Sandy Brown Jazz
What's New
March 2025
This painting with the title 'Jazz Club' by artist Jung Zhao won the American Spring National Oil and Acrylic Society Award in 2022 as lockdowns from Covid ended. The Awards Judge summmed up the painting saying: "I can hear the jazz music being played. I can see the spontaneous movement of the dancing people as well. What an entertaining musical moment captured in time! I especially like the careful positioning of lights and darks, and placement of colors that creates interest and contrast. The composition is so masterfully crafted in its seemingly looseness. I think the story is so timely as well. Coming out of a long pandemic, people are able to get together and enjoy listening to music, in a fun place like this again".
Keith Jarrett and Two Köln Concert Films
Two films about Keith Jarrett's famous Köln Concert in 1975 are due to be released this year. The pianist's back had been giving him trouble and he had not been happy with the instrument he had been given at the time. Köln 75, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February is a partly fictionalised movie as much about 18 year old Vera Brandes who produced the concert. (There is a video preview here). The documentary film Lost in Köln "that searches for the iconic piano and negotiates dozens of conflicting accounts of the concert" is out later this year. A more detailed article in The Guardian about the films is here.
Jazz FM Awards Return
After a three-year break, Jazz FM's Awards event will take place this year on 24th April at Koko in Camden with sponsors PPL and PRS for Music. Since the first Awards event in 2013, many jazz artists have been honoured. Nominations will be announced throughout the day on March 6, 2025, with further details regarding the host and live performances to be shared closer to the date. More details are here.
Is Music Dumbing Down?
A study conducted by researchers at the Sapienza University of Rome has "put statistical weight behind the theory many listeners have long suspected: modern music is becoming less complex. The study, titled Decoding Musical Evolution Through Network Science, analysed approximately 20,000 MIDI files spanning four centuries and six macro-genres, including Jazz, Classical, Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, and Electronic." The study suggests that acces to technology might be a cause. There is an acknowledgement that "The results reveal a trend toward simplification across the board, with Classical and Jazz compositions having higher complexity and melodic diversity than more recently developed genres.” (It is good to see that Classical and Jazz Compositions are viewed as exceptions). You can read more here.
New Books
The Jazz Omnibus : 21st-Century Photos and Writings by Members of the Jazz Journalists Association. " .. a spectacular anthology of works by 90 international experts in jazz and related music. 90 contributors represent the finest music writers and photographers alive today. Their skill, wisdom, insight, and generosity converge to produce a timeless contribution to music criticism, history, and scholarship. The Jazz Omnibus captures the expansive breadth of jazz - its past present, and future - through the ears of its great artists and the pens and cameras of its most admired journalists. As jazz embarks on its second century, this book stands alone as a compendium of reportage and analysis of an art form offering pleasure and insights while building communities that celebrate creative individuality and ensemble playing ....." Details are here.
Stomp Off, Let's Go : The Early Years of Louis Armstrong. To be published in May, author and Armstrong expert Ricky Riccardi, (Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum), "tells the enthralling story of the iconic trumpeter's meteoric rise to fame. Beginning with Armstrong's youth in New Orleans, Riccardi transports readers through Armstrong's musical and personal development, including his initial trip to Chicago to join Joe "King" Oliver's band, his first to New York to meet Fletcher Henderson, and his eventual return to Chicago, where he changed the course of music with the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. ... Riccardi enriches extant narratives with recently unearthed archival materials, including a rare draft of pianist, composer, and Armstrong's second wife Lillian "Lil" Hardin Armstrong's autobiography. Riccardi similarly tackles the perceived notion of Armstrong as a "sell-out" during his later years, highlighting the many ways in which Armstrong's musical style and personal values in fact remained steady throughout his career. By foregrounding the voices of Armstrong and his contemporaries, Stomp Off, Let's Go offers a more intimate exploration of Armstrong's personal and professional relationships." Details are here. A review from The Guardian is here.
Cross-Rhythms : An introspective into the life and musicality of Joe Chambers (e-book) . "Through analytical history and detailed biography, author Schnorr gives deep context to Chambers’s career, his contributions to the evolution of jazz, his development as a composer, and his work with Max Roach’s seminal percussion group M’Boom. The development of jazz from hard bop to avant garde, the music industry, and Chambers’ drumming style are explored in detail. An extensive interview with Chambers and many historical photos and images, such as concert programs, and lead sheets to several of Chambers’ compositions are also included. ... Joe Chambers secured his place in jazz history in the mid-1960s as the drummer on a string of historic Blue Note albums recorded by Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, and Bobby Hutcherson, among others, ..... Chambers’ work is explored in the context of the important and influential music and artists that he has worked with over the course of a career spanning into its sixth decade......" Details are here.
New American Jazz Legacies Fellowship
In February, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Jazz Foundation of America announced the Jazz Legacies Fellowship - a new $15 million programme that will give 50 artists who are 62 years or older a lifetime achievement award that includes a $100,000 unrestricted grant, professional support and performance opportunities. A report on the award in The Independent (here), names the 20 musicians who receive this year's award including saxophonist George Coleman and drummer Billy Hart. The news report focuses on Walter Becker's wife, pianist Bertha Hope (right), (I believe there is an error in the news report and that Bertha Hope-Booker was married to bassist Walter Booker, not Walter Becker of Steely Dan), who wants to use the award to not just supplement her income, but spend some time digging through recordings made at New York’s Boogie Woogie Studio, owned and operated by Walter, “They’ve been in my closet for so long,” said Hope, who was proud that Boogie Woogie would let young musicians record there for free. “I would like to see if they’re worth saving.”
Video Juke Box
Click on the pictures to watch the videos..... or take pot luck and click on the picture of the Juke Box and see what comes up.
Emily Masser's Quintet plays Room 608, the fourth track on her new album Songs With My Father (See Recent Releases page). Emily's website with her forthcoming gigs is here.
The Jazz Avengers from Japan play The Average White Band's Pick Up The Pieces in 2022 with some fine solos and a formidable rhythm section.
Alex Welsh and his band play the Beale Street Blues in 1964 with Alex Welsh (trumpet); Roy Crimmins (trombone), Al Gay (clarinet / tenor sax), Fred Hunt (piano), Jim Douglas (guitar), Ron Mathewson (bass) and Lennie Hastings (drums)
Ian Shaw sings the beautiful Greek Street Friday from his 2023 album with the same title (samples here)
Bob Mintzer leads the WDR Big Band on his composition Tap in 2024. Mintzer solos on his EWI (Electric Wind Instrument), the other soloist is trombonist Raphael Klemm.
Here is some early 1930's footage of Nat Gonella and his Georgians. He formed the band in 1935 and they became one of the popular dance bands of the time. You can read Nat's story here.
Billy Marrows Grande Familia Sextet plays The Heron from their new album Mount Tibidabo (See Recent Releases page). Billy's website with upcoming gigs is here.
Take Two
Well known tunes approached in two different ways
Singin' The Blues
Singin' The Blues was written by J. Russel Robinson, Con Conrad, Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young in 1920 and first recorded as an instrumental by the Original Dixieland Jass Band that same year (It seems to only available with Margie preceding it until 2 minutes in - here). In 1927, the version that is perhaps best known was recorded by Frankie Trumbauer with Bix Beiderbecke's cornet solo engraved in jazz history. The tune has become a jazz standard and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1977. Less well known is that Frankie Trumbauer recorded it again in 1929 with vocalist Bee Palmer singing the words and scatting in tribute to Bix's solo.
These two recordings make up our 'Take Two' This month. So we start with the 1927 recording. Frankie Trumbauer's band were: Frankie Trumbauer (C-melody saxophone); Bix Beiderbecke (cornet); Miff Mole (trombone); Jimmy Dorsey (clarinet); Doc Ryker (alto sax); Paul Madeira Mertz (piano); Eddie Lang (guitar) and Chauncey Morehouse (drums).
In the recording with Bee Palmer, the trumpet player is apparently unknown but the rest of the band are: Frankie Trumbauer (C-melody sax); Bill Rank (trombone); Chet Hazlett or Charles Strictfaden (alto sax); Irving Friedman (clarinet, tenor sax); Lennie Hayton (piano); Snoozer Quinn (guitar); Min Leibrook (bass sax); George Marsh (drums) and Bee Palmer (vocals). Notes with this audio recording say: "Paul Whiteman sponsored this session with sidemen of his orchestra with Frank Trumbauer as the director. The orchestra plays an arrangement built on the saxophone solo created by Tram on February 4, 1927; this part is followed by Bee Palmer singing on the same melody as Tram's solo, then scat singing on the solo played by Bix Beiderbecke on the original Okeh recording. Snoozer Quinn, the guitarist, emphasized that Bix was attending this session, but the few cornet (or trumpet) notes played on "Singin' the Blues" make identification impossible.
(Next month: More about Bee Palmer)
The Story Is Told
Relaxin' After Camarillo
Eubie checked his watch. ‘I need to introduce the band,’ he said to Ida ...
‘Sure,’ said Ida.
Eubie gestured to a kid who was loitering about at the end of the stage. The kid nodded back then disappeared through a door, and a few seconds later, five young Negro men came out of the door and walked onto the stage. They were all dressed in suits, but there was something about them, the way they hung their heads, their solemn expressions, the way they didn’t even look at the audience, that marked them out as different to any jazz musicians Ida had ever seen.....
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Eubie said, ‘thank you for coming here tonight on this cold wintry evening. Hopefully we can warm you up a bit. I’d like to present to you the Charlie Parker Quintet. On trumpet Miles Davis, on piano Duke Jordan, on bass Tommy Potter, on drums Max Roach and on alto saxophone, the one and only “yardbird” himself, Charlie Parker.’ .....
Ida looked at the band’s leader with the saxophone in his hand. He was in his mid-twenties, she guessed, and looked a mess, his suit rumpled, his posture slumped, his eyes glazed over, staring at the boards of the stage below him ......
It was unlike anything Ida had ever heard. Jazz, but played at breakneck speed. Fury and ferocity. The tune fragmented. The drummer hit the drums so fast the sticks became a blur ..... a saxophone solo that twisted so much the melodic line kept sounding like it was going to tie itself into a knot, but always, at the last second, the saxophonist escaped in a feat of virtuosity, flipping the melody inside out, looping it round into something new ....
When the applause had died down, the saxophonist looked around the room again, announced the next song.
‘This is a newer composition,’ he mumbled. ‘It’s called “Relaxin’ at Camarillo”.’ .... a few members of the audience laughed .... Ida looked at Shelton and Eubie. ‘What’s the joke?’ she asked them....
‘Last year Parker and the rest of the band went on tour to California. Parker couldn’t score dope so easy out there so he drank. Went crazy. Set fire to his room and ran through the hotel naked. He was arrested, sent to jail, then on to Camarillo. It’s the State Mental Hospital in California ....’ Ida nodded ...... Drew a parallel with Billie Holiday in prison on a dope charge, strung out and locked up and maybe crazy, as well ..... ‘Ain’t a surprise,’ Eubie chimed in. ‘All you got to do is look around you. Something’s gotten out of control and its dangerous. World wars and people living in misery. If being rational’s brought us to that, maybe we should try something crazy. Even madness makes more sense than that.’
From The Mobster's Lament by Ray Celestin
Anagram
Did You Know?
Herbie Hancock's Watermelon Man
Herbie Hancock's introduction to the track Watermelon Man on the Headhunters album owes something to two beer bottles. In the same way as the Jug Band musicians used to blow across the tops of empty jugs, the same rhythmic effect was used in the same way here. The result is effective:
This was the third recording of Hancock's composition Watermelon Man. He was just twenty two when he wrote it, inspired by his childhood memory of a watermelon seller whose vehicle rumbled noisily through his neighborhood's cobbled streets in 1940s Chicago. It first appeared on his album Takin' Off (1962) and then again as a single with Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria before including it in his 1963 album Watermelon Man. The album Headhunters was released ten years later in 1973, this time reflecting Herbie's growing interest in funk and synthesizers. "In the popular forms of funk, which I've been trying to get into, the attention is on the rhythmic interplay between different instruments. The part the Clavinet plays has to fit with the part the drums plays and the line the bass plays and the line that the guitar plays. It's almost like African drummers, where seven drummers play different parts," he said.
On the intro and outro of the tune, percussionist Bill Summers blows into beer bottles in an imitation of hindewhu, a style of singing/whistle-playing found in Pygmy music of Central Africa. Herbie and Summers were struck by the sound, which they heard on the album The Music of the Ba-Benzélé Pygmies (1966) recorded by Simha Arom and Geneviève Taurelle (example here).
In 1998, at Montreux, Herbie played a live version of Watermelon Man. The opening captures the influences that underlie the arrangement well. Paul Jackson was the bass player, Bill Summers (percussion); Michael Clark (drums) and Benny Maupin (saxophone).
The Moment Of Truth:
Ella At The Coliseum
By Robin Kidson
The summer of 1967 has gone down in cultural history as “The Summer of Love”: flower power, hippies, San Francisco, The Grateful Dead – older readers will remember. At the height of that summer, on 30th June 1967, the Oakland Coliseum in California hosted a concert organised by the jazz promoter and impresario, Norman Granz. It was a typical Norman Granz star studded bill which included Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald who took the last set.
Ella’s performance was professionally recorded by Wally Heider, something of a legend for his skills and innovations in remote recording. For reasons which remain unclear, the 4-track tapes of the performance then disappeared into Norman Granz’s possession and the Oakland concert was largely forgotten. Granz died in 2001and the Oakland tapes might have been lost forever had they not been recently rediscovered in Granz’s private tape library. Suitably remixed and remastered, the tapes have been released on a superb new album on the Verve record label called The Moment Of Truth : Ella At The Coliseum.
Over an unusually long career – which began in the 1930s and was still going strong in the 1980s – Ella Fitzgerald built up a formidable reputation as one of the greatest of all jazz singers. The purity of her voice combined with a natural ability to swing and improvise won widespread admiration as did her skill at interpreting even the most banal Tin Pan Alley song and making something special out of it. She was also one of the few jazz musicians whose appeal crossed over from a specifically jazz audience to a much broader mainstream one without losing too much jazz credibility on the way.
Part of her success is down to Norman Granz. Granz is a key figure in post war jazz credited with taking jazz out of the night club and into the concert hall. He had a multiplicity of roles: concert promoter, producer, record label founder/boss and manager. He was a success at all of them whilst retaining a strong sense of social and racial justice, insisting, for example, on equal pay for both black and white musicians, and integrated audiences for the concerts he promoted.
Norman Grantz and Ella Fitzgerald :
Granz became Ella’s manager in the late 1940s and carefully set about ensuring her talents were presented to the largest possible audience. In 1956, he founded Verve Records, largely as a vehicle for Ella. In the process, Verve became one of the best known labels for both jazz and popular music more generally. In 1960, Verve was sold to MGM but Ella continued to record for it until 1966. Granz also continued as her manager and close friend.
Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996 at the age of 79 but her fame has continued to grow helped by a programme of regular reissues and compilations, tribute albums by various artists, and critically acclaimed documentaries of her life and work shown on prime time TV including the BBC and Sky Arts. The BBC, in particular, has a large library of her performances and regularly shows these. In addition, a whole slew of younger singers have attested to her influence including Adele, Lady Gaga, Mica Paris and KT Tunstall. So, a whole new audience for Ella Fitzgerald has come into being.
All of which goes some way to explaining why the release of The Moment Of Truth : Ella At The Coliseum has aroused such interest both in the specialist music press but also in the mainstream media. The album isn’t a reissue of a reissue of a reissue nor some dodgily recorded live gig; this is brand new Ella, live, backed by the best musicians of the day and sounding like it was recorded yesterday using all the most modern technology. That’s partly a tribute to Wally Heider but also to those who have mixed and mastered it from the original analogue tapes.
Throughout her career, Ella Fitzgerald had a close working relationship with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, recording and touring together at various times. Both in 1966 and 1967, they embarked on long tours in the US and Europe. In the months before Oakland, they performed in a series of Norman Granz promoted concerts together with other big jazz stars of the time including Oscar Peterson. The concerts at the Carnegie Hall in March 1967 and the Hollywood Bowl in June and July 1967 were recorded and released in 1974 with the modest title of The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World.
The Oakland concert on June 30th 1967 happened between the two Hollywood Bowl gigs and had a similar all-star bill. For her set, Ella was backed by a trio of Jimmy Jones (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Sam Woodyard (drums) together with members of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra (though not the Duke himself).
The Orchestra stays very much in the background on most of the nine tracks, the main exception being the opening number from which the album takes its name, The Moment Of Truth (Scott/Satterwhite). This is an up-tempo, high energy offering with the band in all its fullness and glory. As with the rest of the album, Ella is on the very top of her game blending seamlessly with the musicians and showing she can swing with the best of them. An animated video has been made of the track:
Who Am I?
People think they know who I am, but I have never been caught, so they just give me a name to go by. They might find a body, stabbed to death on the sidewalk, but by the time they do I’m gone and you won’t find any of the blood on my fancy gloves. I’ve just had to go down to the river to organise getting rid of one poor guy; he had drawn out a wad of money from the bank so I intercepted him on his way back – gave him a concrete overcoat.
Click on the picture for the answer
Tea Break
A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.
Dave Manington
Dave Manington is a well established double bass player on the UK jazz scene. He leads his own bands, but you will find his name on many recordings by other bands. He took his first degree at Nottingham University, focusing on composition, and then went on to graduate from London's Guildhall School For Music And Drama. He has returned the learning over a number of years as an educator, teaching double bass, guitar and jazz improvisation in schools and universities, regularly run workshops on improvisation and ensemble playing, and has been invited to examine the double bass final recitals back at the Guildhall School.
Dave has played all around the world and appeared in many major international festivals including Algeria, Italy, Poland, Greece, Ukraine, Norway, Lithuania and of course the UK. He was nominated for a Worshipful Company of Musicians jazz medal award in 2006 and for an Ivor Novello Award for Jazz Composition in 2021. He was a founder member of the Loop Collective in 2005, and then of the much respected e17 Jazz Collective.
Dave Manington’s Riff Raff was formed back in 2012 when they recorded the Hullaballoo album. All of them are significant jazz musicians on the UK jazz scene - Brigitte Beraha (vocals/co-composer); Tomas Challenger (tenor saxophone); Ivo Neame (piano, keyboards); Rob Updegraff (guitar); Dave Manington (double bass) and Tim Giles (drums). Their last album, Challenger Deep, was released in 2017, and now we have a new album, Weightless, with the same line-up as for the previous two albums.
Weightless was released on the 14th February, 2025. It opens with Strike The Harp with the band setting the sound style for the album and then featuring Tomas Challenger's saxophone. Woolly Mammoth is a track that appeals to me, bringing in Brigitte Beraha's voice with an understanding how on this album the rest of the band work together. Run The Gauntlet follows with a nice change of pace, and River Swim , and other tracks benefit from being able to read Brigitte's lyrics which are clearly added on the Bandacmp pages highlighted here. Hold It has an effective drum introduction from Tim Giles and then one-by-one the others join in taking us into the solo bass introduction to the title track, Weightless, with some fine playing by Dave Manington, joined by Brigitte's voice, and then a soundscape from the band. When Time Stood Still is a gentle, lyrical, romantic track and is perhaps one of my personal favourites. El Camino is a nice 'bonus track' before we go out on Mr Owl Ate My Worm - more on that in a minute from Dave. The album is a well put together collective album with some nice individual playing from each member. It is worth spending some time with.
I met up with Dave Manington for a Tea Break and to talk about the album:
Hi Dave, this café looks OK for a quick tea break. The counter and some tables are at the front but there is an area at the back that is quiet. What can I get you? Tea, coffee?
Tea for me please, Ian!
It’s a plot that you have to order the tea and coffee at the cake counter! I might have a Danish pastry; can I tempt you?
Maybe a bit of fruitcake ... ?
I'll be back in a minute ...
......They say they'll bring it over.
You didn’t need to bring out your double bass today. I was thinking, is it increasingly difficult taking it about to gigs in London, say at the Pizza Express in Soho? Driving and parking are more of a challenge and carrying it on the tube must be a nightmare. How do you manage?
It’s definitely a lot harder than it used to be to drive, slower and more expensive too. I don’t often drive into central London for a gig these days, I tend to take the tube if possible and brave the packed carriages. Most decent venues have a bass amp in situ and some even have a house Bass. I always prefer to play my own instrument but at some places I’ll just play the house Bass and save my back all that lugging around.
I don’t suppose that has anything to do with a subconscious inspiration to name your new album ‘Weightless’ – or did the inspiration come from somewhere else?
I find the idea of space travel and the infinite vastness of the universe fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. We try and capture some of the strange otherworldliness of floating free of the Earth’s gravity on this album and especially the title track. There are themes running through the album, themes of contrast between freedom/isolation, loss/hope, momentum/inertia. The freedom to float untethered in space versus the crushing weight of daily earthly life.
Ah! Here's the coffee! I think I understand what you mean by those contrasts. Somehow things seem so demanding, like an expectation that a ringing telephone or an email has to be answered immediately.
Some things remain stable though - what is particularly impressive is that your band, Riff Raff, is the same as recorded ‘Hullabaloo’ in 2012 and then again for ‘Challenger Deep’ in 2017. Each musician’s style might have changed over the years. Is that something you are all aware of and has it contributed to any changes in the music?
Exactly, keeping a settled line up is something I believe is particularly important, we know each other’s playing so well. It makes the music stronger, allowing everyone in the group to be relaxed and confident. There is a mutual respect and trust built up which allows for greater communication between us and greater freedom to improvise. I don’t see that they’ve changed their styles over the years though, just matured and committed to being themselves more and more.
That comes across on the new album. Do you have any favourite tracks on the album? And why are they favourites?
Currently my favourite is River Swim, an evocative track about something I love to do in the summer whenever I get the opportunity. Brigitte wrote some perfect lyrics to complement the tune, and she sings it so beautifully. Another favourite is Run the Gauntlet, which features an exhilarating guitar solo from Rob Updegraff.
Let's check out Rob's solo:
Time Out Ten
Mute
For this item you need to be able to stop for ten minutes.
We are often moving on to the next job, the next meeting, scrolling down social media, taking the next call ......'Time Out Ten' asks you to stop for ten minutes and listen to a particular piece of music; to find a time when you won't be interrupted, when you can put in/on your headphones and chill out. Ten minutes isn't long.
This month, Steve Day sends us his poem Mute that introduces a classic recording of George and Ira Gershwin's Embraceable You from Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Listen for Miles choosing to play with a mute when his solo comes and for Charlie Parker's grace notes behind him.
Miles Davis chose to mute, soften his blows.
Bending over the bell of his trumpet; folds
across the floor like Islamic prayer,
for in a silent way he cries through brass.
I listen to his beautiful brittle syntax as it flows,
from the Bird singing shading in grace notes
in my consciousness, resting there
until the blur of blues pours into the past.
Such muted audio stretches out wide to grow
into a cynosure of light, harmonising hope
from the mantra. The final line I share
with Miles, bursts forth in one primal blast
The Jazz Quiz
Also Known As
This month we give you the names of fifteen jazz musicians,
but what were they also known as?
The March Jazz Quiz is
Josephine Davies and the Enso Ensemble
The Celtic Wheel Of The Year Suite
by Howard Lawes
From the earliest times the seasons have had immense impact on almost every living organism in the world. Changing seasons define a cycle that influences the migration of creatures both on the land and in the sea and as human beings developed, knowledge of these cycles enhanced chances of survival in a hostle world. The ancient monuments of Newgrange in Ireland and Maeshowe on Orkney testify both to the skill of the neolithic or perhaps, Celtic people who built them and to the importance of identifying the winter solstice. It fell to early Christian missionaries to record elements of Celtic culture that included the names of seasonal festivals. Josephine Davies has used them to inspire the composition of, and name the tracks on, her new album.
Composer and saxophonist, Josephine Davis has long felt a deep attachment to both the physical and spiritual worlds and over a Zoom call, she explained how her Celtic Wheel of the Year Suite was born. Having been born on Shetland and raised in Sussex she has spent most of her life in locations adjacent to both the countryside and the sea. Attending school in the picturesque and historic town of Rye, she, like many children at the time, learned to sightread music, and was provided with an instrument, in her case a flute. On the advice of her brother, she swapped the flute for a saxophone and joined the county wind band, enjoying the camaraderie of young musicians and performing in Belgium and Germany. Attending 6th form college in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex and within what is now the South Downs National Park, Josephine aspired to be an actor and went on to gain a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, not to act but to study classical music. However, she rapidly came to regret this choice and switched to the Jazz course, embracing a new musical language as spoken by the likes of John Coltrane, who she much admires. Josephine thrived as a jazz saxophonist and with co-leader, trumpeter Tom Allan, was awarded the Perrier Young Jazz Ensemble Award in 1999.
In an interview with Luke Annesley (Music Therapy Conversations – 16) Josephine explains that during her 20s she fully committed to being a professional jazz musician but as so many other musicians have found, gigs were hard to come by and disillusionment set in. In another interview, with Selwyn Harris (Jazzwise, 2020), at the time of the release of her band’s album Satori – How Can We Wake? she mentions a track called Duhkha: Pervasive Dissatisfaction, and admits being someone who experiences it. To counter such feelings, she revisited an earlier interest in existentialism and its use in psychotherapy, and then one morning woke up determined to study the subject in greater depth. Existentialism, popularised by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir emphasises human freedom and the responsibility for creating meaning in your own life. De Beauvoir in particular, in her book Le Deuxième Sexe (1949) refers to women as 'the second sex' but submits that women are just as capable as men of exercising choice and thus improving their situation in life. Josephine gained a Doctorate in Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in 2014, quoting Camus on the front page of her thesis –“Life is a sum of all your choices”.
Despite studying for her doctorate and then working as a practicing psychotherapist Josephine never gave up music. Deeply influenced by the American composer and band-leader Maria Schneider, Josephine was resident composer and tenor player for the London Jazz Orchestra from 2011-2016 and then in 2016, first with the Pete Hurt Jazz Orchestra and then with her own band, Satori, came the first of a series of albums with In The Corners of Clouds (2019) garnering a 4.5* rating in Downbeat magazine. In 2020 she was awarded Best Instrumentalist at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. However, in 2020, everyone’s choices became much more limited as the COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed.
Here is a video of Josephine introducing In The Corner Of Clouds at the time:
Josephine moved back to Sussex, which provided her with the opportunity to re-connect with the land and sea. Given her background, she is acutely aware that many people, without similar options, suffered significant mental distress unable to escape the lockdown that had been imposed on them. She won a Jazz South Radar commission, writing a new piece for an all-female trio - Josephine Davies (saxophone); Alcyona Mick (piano) and Tamar Osborne (bass clarinet), called The Language of Water. The piece reflects on her tumultuous experiences of 2020, strongly inspired by living by the sea and incorporating both the peacefulness and intense drama of the elements. It was performed at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill after the lockdown was temporarily lifted.
In the previous year Josephine had formed her own jazz orchestra which she named The Ensō Ensemble. Ensō is a Zen Buddhist symbol, traditionally drawn in a single brushstroke as a meditative practice celebrating the beauty of incompletion and imperfection, and the polarity of movement and stillness. She set about composing a suite of music for the orchestra inspired by times of the year and what they mean for her, both emotionally and spiritually. Co-incidentally she discovered a piece called Ostara, which is the Celtic name for the spring equinox, and although she has no memory of writing the piece it was the first step in the process. In an interview with Bruce Lindsay for UK Jazz News she explains that “The Celtic Wheel is really a celebration of who we are in relation to the Earth, Gaia. Its idea is to be in harmony with nature, to live in closeness with Her with a capital ‘H’. That’s what inspired the suite, it’s a celebratory piece.”
Lens America
Journalist/guitarist Filipe Freitas and photographer Clara Pereira run JazzTrail in New York City. They feature album and concert coverage, press releases and press kits, album covers and biographies. They are valued contacts for Sandy Brown Jazz in the United States. You can read Filipe's reviews of album releases here and see Clara's gallery of pictures here.
Clara Pereira took this picture of trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire in 2020 when he was playing during the Manhattan Marathon at the 2020 New York City Winter JazzFest in 2020. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Ambrose Akinmusire (pronounced ah-kin-MOO-sir-ee) was a member of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble when he caught the attention of saxophonist Steve Coleman. Akinmusire was asked to join Coleman’s Five Elements, embarking on a European tour when he was just a 19-year-old student at the Manhattan School of Music. Ambrose is currently the Artistic Director of the Hancock Institute. In 2010, he was signed to Blue Note Records; his debut for the label, When the Heart Emerges Glistening.
On 31st January, Ambrose Akinmusire released his latest album, Honey From A Winter Stone, this time on the Nonesuch label, with Kokayi (vocals); Sam Harris (piano); Chiquitamagic (synths); Dustin Brown (drums) and the Mivos Quartet. Filipe Freitas writes: " ... The album’s five original compositions are vivid and powerful, fusing elements of jazz, classical, and hip-hop to forge an authentic style where ethos and cohesion take center stage. ..... This engaging, honest session reveals Akinmusire’s musical versatility and essential message, offering a remarkable showcase of his exceptional artistry."
Details and Samples of the album are here.
Tracks Unwrapped
The stories behind the music
Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
Jumpin' with my boy Sid in the city,
Mr. President of the DeeJay committee,
We're gonna be up all night gettin' with it
We want you to spin the sounds by the minute
From down in the land that's really a-pretty
Symphony Sid was Disc Jockey Sid Torin. He was born Sidney Tarnopol in New York City's Lower East Side in 1909 - his father was from Russia and his mother from Romania. Sid grew up in a poor area of Brooklyn where he discovered jazz as a teenager and although he attempted the trumpet at one point, he never became a musician.
The source of his nickname has a number of suggested origins. Some say that during the Depression he worked in the Symphony record shop where his customers told how they bought their records from 'Symphony Sid'.
In 1937, he began an afternoon record show at WBNX in the Bronx, and some say he was given his name there when he played classical recordings. 'Symphony Sid was "the accepted white voice of the New York black" music scene, said Arnold Passman, author of The Deejays. Torin built up a Harlem audience by playing what were then known as "race records." Listeners responded by patronizing the 125th Street shops Sid advertised.'
Jumpin' With Symphony Sid is a composition by Lester Young. Listen to it here:
In another story, the name might have come from a sponsor - a men's clothing store and when announcer Walter Tolmes opened Sid's show, he rhymed "Here comes the kid with the fancy pants and the fancy lid ... Symphony Sid.", but it is possible, of course, that this came after the name was established. In one obituary it was written: 'But it was his masterful salesmanship as well as his musical taste that won Torin commercial success. Consider his distinctive style: "If you got eyes to be the sharpest, take a tip from Old Daddy Sid and fall by Al's Pants Shop, for the pants with the peg bottom and the wide knee."
Whatever the truth is, Sid became famous for playing the biggest hits of black performers such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington, and as one of the few DJs who played black music regularly, he became very popular with young people. By 1941, Sid was presenting a late-night show in New Jersey where he featured new up-and-coming black musicians including Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, and in time he moved on to present radio shows at WWRL, WMCA and WJZ in New York.
Here is a wonderful video from 1958 of Lester Young with an amazing role call of musicians jumpin' - amongst them: Charlie Shavers (trumpet); J C Higginbotham (trombone); Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young (tenor saxes); Pee Wee Russell (clarinet); Harry Sheppard (vibraphone); Willie "The Lion" Smith (piano); Dickie Thompson (guitar); Vinnie Burke (acoustic double bass) and Sonny Greer (drums).
A number of musicians wrote music dedicated to the hip-talking DJ in gratitude for his support: Walkin' With Sid by Arnett Cobb and Symphony In Sid by Illinois Jacquet are two more. Pres's Jumpin' With Symphony Sid eventually had lyrics added by King Pleasure.
"They Ruined My Restaurant!"
by Matt Fripp of Jazzfuel
Matt Fripp set up his own music agency and website, Jazzfuel, in 2016, since when he has established a client base across many countries. Although born in the UK, Matt is currently based with his family in Paris, France, but the international aspects of his work make little difference to his location. What is different about Matt and Jazzfuel is the information that he shares publicly on his website. Matt has kindly agreed to share some of his thoughts as an agent with us from time to time:
I know most musicians hate it when the contact page of clubs and festivals only lists an info@ email address - or worse, just a contact form. And, for the most part, you're right to avoid sending messages to those addresses! But in my opinion it's actually a great thing for you that these emails are slightly harder to find, as I wanted to explain today...
The Tourist Guide Analogy
Think about your favourite local restaurant - the one with great service, an amazing owner, and fantastic food. Now imagine it gets featured in a big tourist guide. Suddenly, it’s overwhelmed with visitors, service slows down, the quality drops, and the loyal regulars stop coming. The same thing happens to promoters when their email address is too easy to find. They get swamped with irrelevant pitches, making it harder for your carefully crafted email to stand out...
Let's imagine every promoter gave away their email address easily. The most likely response is that many more musicians will grab it, add it to a mailing list and start mass-mailing.
The result?
The promoter receives much more unsolicited and irrelevent pitches and pays less attention to the messages they receive from people they don't know.
Compare that to the reality.
If you want to find a promoter’s direct email (and trust me, 99% of them are findable online if you know where to look!*), it usually only takes 2–5 minutes of research. That might not sound like much, but it's enough to deter the majority of people from doing the work!
The result?
Motivated musicians are arriving into a less busy inbox and getting more attention. The people you're reaching are more used to opening mails from people they know and so are more receptive to what you have to say!
Hope that provides a little positive thinking when you're scouring the internet for good email addresses!
All the best.
Matt
Forum
Photographic Memories
A message from Jimmy Thomson reminds me that I have not added to the series from some time ago where readers sent in photographs of times that reminded them of jazz-related events. That page became long and needs to be updated so I have made a start (here). If you have a photograph that tells a story, please let us know so that we can share it. Jimmy writes of the photograph below: "This is me with Acker Bilk in 1959 - Ian Richardson is in corner. I last saw Acker in 1999.; he was having lip problems, but he always remembered me over the years. At that concert he allowed me to blow his horn. He was with Scott Hamilton at Dundee Rep. He told me he was painting watercolours. All that from my first encounter in 1959 at Dundee Palais. I still cherish that memory."
(Scott Hamilton has recently celebrated his 70th birthday by releasing an album Looking Back ).
Friends Of Barry Gray
Eileen Mann has written asking whether any readers can identify the people in the pictures below. Eileen is helping someone who is writing a biography of composer Barry Gray. Barry was not a jazz musician as such, he composed music for many science fiction series (details here), but his friends were jazz musicians. Eileen says: "The pictures are from Barry Gray’s home movie shot in his garden in 1958 or earlier. We think number 3 is Stan Roderick. Number 5 might be singer Bill Elliott?". Does anyone recognise any of the people?
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5.
Ray Smith
Alan Bond writes that he has been in touch each Christmas with pianist Ray Smith (brother of Chris Barber's bass player, Dick Smith) who is an old friend of Alan's from his days with the Steve Lane band, but Alan was unable to make contact with Ray this year. Alan wonders whether any other readers are in touch with Ray?
Requests For Information
We have received requests for information about the following topics - can you help?
The Folk Barge, Kingston-upon-Thames
Oscar Rabin
The Viaduct Pub, Hanwell
Departure Lounge
Information has arrived about the following musicians or people connected to jazz who have passed through the 'Departure Lounge' since our last update.
When this page first started, links to newspaper obituaries were free. Then increasingly advertisements were added and now many newspapers ask for a subscription to read a full obituary. Where possible, we initially link to a Wikipedia page which is still free of charge, but we also give links to newspaper obituaries in case you want to read them.
Diana Melly
Diana Melly was not a jazz musician but as the wife of George Melly I think she deserves inclusion in the Departure Lounge. Born in 1937, Diana became an author. She married George in 1963 and as you can see from her obituary, she and George led an interesting' life. She cared for George when he was diagnosed with dementia and lung cancer in 2004 until his death in 2007. Diana passed through the Departure Lounge on 2nd February 2025. Obituaries: The Guardian : The Telegraph :
Tony Kinsey
UK drummer Tony Kinsey was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham in 1927. He was one of the founders of the John Dankworth Seven in 1950 and through that decade, led his own band at London's Flamingo Club and Florida Club, and between then and 1977 he played and recorded with many of the top names in jazz in the UK and abroad. Tony worked as a session musician, wrote poetry, and composed music for big bands, commercials and a musical based on the life of George Eliot. Tony passed through the Departure Lounge on 9th February 2025. Obituaries: Wikipedia : The Guardian : The video An Evening With Tony Kinsey is here.
Howard Riley
Pianist and composer born in Yorkshire in 1943. He started playing jazz at the age of 13 and went on to study at the University of Wales; the Indiana University School of Music and York University. Howard worked with a wide range of musicians including Barry Guy, John McLaughlin, Keith Tippett and Jaki Byard. He was a teacher at the Guildhall School of Music and at Goldsmiths in London. He passed through the Departure Lounge on 8th February 2025. Obituaries: Wikipedia : The Guardian : The Free Jazz Collective (including video).
Recent Releases
A few words about recent releases / reviews:
Apart from where they are included in articles on this website, I don't have a 'Reviews' section for a number of reasons:
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I receive so many requests to review recordings it is impossible to include them all.
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Unlike some publications/blogs, Sandy Brown Jazz is not a funded website and it is not possible to pay reviewers.
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Reviews tend to be personal opinions, something a reviewer likes might not suit you, or vice versa.
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It is difficult to capture music in words, so much better to be able to listen and see whether the music interests you.
For these reasons in particular I just include a selection of recent recordings below where I share the notes issued by the musician(s) as an introduction and links to samples so you can 'taste' the music for yourselves. For those who like to read reviews, these, of course, can be checked out on other sites.
Some Recent Releases
You will find the Recent Releases page HERE Where you can scroll down and see the featured releases. Included this month are:
UK
Dave Manington's Riff Raff - Weightless
The Emily Masser Quintet - Songs With My Father
Billy Marrows Grande Familia Sextet - Mount Tibidabo
Joe Armon-Jones - All The Quiet (Part I and Part II)
America
Ingrid Laubrock - Purposing The Air
Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson - Bone Bells
Europe and Elsewhere
Christos Yerolatsitis Trio - Daydreaming
Mari Kvien Brunvoll & Stein Urheim with Moskus - Barefoot In Bryophyte