Ooh vinyl! Who'd have thought it?

It was about 1997 when I finally stopped taking vinyl to gigs and shows and relied on CD's instead. I stowed all the albums and 12" singles in the cellar and thought "someday I will sell them". Of course I never did, and with dust gathering on them they were a constant reminder of a time I never thought I'd see again. I also laid my Technics 1210's to rest, and discovered when I looked at the recently that the sylii had been modified so that one of them could play double groove 12" single (remember them?). Recently I dug out one of the 12" single boxes and picked out a few well worn favourites from the past- the Blue Note Rare Groove series featured strongly, but I also found a Benny Golson 12" single, "The brand new Killer Joe". Wonderful! I even decided to invest in a new headshell and stylus so that I could start playing them again.
  About two weeks ago I received the first "vinyl only" material that I'd received in over a decade, and in the same week got sent a copy of the brand new Tim Garland album "Return to the Fire". Luckily the studio at Phonic has a couple of Technics decks that are attached to a sub-mixer in the studio. We used to have headshells with them as well, but they kept disappearing at a rate of knots. So I bought another new one, and this week on the show played two tracks that were on vinyl. They were "Love me or leave me" by Nina Simone and "Round Midnight" by Sun Ra's Astro infinity Arkestra.*  As far as I know no-one noticed, and I had to relearn the skill of cueing up vinyl. So next week I'll be playing the aforementioned Tim Garland album, and since receiving that I've been sent another couple of vinyl only releases. Who'd have thought it?
*PS. The Sun Ra album was recorded in 1958, and is one of the 71 that he (allegedly?) recorded for the Saturn label. How I got it, I can't remember. but it must have been second hand when I bought it - and it's in remarkable condition for its age.

                         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.

Playlist 8th September 2015:

1.  Soulful strut                                Grover Washington Jnr                      Soulful strut
2.  Naima                                         John Coltrane                                    Giant steps
3. Carapace                                      Get the blessing                                 Astronautilus (out 18th Sept)
4. Island Fever                                 Ahmed Jamal                                     In search of
5. Na baixa do sepateiro                  Joyce Moreno                                    Raiz
6. Happy times                                Various Artists                                   Griffith Park Collection
7. Feeling good                                Roswell Rudd                                    The incredible honk
8. Trieste                                          MJQ with Laurendo Almeira            Collaboration
9. Rendezvous                                  Ronny Jordan                                    At last
10.Parts and holes                            Robert Walter                                    Cure all
11.September                                   Misha Mullov-Abado                        New Ansonia
12.I don't know what the
    weather will be                            Laura Mvula                                      With Metropole Orkest
13.Gospel                                        Jimmy McGriff                                   One of mine
14.The long night of
     Octavia E Butler                        Sons of Kemet                                    Lest we forget what we
                                                                                                                   came here to do (out 25th
                                                                                                                   September)
15.Le mal de vivre                          Cecile McLorin Salvant                    For one to love
16.Mugshot                                     Russell Malone                                 Sweet Georgia Peach
17. 'Til my back ain't got
      no bone                                     Esther Phillips                                   From a whisper to a scream
18.Benny's bugle                            Mike Gibbs with the
                                                        NDR Big Band                                  Play a Bill Frissell set list
19.Skyline                                       Yelena Eckemoff                              Everblue
20.Compared to what                      Les McCann                                     Les McCann

I'm loving the Cecile McClorin Salvant album, a sensible move to get backing from a 4 piece in which Aaron Diell really shines. The Misha Mullov-Abado album continues to give great pleasure (special shout out to Tom Green- hear my interview with him on the Phonic.FM Mixcloud page) and some more listening is needed for Get the Blessing and Sons of Kemet - only got then yesterday!).A couple of great oldies today, as well with the Jimmy McGriff transcipted off a 1964 Sue album and Esther Phillips giving it heaps! Should be back to normal for the playlist next week- fingers crossed!

So this is the playlist for Tuesday 1st September for the Edge of Jazz;

Dingbat blues                               Blue Mitchell                         The Cup bearers
Teddy                                          Bobby Hutcherson                Enjoy the view
Standing outside                          Keith Jarrett                          The mourning of a star
So close, so far                           Ollie Howell                          Sutures and stitches
Cade voce
(Max Cole & Beatnik remix)       Sabrina Malheiros                 Vibrasons
Horace                                       Fourplay                                Silver
Subconscious Lee                       Mike Gibbs
                                                  & N.D.A. Big band                Plays a Bill Frissell Playlist
Raise Four                                  Thelonious Monk                   Underground
You don't know me                     Madeleine Peyroux                The Blue Room
Rain that falls                               Slowly Rolling Camera          Slowly Rolling Camera
Wham ban thank you Ma'm         Charles Mingus                     Oh yeah
Lacamento                                  Leo Gandelman                    Vip vop
Change                                       Donald Byrd                         Places and spaces
We were dancing                        Jacob Young                         Forever young
Domingo de Manha                    Joyce Moreno                      Tudo
Yola                                           Girls in Airports                     Fables (out 18th September)
Falling                                        Julien Lourau                        Groove Gang
I don't want much                       Mose Allison                        Hello there Universe
Shake it down                            Dennis Rollins                       Badbone & Co
The funky monkey                     Jeff Herr Corporation            Layer Cake
Dog walk                                  Lou Donaldson                     Midnight sun
Ode to King Michael                Misha Mullov-Abbado          New Asonia

Finally a reminder that this is where you'll find the playlist for September 8th next week before it (should) all get back to normal for the 15th, and these will be found in the archive section. Well that's the idea!

Update to main website:

Because of some changes that I'm making to the main part of the website the weekly playlist will be appearing as part of the blog on 1st September & 8th September. They will then be displayed as part of the "archive" on the site in the normal way. I'm sorry if this causes difficulties, but I'm a slow and only partially proficient web builder! In the meantime look out for some more albums that seem likely to be challenging for a place in the end of year Edge of Jazz Top 10. Normally there's a real dearth of new releases during July and August, but 2015 has proved to be exceptional.

August album update

Rather more quickly than expected, here are the albums released since April 2015 that'll be helping to shape the Edge of Jazz end of year playlist. Elsewhere in the blog you can find out what was making it in early 2015- and these are current "likes";

"All in" Beats and Pieces Big Band: 

In this day and age it's incredibly difficult to get together and record a big band album that gets taken out for promotional gigs. This band has done both and is an excellent reminder of why big bands can be so exciting to listen to (and watch). All the tracks are written by Ben Cottrell the musical director, except for a versi9on of David Bowie's "Let's dance". It's an aural treat and one that deserves to be listened to in full at one listening. Very impressive!

"String Theory" Partikel;

The three piece are an impressive unit on their own, but on this album they've recruited a string quartet to fill out the sound. It changes the ambience completely and works really well. I saw the group with just Benet McLean who wrote the arrangements playing violin. Considering that he says that piano is his first instrument it's a real testament to his ability that it's all so seamless. I interviewed Duncan eagles about the album and the playing and you can find it on the Edge of Jazz Mixcloud page. Very impressive!

"Flow" Drifter:

Quite how this band ended up on Edition records is a story in itself, but the quality of the writing and playing makes it both easily accessible and also quite challenging. The quartet (with the exception of drummer Teun Verbruggen) wrote all the material and interplay between piano and saxophone is tight and interesting. It rewards repeated plays.

"Strata" Ivo Neame:

Those familiar with his existing catalogue of work will find this an album that pushes some boundaries further out. Neame is joined by an interesting array of musicians including vibes player Jim Hart and sax player Tori Freestone. The result is an intriguing mixture of the unexpected and strong tunes, all written by Ivo himself.  It's a fascinating expansion of boundaries, an indication of even more to come and a very enjoyable and satisfying album.

" Fist full of notes" Indigo Kid II:

Quite why guitarist Dan Messore allowed this album to appear under a nom-de-plume is difficult to fathom. That it demonstrates a whole slew of differing facets of his outstanding ability and draws together an excellent group (which includes Trish Clowes on Tenor Sax in a much more relaxed frame of mind than on her recent album) is self-evident. It's a work that repays several listens, and hopefully presages more to come from the enigmatic guitar player.

"Welcome to my World" Joyce Elaine Yuell :

Listeners will know my predilection for what used to be called soul, and when it's got elements of jazz added in, and contains such strong material it's likely to get heavy play on the show. The fact that it was recorded in Italy, with Italian musicians doesn't detract from the fact that this Cuban born singer has an excellent voice and some wonderful phrasing as well. All the material, irrespective of writers, is in English, and it's a wonderful antidote to all those (mainly British female singers) who claim to have 'soul'. Well worth a listen!

There will undoubtedly be more albums to pick from as the Christmas period approaches, but this year has been a particularly strong one for releases and long may it continue.

Crikey! It's been a long time, for which I can only apologise. There's been an enormous amount happening as well as some stunning events, and at the time of posting, they just keep coming. There's also been some stunning new music, as well as some very welcome re-releases of material I never thought I'd see again.
It seems pretty pointless in reviewing Love Supreme 2015, so I'd just advocate that if its possible you make plans to go in 2016, and advance tickets shoild be on sale really soon.
I also "discovered" another favourite venue, and it's close to us here in Exeter. I was invited to see Partikel at St Lawrence's Chapel in Ashburton. Not only was the concert excellent - even if they only had one of the four players who appears on the album "String Theory" playing at the date. The whole concert was recorded and has become available (though only in part and there is more to follow) on Soundcloud. They have a whole slew of events that are coming up between now and the end of the year, and if you look for "Ashrton Live" on a search engine or follow on @ashburtonlive on Twitter you can find out more. Even more exciting (potentially) is that the Methodist Chapel in Ashburton is up for sale and there is a group of people who are looking to purchase it. Further details of this as it becomes available.
As for the music I'm playing and have really enjoyed- that will have to wait until my next posting (assuming that it's rather less delayed than this one has been!). In the meantime a reminder that I tweet @phonicjazz, and that some (not all) programmes can be found in full on the Mixcloud website by following links to the Edge of Jazz or by going to the Phonic.FM page and finding what else gets broadcast on the station.