News reached us this week of the sad passing of British jazz pianist and composer Michael Garrick.

I had first heard his work on a scratchy old tape of a Gilles Peterson show back in the early 90s. The name I scribbled down in my wants list was ‘Black Marigolds’, a towering piece of modal jazz. Soaked in Eastern flavours but at the same time quintessentially English, the track I discovered was taken from an LP called Phase III by the Don Rendell & Ian Carr Quintet. The music was deep and mysterious, the way I like it and what’s more it was British. A journey to Intoxica in Ladbroke Grove the following weekend and £100 lighter my own small journey with one of our true jazz legends had begun. I was aware of players like Ronnie Scott, Pete King and Stan Tracey but I wondered why I knew nothing of the music that I was hearing here. As I would discover it was part of a tradition of exploratory and beautiful sixties jazz every bit the match of the deeper end of labels like Impulse and Blue Note.

The fact that a few weeks later I was with a handful of people watching Mike Garrick in a pokey Soho basement rather than at Ronnie Scott’s or at the Barbican says a lot about how our sixties jazz innovators have been sidelined in their own country. The series of re-issues that followed including the mighty Troppo and The Heart is a Lotus (one of his wonderful LPs recorded with Norma Winstone) was further evidence of this man’s genius and the breadth of vision which over the years saw him recording everything from Jazz Praises in St Paul’s Cathedral to a suite based around Peter Pan.

I was lucky to spend an afternoon with Michael at his house in Hertfordshire for an interview for Straight No Chaser. Over tea and cakes he regaled me with tales of Joe Harriott in sixties Soho, and read out passages from the rows of dusty old books that lined the walls of his small terraced house, including the spirituals of James Weldon Irvine and a selection of poems including Edward Powys Mathers’ ‘Black Marigolds’. I hadn’t looked at the subsequent article since it was published back in 2006 but last night I dug it out and came across these words from Michael, which seemed rather poignant as his incredibly beautiful composition ‘Dusk Fire’ warmed the November night.

“Anything that is good will be fresh forever, if you can have an instinct for tapping into that kind of stream which is durable and which evokes human emotions and experience. The artists that have endured over hundreds of years are the ones that we always refer to: whether it’s Homer, Shakespeare or Ellington. So if you asked me what were my aims, I would say to be part of that tradition that taps into humanity through history”.

“You’ve got to give part of yourself, your brazen self. To lose the assertive side in order to let something else in, and many people are afraid to either do it or contemplate the idea. Nobody wants to suffer in any general sense of the word, yet it is suffering that opens up the other areas. In those moments that you lose something you dearly want, you open up and then if something comes along it’s much more likely to take root.

Michael Garrick MBE we salute you!

Jason Rebello Quartet, Ronnie Scott’s,  Saturday 7th August 2010

Jason Rebello returned to Ronnie Scott’s after a ten year absence with a blistering performance. His quartet, including the much in-demand bassist Pino Palladino (D’Angelo, Erykah Badu etc),  showed how much we have missed his talents with this rare headline performance.

Rebello is now best known for being the pianist in Sting’s band (taking over from the late Kenny Kirkland, who incidentally ranks as the best live pianist I have ever seen) but enjoyed a successful career as an artist in his own right. Though his recorded albums were good, with his last acoustic jazz set Next Time Round probably his best, it was always on stage that Rebello really came alive.

And the same was true at Saturday’s sold out gig, which covered jazz, funk and fusion, echoing Rebello’s influence by the likes of the Headhunters, Wayne Shorter (who also produced Rebello’s first album) and McCoy Tyner. Rebello played on these influences with covers of Weather Report’s ‘Elegant People’ and Herbie Hancock’s ‘Actual Proof’. The Herbie influence was apparent from the beginning with the opening track ‘Wrong Question’, mirroring the Headhunters tight set up, escalated by the tough drumming of Jeremy Stacey on drums

As mentioned before bassist Pallidino comes highly rated, and his self-penned track ‘Zooma’, a killer, disjointed funk number, was the highlight of the night. Other band members guitarist Paul Stacey and his brother Jeremey on drums, were equally able assistants to Rebello’s skills on piano and keyboards.

If I had one criticism it is that the fusion sound at time was a little slick, true also of Rebello’s earlier albums, but if you are a fan of the likes of Weather Report and Stanley Clarke than this would be a good thing (as much of the crowd appreciated).

This was a very enjoyable gig and made me want to see Rebello headline more frequently especially playing more acoustic jazz. Rebelllo was the first artist I ever interviewed for my cheaply produced fanzine, and even though he was at the height of his success and managed by one Simon Fuller, he was a humble and engaging interviewee. This was evident at Saturday’s performance which won him the crowd’s support at an earlier stage. But what was even more apparent during my interview seventeen years ago, he’s a man of immense talent. And Ronnie Scott’s saw much evidence of this.

Sanjiv Ahluwalia

Phil Ranelin. Image: Simon Green/eventful

Dancers. Image: Simon Green/eventful

Dwight Trible. Image: Simon Green/eventful

Fatima. Image: Simon Green/eventful

When I looked through the London Jazz Festival’s schedule a couple of weeks back I was thrilled to see the incorporation of Build an Ark and IG Culture within its list of performances. Bands like this, who offer a more leftfield interpretation of jazz, don’t often seem to get the recognition they deserve within big festival schedules. It is hardly surprising that Karen P is to be thanked for widening their exposure. Her promotional work with Broad Casting has been responsible for putting on high quality nights in London for some time now and this is no exception. The night is impeccably managed to the point that the projection of Red Bull Music Academy’s real-time video makes it feel like you are immersed in vintage jazz footage.

Sets from Karen P, IG Culture, and Kindred Spirits/Rush Hour’s Antal set the tone with African rhythms and jazz old and new, and, suddenly, the venue is filled. When IG Culture’s Zen Badizm Workshop band take to the stage, the prevailing aesthetic of the night is indicated: behind the musicians, IG Culture’s album cover is projected onto a screen, featuring a large silhouette of Africa shaped by the faces of Marcus Garvey, Sun Ra, and J-Dilla amongst other figures. The artwork conveys a strong sense of historical Pan-Africanism suffused with contemporary urban culture. The music also reflects this feeling, as Zen Badizm revisits the conscious sounds of Tribe, Impulse!, and Strata East through a London Soul lens. Though I’m usually sceptical of stage adaptations of producer-led albums, IG Culture has clearly thought this one through. This is a consolidated performance of an exciting live project that IG has stylishly arranged and that is held together by an impeccable rhythm section formed by Richard Spaven on drums, Kaidi Tatham on keys, Akwasi Mensah on bass, and IG himself on percussion. The band is tight and meticulous, and it doesn’t take long for the dancers to assemble in front of the stage as a result. The routines of Jerry IDJ, Gary Nurse, Sean Graham and others burst with energy and animate the audience. On top of this, Fatima’s loose soulful voice and jagged hip hop delivery makes for a particularly fresh rendition of Maiden Voyage. But my highlight of the set is Eric Appapoulay’s elegant and discreet guitar, which integrates perfectly with Tatham’s sparse chords and the relentless groove held by Spaven and Mensah. The Zen Badizm project is growing and I can’t wait to see what shape it takes on next.

With the likes of Phil Ranelin and Dwight Trible in the band, the transition from Zen Badizm to Build an Ark feels, perhaps inevitably, like a move from the inspired to the inspiration. Build an Ark are visually imposing, for a start. The band’s frontline, composed of Ranelin and Trible, as well as reedman Tracy Wannomae and singer Waberi Jordan, evokes an era in which robes, beads, and cosmic consciousness were the norm. Their new album on Kindred Spirits, Love Part 1, is also a substantial proposition that continues to spread the message of unity – “we must extend a hand of peace to all mankind”, sings Trible – which the band, and the label more widely, have been communicating for some time now. Build an Ark’s live performance integrates elements from African music, readings of mystic Sufi poetry, and a whole lot of love. Like much of the spiritual jazz that they take their cues from, Build an Ark discard conventional head/solo/head form to inspire a stream of incandescent energy and organic growth. The freedom provided by this simple approach is used intelligently, constructing extended, textured, and colourful compositions with shaded latin pulses. Though solos are on the economical side, the result is a heavy sea of sound that gradually envelops the audience and holds it in raptures throughout the performance.

The vocal rendition of A Love Supreme’s Acknowledgement takes on the incantation style of Coltrane’s epic version. The sparing collaboration between Tribe’s deep baritone voice and the gossamer flutterings of Wannomae’s soprano capture the sense of disparate higher spiritual powers that inspired Coltrane. Trible’s intense ululations, based around the original suite’s mantra, emphasise the piece’s wondrous bass motif and feel like a giant slowly stepping up a mountain. Perhaps the tribute lacks a certain authoritative toughness, but Wannomae and Ranelin’s subsequent ‘speaking in tongues’ solos bring a welcome edge to Build an Ark’s performance. Whilst Wannomae’s fiery tenor possesses an unruffled quality reminiscent of an early Gato Barbieri, Ranelin’s warm and dignified trombone is simply lush. Ranelin shatters the calm with raucous vibratos, yet his phrasing is carefully controlled. You can sense a mild reverence towards him in the group dynamic, and this is totally justifiable: his performance evinces his depth of experience and his position as an original trombone stylist. If this playing does not deserve to be in the jazz festival I struggle to know what does.

Build an Ark’s new anthem-in-the-making, Sunflowers in my Garden, conveys a sense of peace after the storm. As this gentle song plays I notice that Build an Ark’s overpowering message of love is starting to scratch at my cynicism. Nevertheless, I decide to let it wash over me for a while, as there is no denying the energy, sincerity, and talent with which it is communicated. In fact, Carlos Niño, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and Build an Ark possess a real communicative quality that makes the whole evening feel like a celebration of transatlantic community. This feeling is only heightened when the set closes with Pharoah Sanders’ You’ve Got to Have Freedom, one of the most iconic tunes of the early days of the British jazz dance scene. Though the strong symbolic references made by the two bands to past musical traditions and African and Eastern cultures suggest a yearning for an imaginary world more congenial than the current L.A. and London, the enthusiasm displayed by the musicians, DJs, dancers, and punters make of the evening something not short of an uplifting commemoration of the two cities. This atmosphere is beautiful to witness.

John M. Gómez

For those that could not be there as well as those who want to be transported back you can now listen to live recordings of the gig at Red Bull Academy Radio.

IG’s Zen Badizm workshop coming to London town Thursday 19th November for a special Broad Casting!

Thanks to nutriot.com for spreading the word about the clip.

“Carl Craig is back on Grandcrew.com with yet another crossover project! This time, exit the classical ensemble and welcome into Carl’s world of jazz with TRIBE! Jazz à la Villette welcomed the mythical jazz label from Detroit, Carl Craig and Grandcrew.com for a night of jazz mayhem! Slide trombones, trumpets, and wild percussions – all looked over by the producer and musical mastermind Carl Craig. Many thanks to the trumpet-player Marcus Belgrave, drummer Doug Hammond, pianist Harold McKinney and so many others for the good vibes on stage.”

For the full concert click through to Grand Crew.

The rescheduling of his seemingly annual visits to the Jazz Cafe, perhaps because of the awaiting finishing touches for his next record ‘W.A.R’, merely reinforced the anticipation surrounding this hip hop mastermind. Monch didn’t disappoint as he served one of the most energised, live and sweaty shows to have graced the capital in a long time. And for all those who didn’t make it, DJ Gone recorded it for your viewing pleasure…

As soon as the beat dropped for ‘The Matrix’ and he started spitting, the crowd were already taken over. It was a heart-warming moment to watch how his infectious energy filtered into every person in the club. There were palms, fists and fingers all raised in response to this New York native, reminding us why he got the world talking with his rap partnership Organized Konfusion in the early 90s. Speaking of which, DJ Boogie Blind stopped Monch in his tracks, declaring he just had to drop this hook. With a surprise cheer from the crowd, Monch recited ‘Fudge Pudge’ and ‘Bring It On’ from the ’91 and ’94 Konfusion records respectively.

‘Agent Orange’, the third track he did off his second solo album Desire (following ‘Free’ and the 2001 smash ‘Fuck You’) proved how effortlessly Monch gets the crowd singing back at him. The title album track also played out to be a crowd favourite and showed off the BV’s, courtesy of MeLa Machinko and Showtyme, to perfection. But of course the encore, which surprised no-one but thrilled everyone, was the infamously heavy ‘Simon Says’. Despite being punched simultaneously in the back and head, the pain was completely overshadowed by the raw talent and live energy on display from start to finish. It was a showcasing of one of hip hop’s finest and served as a fresh reminder why so many are excited for the imminent arrival of his next record.

Words: Naomi Kay

Review written by Gavin Handley of Jus Like Music.

Nick Woodmansey is a British drummer/percussionist and producer. Emanative is his space-jazz project, and Space is the debut LP that recently dropped on Futuristica Music. There needs to be a fuss made about Emanative and this LP, and I’m gonna tell you why.

There are a group of contemporary producers who are switching things on their head – whether it be a conscious thing or not, it’s happening, and I like it. I’m talking about modern sounds and techniques influencing old – so where as usually it’s things like jazz and funk influencing hip-hop, these guys are doing it the other way round. Eric Lau is producing soul music with hip-hop foundations, 2tall is exploring multiple genres from his roots as a scratch DJ, Dusty is making jazz music with a breakbeat/nu-jazz edge, and then we have Emanative. Firstly, this 14 track LP is simply beautiful – there’s just no escaping that notion, it really is incredible. It’s jazz with a hip-hop inspiration, but in the most subtle of ways – think of Madlib producing a Sun Ra album and you might be getting closer. But loose comparisons aside, Emanative stands alone with its unique execution and aural delivery. Any regular reader  of my work will know I’m extremely fond of ‘complete’ sounding albums that take the listener on a journey, and Space does this more so than any other new album I’ve heard this year.

Tracklisting:

01. Petite Planète
02. Illusions
03. We Travel The Spacebeats
04. Wind, Sand & Stars
05. Invaderlude
06. Space In Veda
07. Flip-Flop
08. Snare Of The Venus Fly-Traps
09. Low Motion
10. When On Earth
11. In Orbit
12. Stars Collide
13. Lights On
14. Intersteller Outerlude

Petite Planète initiates the one hour, five minute spectacular that is Space. From ethereal strings in the background, to the precise, yet loose, percussive arrangement, this track sways like a soothing jazz orchestra. Introducing warm bass and clarinet, the beauty is within the exquisitely arranged stanzas – peaks and troughs in just the right measure to ensure a fluent journey through bass and tone. The soft melodies cant hide the substance and attitude of this track – it’s fantastically crafted and rates up there with the likes of the Cinematic Orchestra as far as a complete and enriching organic sound is concerned.

Brass and vocals make themselves present in Illusions. There’s a fantastic energy to this track – the rhythms suggest an uptempo affair, but there is still a very pleasing anchor in place in the form of these steady beats and brass stabs, keeping things in check. Science determines that this genuinely is around 160bpm in places, but the mood to the track takes it beyond simply being an uptempo jazz track. As will no doubt prove to be a theme through this album, it appears to be the orchestral elements that help to create actual stories out of the tracks, rather than simply being mere ditties or introductions to what they perhaps could be. This is the real deal.

We Travel The Spacebeats exhibits the first obvious hip-hop essences on the record. Understated, yet heavy beats combine with an array of instrumentation to create a steady instrumental piece with delicate strings, some wood and subtle keys. Everything is crafted so beautifully – the layers fit seamlessly and entwine with one and other to output an extremely pleasing musical delight. It’s laid back, but meaty – never dull and constantly throws your ears more morsels to get your teeth into – there’s so much going on, but at no stage do you ever feel as if it’s too much, in fact it is in embarrassingly good measure.

It takes something quite spectacular to make the hairs on my arms stand on end, but Wind, Sand & Stars does it every time. The piano, the gentle rhythms, the flute, the sax, oh and those vocals by the delightful Heidi Vogel are perfect! This piano driven track is infectious – it’s contemporary jazz at its finest. If you like Nostalgia 77 Octet or Cinematic Orchestra, well Emanative just raised the bar, and I don’t say that lightly. This is no carbon-copy though, the ethereal stylings and space-jazz atmospherics ensure this greets your ears with unadulterated freshness.

Invaderlude continues the space-jazz journey, but with an electronic edge. Nearly two and a half minutes containing deep bass tones, static-tinged melodies and an array of other spacey effects – think Daedelus, Radiohead, Four Tet. Think Emanative!

With its chilled out beats and soothing double bass, Space In Veda provides a delicate culmination of warm jazz sounds. The modern production techniques, including subtle cuts and scratches, are blended exceptionally well into what is otherwise an extremely organic composition. A well produced (nearly) instrumental track, featuring delicate, hushed vocals from Deborah Jordan, positioned neatly between the first and second thirds of the album – truly exceptional.

Flip-Flop proceeds with laid back lounge stylings, perhaps in the vein of some of The Herbaliser’s more jazzy pieces. It’s both rich and soothing, exhibiting a plethora of sweet sounds. The introduction of hammond over flute and double bass, whilst matched with keys and steady percussion, encapsulates the mood perfectly. It’s a blissful track that invites the listener to invest their ears as much as they are willing – offering real depth, but with no pressure to take it, it’s up to you, but it’s all there if you want it.

Whipping us straight back into space, Snare Of The Venus Fly-Traps is a brief uptempo affair with an eerie sense and atmosphere – no doubt designed to maintain the mood of the album. I’m a huge fan of ‘complete’ albums, where the listener is taken along a journey, and it’s the little, yet appropriate, touches like this that help to build such an experience.

Low Motion balances bassline and melody with infectious breakdowns and jazz rhythms. It’s a great example, on the album, of the combination between the electronic and organic sounds – not that such a thing is a new revelation in music itself, but the pairing within this album is indeed a successful one – everything in its right place, as they say. I really appreciate how delicate and intricate the assembly of this track is. It seems obvious that great effort must have gone into such a creation – dare I suggest that Mr Woodmansey may be a perfectionist?!

The longest track on the album, When On Earth, goes from eerie space-bass tones and builds slowly, introducing more percussion and adding depth to the timbre before the fantastic piano, drums and beautiful vocals from Liz Elensky and Deborah Jordan enter the fray. I don’t wish to fill my review with comparisons, but I feel like this is the direction that Zero 7 never managed to turn to, or even people like the Quantic Soul Orchestra – not that the aforementioned haven’t had their own successes regardless, just a certain angle of potential was perhaps never realised (maybe just in my mind, of course!). Anyway, the point is; this sounds incredible. Layered spectacularly, I can visualise each element of the track dancing around the next – it builds, it breaks and drops, then it builds again – frankly, blissful.

In Orbit is a short track showcasing wild brass and steady bass. An interlude of sorts, it goes further to keep the mood of Space – unmistakeably jazz, in both sound and structure, like most of this album it is extremely visual. I appreciate that such a thing would be very much down to the individual, but if you like jazz and are willing to fully immerse yourself in what you are hearing, then I think you too will understand where I am coming from.

Call it a reprise of the opening track, Petite Planète, Stars Collide is brilliantly placed near the end of the record, like a reminder of what we’ve heard so far. As I just suggested, there’s a relation to the opening track, and at around the same length as the aforementioned track, it brings back the ethereal sounds via strings, bass and percussion. But now there’s vocals from Deborah Jordan and the fit is phenomenal – providing depth, whilst remaining sweet and sincere, it’s a true pleasure for the ears.

Lights On is an incredible instrumental track encompassing a hypnotic steady rhythm with flutes and strong brass. It’s very much a downtempo affair and actually sounds like it would go well with female vocals also. Alas it is instrumental and quite short, and as such works wonderfully as the beginning of the descent from Space, as it were, as the penultimate track on the album.

The final track is Intersteller Outerlude, and it acts as just that, an outerlude. It actually reminds a bit of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and The Wolf with regards to the style of composition, although the arrangement is indeed of the jazz ilk. It’s an apt finale to a wonderful album and steadily coaxes the listener to the end of their aural journey – no doubt a more enriched being for it – it’s definitely the feeling I was left with.

Clearly it’s no secret that I think a great deal of this album. I actually envy all those people who are yet to hear Space for the first time, because although I do believe that this album has great potential to grow and grow on the listener with each listen, it also strikes one mighty chord pretty much immediately. Forgetting genres or classifications, stylings or influences, it’s just amazing music and I’d pay good money to see an orchestra perform it in a concert hall – it’s that good. This is easily one of the best albums of 2009 and nothing could possibly make me think any differently. Each person has their own taste and takes pleasure from music in different ways – I personally love music with fantastic depth and arrangement that allows you to immerse yourself fully and be taken on a journey, and Space doesn’t just do this, it does it with style and grace. At the start of this review I claimed that there needs to be a fuss made about this release, and I hope you now understand why I would say this – everyone needs to hear this album… now.

Amongst horror legends Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, Roy Castle plays a Jazz musician in Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, a cult British flick from 1965. Travelling to the West Indies he attends a Voodoo ceremony and on return to Blighty he reworks the rhythms he heard. Dire consequences for the characters follow but delight for Jazz fans. Aiding the actors are Tubby Hayes’ Quintet, and though Castle could play trumpet he merely mimed in the film, with the recordings tooted by the far superior Shake Keane. In the following clip, the song at 6:40 has become a holy grail recording for UK Jazz collectors. Finally it is available, yet another miraculous release on Trunk Records.

More info over on Trunk.

Moondog specialists London Saxophonic took the stage first. Fourteen players strong they covered almost the full range of the saxophone family, from sopranino to bass. Introduced and underway they played songs that showed Moondog’s baroque, Asian and African influences, with a mix of swing and mysticism in the jazz moments similar to Raymond Scott’s Quintet compositions. A specially assembled choir of Gruff and Bunf (from Super Furry Animals), Lightspeed Champion and Pictish Trail looked a tad sheepish at first, but soon the vocalists got involved in ‘New York’ and ‘New Amsterdam’.

During ‘Sea Horse’ and ‘Fiesta’ pianist Liam Noble shone in the limelight, before the saxophone ensemble recommenced, finally closing with a third vocal number (‘Paris’) to the tune of ‘New York’. Kerry Shale read ‘Moondog’s Monologue’ as stage hands busied themselves behind him, striking the stage in preparation for Clinc’s rock reconstructions (which led to the interval):

“…Each today is yesterday’s tomorrow, which is now, now is all I have, now is all I need, now is all I want, now.”

Horned-helmets donned by a couple of attendees and the robe of a big white-bearded Stefan Lakatos was the closest we got to seeing Moondog’s unique Viking attire, with not a spear in sight. In the second half of the live show, André De Ridder conducted the Britten Sinfonia, joined by Andi Toma and O Duo, meaning more than 40 musicians covered the stage: strings, tubas, bassoons, the lot!

Working through Moondog’s orchestral recordings, two world premieres featured ‘Salzburg Symphony No 3′ and ‘Nocturne’ although the standout moments were renditions of two songs from one of Moondog’s later albums: Elpmas. ‘Marimba Mondo’ involved the percussive double-act O Duo, each manning a Marimba, and Andi Toma layering shaker with electronics. Toma produced Elpmas alongside Moondog back in 1992 and his contributions livened the evening. ‘Fujiyama’ involved Mieko Shimizu and Lightspeed Champion duetting, with the latter’s vocals pitched brilliantly for the sedative mood. Breath-taking interplay between the wind and brass sections closed the show in a tremendous rendition of ‘Bird’s Lament’, leaving me wishing an extended version had been arranged.

Afterwards, Kieran Hebden deejayed at the ClubStage, however, the prize post-show event was Moondog at Midnight at St Giles’ Cripplegate, opposite the Barbican. There, bastion of Moondog’s music Stefan Lakatos sat crossed-legged in front of his homemade trimba: a percussive box replicating his mentor’s invention. Seated nearby, Paul Jordan faced the ceiling-high organ, as the two men performed a remarkable recital, captivatingly presenting a selection of Moondog compositions and those by J.S. Bach. The highlight of the entire evening, Lakotos’ percussion solos were outstanding, squirming rhythms clarifying why Moondog referred to the style as Snaketime.

Photos courtesy of St Giles Cripplegate and Stefan Lakatos.

Chronicling the 1960s UK jazz scene, Ian Carr charters an important period when UK players began to shape their own sounds, instead of imitating their American peers. Reprinted last year (Carr’s 75th), Music Outside is a fine accompaniment to the music of the time, an era rejuvenated through Jazz Britannia and numerous reissues, including Gilles Peterson’s Impressed compilations. Much written in 1973 remains true: the economic struggle, fluctuating audience numbers, and how jazz as a “serious music” is marginalised on mainstream airwaves, though BBC Radio 3’s schedule devotes more hours now than it did then. Jazz music still polarises popular British opinion, with much of the population associating the term with swing or The Fast Show rather than an improvisational or creative approach.

Carr allows his subjects to explain their specific situations, with chapters built upon in-depth interviews with Mike Westbrook, John Stevens and Trevor Watts (Spontaneous Music Ensemble), Jon Hiseman, Evan Parker, Chris McGregor (The Brotherhood of Breath) and Mike Gibbs. Concluding the artist focus, Carr outlines his own experiences and those of his band, Nucleus. In addition to the detailed discussion on those artists, many more great players are mentioned: Kenny Wheeler, Stan Tracey, Joe Harriott, Tony Coe, Derek Bailey, Mike Taylor and Keith Tippett.

Don’t let the garish cover perturb you, Music Outside provides a fascinating focus into the scene at that time, dealing with players, funding and venues. Accounts of the Little Theatre Club and Old Place sessions, in addition to the more famed Ronnie Scotts, exemplify the insight Carr gives, details which could only come from someone entrenched in the action, close to the key players. Roger Cotterrell’s postscript tells of the artists’ contrasting experiences in the decades following the original publication.

Overall, I’m left intrigued as to whether today’s top players from the capital—Finn Peters, Jason Yarde, Byron Wallen, Robert Mitchell et al.—have comparable connections and whether their have a cushier existence or do they face are the same old struggles? And does the current generation merit archiving as Music Outside does?

Ian Carr features on BBC Radio 3 Jazz Library today, presented by his biographer Alyn Shipton. The show airs at 4pm, then for a week via the listen again option.