A guy that I’ve met wrote a list on Facebook which has been running ’round my head for the last few hours. Quite a simple idea really – the albums he was listening to in his teenage years. It sparked something within me and took me back to another time and so I’m up in the night writing a list of my own but also exploring things that in some ways I’d rather not think about it – a very different time – and some things I guess I’d rather forget.
But in the midst of it there was always music.
What: Bob James Quartet
When: 1-3 August 2016
Where: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London
“pop jazz”
“smooth jazz”
Whenever you hear mention of Bob James one of the above will inevitably be mentioned. But when you come to see a Bob James show like this series of dates at Ronnie Scott’s, there is little in sight or sound that would fit that description. Sure, Mr James is keen to come up with carefully arranged material but that was never a crime and the solos and improvisation are as adventurous if not as radical as much you will hear in modern jazz. So why does Mr James have such a rough ride from some reviewers who have filed him under “bland” forty years ago and left him there?
Who: Steps Ahead
What: Reunion tour 2016
When: July 4th, 2016
Where: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London
Hey, kill me, but I’m one of those irritating fools that likes to take a few photos at a concert but one of the downsides of Ronnie Scott’s is that they have an absolutely no snapshots rule. Now I wouldn’t want to be snapping away on a smart phone or with something that flashes in the artists’ eyes but a few memories enhances the experience for me.
What: The Children of the Light Trio – Danilo Perez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci,
Where: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Frith Street, Soho, London
When: July 14, 2014
Writing reviews of jazz concerts can be a difficult ask – especially when the artists communicate little with their audience. Here I am in Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London and I’m scribbling notes – mental and written – but those pesky musicians won’t give me song titles to hang my thoughts on. What can I say? Tonight was a night of beautiful music. Here are some random thoughts I came away with but they won’t make the most coherent review.
Where: Clapham Grand, London
When: 10th November 2011
Who: Fourplay
“Smooth jazz”. Just what does that mean?
Who: Danilo Perez Trio
Where: Ronnie Scott’s, London
When: 17th May 2011
Date: 29th March 2011
Where: Ronnie Scott’s, Soho, London
Artist: Ron Carter’s Golden Striker Trio
