "Jazz Policy for England". This was, according to NW Jazzworks, the only jazz policy document ever published by the Arts Council.

Cut to three years later, and the appointment of Hilary Boulding as Director of Music Strategy at the Arts Council. She ordered that this policy document, then only three years old, be retracted in favour of a "broad-brush" approach.

The following is an extract from the now unavailable Jazz Policy document:

Paragraph 23 states: "Professional performance opportunities for jazz musicians in England are limited [...], there are no salaried jazz musicians in England, and those who earn a living from performance, do so by spending much time abroad."

This document was published in 1996, and 14 years later, the situation is no better, if not slightly worse.

This extract will prove interesting in light of the National Jazz Orchestra debate, in particular the mention of the Arts Council's intention in 1996 "to offer funding to a small number of large ensembles on a fixed term basis". The aims of this support were to include audience development, marketing and education planning and a "firm basis from which to persue additional support for artistic activity".

Paragraph 26 states that "There is also a need to extend support, in the form of one-off project awards, to ensembles of all sizes." This "support" would have included "adequate paid rehearsal" in addition to what sounds like an extension of Jazz Services' Tour Support scheme.

Few, if any, of the recommendations in the policy document were ever implemented, and this is perhaps due to the fact that it only had three years in the open before being retracted by the Arts Council. Despite the fact that this document states clearly that there is a "need to extend support" for jazz musicians and jazz music, this was never addressed.

This brings me to the obvious question: Why did this document disappear?

Hilary Boulding apparently wanted to move away from specific policy documents for art forms, taking a more general approach. However, policy documents still exist for other genres funded by the Arts Council. The "Spheres of Influence Policy (for Opera)" was published in 1982, and is still being implemented. Under this policy, Welsh National Opera receives around £7 million from Arts Council England.

That's five times as much going from Arts Council England to Welsh National Opera than goes to English Jazz. (Bear in mind there is an Arts Council for Wales.)

Oh, and guess what? Hilary Boulding happens to be on the Board of Directors for Welsh National Opera.

National Jazz Orchestra: The debate continues

2011-02-05T15:15:00.008Z

On Monday Jez Nelson hosted a debate on BBC Radio 3 between Nick Smart (Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music) and John Cumming (Director of Serious) on whether or not this country should have a National Jazz Orchestra.

For me, the most important issue to emerge from the debate is that there are a multitude of structured organisations that exist for classical music in this country, and yet we have nothing remotely comparable to support jazz music. This can, and should change, and I believe a National Jazz Orchestra would be the first step towards providing UK jazz with a cohesive network of supporting organisations.

Nick Smart raised an important point about the difference in culture between the classical world and the UK jazz scene, where professional musicians are often expected to work for little or no money:

“It’s acceptable that big band music and large ensemble music is performed, very often, kind of charitably.”

Nick goes on to cite the example of the London Jazz Orchestra, one of the UK’s leading contemporary jazz ensembles, which, due to lack of financial support, manages at best a couple of rehearsals (often without the full personnel) per concert:

“However good the players are, people care about this music, and it doesn’t feel like that’s enough to do it justice”

Jez Nelson illustrated this point by drawing a comparison with the properly funded institutions and professional structures of the classical world:

“[There is a] stark contrast to the classical world, where I would imagine that concept of charity work for professional musicians just wouldn’t happen at that level.”

Jez is right, that concept of “charity work” as the bread and butter for the highest level of classical musicians simply doesn’t exist. Neither should it exist in jazz music.

John Cumming raises an interest issue about the potential drawbacks to a National Jazz Orchestra:

“I’m personally not drawn towards creating an institution at this point … I’m more interested in how you support the process of creative jazz writing […]

“The great big band writers, stretching back to Ellington, always wrote for the musicians that they grew up with.”

This is a fair point, although I don’t think it is a major problem. British jazz is a very small community, and our greatest writers already have a strong working relationship with our greatest players. If you look at the personnel of Kenny Wheeler’s and Colin Towns’ own big bands, for example, there is a great deal of overlap. Also, when being commissioned, writers would know who they were writing for. The same exists with the NDR and HR big bands in Germany, and there seems to be no issue there.

John Cumming goes on to flag up the danger of diverting the majority of UK jazz funding into a National Jazz Orchestra’s pocket:

“The issue for me is that the practicality of doing something like this is quite substantial, and in a sense it exists already: the fact that young musicians do come together […] “would that [happen] if you had had all your eggs in one ensemble’s basket?”

I agree with him that a National Jazz Orchestra should not exist to the detriment of other musicians, and we should be very wary of the example of Jazz @ Lincoln Center, an institution which has absorbed a huge percentage of America’s (philanthropic) jazz funding, diverting funding away from other more progressive ensembles.

However, he is wrong to suggest that a structured big band organisation “exists already”: the large ensembles we do have are a labour of love for their leaders, and come under the “charity work” heading, as players often generously give their time for free. This is not a good situation to be in, and as Nick Smart says, it’s not enough to do justice to the music or the musicians.

I entirely agree with Nick Smart, who attacks the anti-National Jazz Orchestra argument based on the fact that conservatoire big bands are working with these key composers:

“We need to be careful of ever feeling safe or comfortable or justified about the fact that conservatoire big bands and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra are playing music by these composers and that that in some way makes it ok for it not to be supported professionally, any more than the Royal Philharmonic would feel like “We don’t need to play Mahler anymore because they’re doing it at a music college” – it wouldn’t even be entertained for a second.”

There needs to be a change in the way we as a jazz community think about these issues. For too long, we have been squabbling over scraps thrown to us by ACE. I agree that a National Jazz Orchestra should not come at the expense of support for individuals or independent ensembles, but we need to be clear: the amount of subsidy jazz receives in this country is pitifully small.

In 2009/10, Jazz received £1.7m from Arts Council England. Opera received £73.9m - forty-three times more, while Classical music received £140.2m – eighty-two times more.

This imbalance needs to be redressed, and the funding of a National Jazz Orchestra in addition to the continued support of our existing RFOs would be the first sign of progress.

In my opinion, a National Jazz Orchestra would be a nucleation point for a network of UK jazz support organisations. It would be the first step towards creating a financially stable platform for jazz music in this country.

Director of Serious John Cumming sums up his thoughts:

“I’m not sure it’s simply a question of setting up an ensemble. I think that actually looking at a structure that enabled not just musicians, but also producers and festivals and promoters around the country to look at where they might commission new work … and find a way of creating a properly rehearsed ensemble with the right facilities to create that programme, and maybe a greater continuity of work: I’m nervous of setting up one institution.”

I agree, we don’t just need one ensemble, we need to think bigger than that. We need flexible structures which support jazz musicians and their music, we need a National Jazz Orchestra with an educational access scheme for young musicians. In short we need, and deserve, the kind of institutions which have been supporting classical music for years. A National Jazz Orchestra would be one of these organisations.

Listen to the Radio 3 debate here: BBC - BBC Radio 3 Programmes - Jazz on 3, Orchestre National de Jazz, UK Jazz Orchestra

February at the North London Tavern

2011-02-02T13:39:00.004Z

We've got another great month of jazz coming up every Sunday at the North London Tavern.

This week we are visited by the great Mark Sanders Trio as well as saxophonist George Crowley's trio, featuring James Maddren (drums) and Sam Lasserson (bass). The following week sees the return of the sensational Round Trip, led by trumpeter Richard Turner, who have just released their new album (complete with very pretty cover), with support from the Tori Freestone Trio (Tim Giles and Dave Mannington, no less). The week after that we are visited by three fantastic saxophonists: Dee Byrne and her quartet, and Alex Merritt's band which features Mike Chillingworth on alto, Kit Downes on piano, Josh Morrison on drums and Sam Lasserson on bass. And finally, for the last week in February we will be hearing trumpeter Freddie Gavita's quartet and saxophonist Alam Nathoo's trio featuring Pete Ibbeston and Marcus Penrose.

February:

6 - George Crowley Trio + Mark Sanders Trio

13 - Round Trip + Tori Freestone Trio

20 - Dee Byrne Quartet + Alex Merritt Quintet

27 - Freddie Gavita Quartet + Alam Nathoo Trio

As usual, Sundays at 7.30pm, £5.

Website fully up and running

2011-01-28T17:30:00.002Z

Happy to say my website is now fully functional. Check out details of my current projects, information about V&V artists and the new online store, where you can download Southbound Live at the London Jazz Festival and some free sheet music too.

Flea Circus

2011-01-25T16:53:00.003Z

Been busy writing music and arranging for my new project, Flea Circus, which will be performing at Jazz @ the NLT and the Vortex / 606 in the coming months. The band will include double bass, bass clarinet and accordion.

In terms of influences, I'm drawing on a lot of European music - French accordionist Gus Viseur, the Bal-Musette, Ivo Papasov and his incredible Bulgarian band, Dave Douglas' Charms of the Night Sky Band (American, but sounds European!) and I've just dug out some amazing solo accordion works by Kalevi Aho and Berio.

I'm itching with excitement. (I'm sorry!)