Playlist for "The extra hour" 15th September 2015

I took the opportunity of an extra hour between 13:00 and 14:00 to play some tracks that in normal circumstances I'd struggle to fit into the 3 hour format the list together with some context is listed below;

"Not you again"; John Scofield.

From one of my favourite Scofield album "Works for me". This 7 minute+ track is a splendidly worked out blend of all the great musicians playing on it. If you don't know the album, do check it out.

"Maurizius"; Various Artists.

An album that contains a 30 minute track as well as several that clock in at over 10 minutes can be difficult to schedule, but the ECM album "Hommage a Eberhard Weber" is a stunningly recorded set of live recording that, as the title suggests bring a luminary set of performers together to pay homage to the 75 year old performer and composer. I'm thinking of how I can fir another track into my normal 2 hour show!

" What a diff'rence a day makes"; Esther Phillips.

From her 1975 album of the same name, chances to play the long version of this are few and far between, and in any case always provoke the debate "Is Esther a jazz singer". Don't care! It's my show and I love nearly all her work, even the later uneven output, all of which contain nuggets.

" A place in the queue"; Theo Travis.

This is the longest (10 minute plus) track from the quartet album "Transgression". Theo is a favourite artist of mine, and I love all his solo stuff as well as collaborations with people like Robert Fripp. This album takes of in a different set of directions, and he's promised that when he's finished being out on the road with the David Gilmour Band he'll do another interview on the show.

"Some days I forget"; Gwyneth Herbert.

This is the mysterious track from the album "All the Ghosts" that doesn't end quite when you think it will. I think that's enough to say about this album which you certainly ought to check out. If you get the chance to see her live - grab it. On her last visit to Exeter she came into the Sound Gallery Studio and recorded some material for the Edge of Jazz, and proved what a consummate artist she is. A new album is eagerly anticipated.

"The Cherry Orchard"; Colin Towns Mask Orchestra .

"Drama", which is out on October 2nd is a series of pieces that Colin Towns wrote for a number of theatre companies, most notably Theatre Clywd Mold. It's a double CD, and some of the tracks are very long. Since I had to start somewhere with the huge work I chose a 10 minute outing. The band and the arrangements are stunning and need extended closer investigation.

"Equilibrium"; Tom Green Septet.

It's difficult not to think that "Skyline" will make my end of year top 10 jazz records for 2015. This, the longest track at 10 plus minutes was the only one from the album that I hadn't played and it seemed like a good opportunity to redress that omission. The ensemble playing is fabulous and I have played the album at home and in the car dozens of time. It always reveals more.