MUSIC MATTERS

The Music Matters 45rpm Blue Note 2-lp issues are justly famous for the quality of the pressings and their superb production values - gatefold sleeves containing session photographs by Francis Wolff.
Despite the high prices the records sell well, and I was disappointed when the series came to an end before they got round to Sheila Jordan's Portrait of Sheila.

At the start of 2014 Music Matters announced a single lp 33rpm series- still expensive but not so much!- and Jazz House Records of course subscribed immediately. The first two titles arrived with some copies having small splits at the top edge- whether this was an production problem or bad treatment by HMRC I'm not sure. They certainly sat around (or were thrown around) for two weeks in the Customs warehouse while they decided how much to charge me for the privilege of collecting the boxes from Parcelforce.

Then...nothing. When I enquired why more issues had not arrived MM told me that they had been reminded by Universal (who now own Blue Note & have their own vinyl series to celebrate the label's 75th anniversary) that their agreement forbade them supplying distributors outside the USA. So globalisation is not yet complete it seems. Happily a few months later MM told me that the problem seemed to have been resolved and they could now supply JHR. Occasionally we get good news. And no more cover splits.

And so it remains; I have the repressed 2014 titles and the first six of the twenty titles they plan to issue this year. The April titles will be on their way soon. Customer reaction has been uniformly good, with some subscribing through Jazz House Records to the whole series. MM hasn't announced Portrait of Sheila yet, but I'm still hoping. There's a good pressing from Heavenly Sweetness to keep me going.

This little puff piece cum rant has been prompted by the arrival of the 2014 represses and by the news that Music Matters have received an award from Audio Beat- see
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/ces2015/ces2015_awards.htm
You need to scroll down past the unaffordable equipment!

My friend Glenn Armstrong would not forgive me if I didn't also point out his award is noted just below the MM one. Coup Perdu lps (and cds) are available from JHR of course.

You can see the available Music Matters 33rpm and 45rpm albums here:
http://www.jazzhouserecords.co.uk/musicmatters/musicmatters.html

To finish, here's a few things that have come to my attention recently:
Clifford Allen's interview with ESP's founder Bernard Stollman :


http://www.allaboutjazz.com/bernard-stollman-the-esp-disk-story-by-clifford-allen.php

and this 2009 piece by Ted Gioa about  Dupree Bolton deserves wide circulation:

http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2009/4/23/in-search-of-dupree-bolton-part-2

Don't forget to read the comments- there's a link to a YouTube Bolton performance.

Wise Words 2

Danilo Perez interviewed in Jazz Inside magazine March 2014

Wayne Shorter called me to go to Los Angeles
and I went. So we went to the studio and he was
playing a piece that had this little vamp. And I
started playing the chords. And he stopped. He
said, “Danilo, can you just throw some water on
that chord?” And I was like, “Oh, my god! What
is this?” So I thought about it and of course I
couldn’t do it, because I didn’t really get it. So I
went to the room that night and thought about
the many combinations of voicings and thought
about water and all that stuff. So I came back the
next day. And he called the same tune, and we
played it again. And he said, “Yeah, but the water
 has to be clean all the way to the bottom.”

Wise words

'Playing jazz is a bad way to try to earn a living, but it's a great way to live your life'- Tim Armacost interviewed by Julian Joseph for Radio 3 Jazz Lineup at the Southport Jazz on a Winter Weekend festival- February 1st 2014.

Howard Riley in Leicester

One great pianist we had failed to book for the Leicester Jazz House solo season at Embrace Arts was Howard Riley. In fact scanning the pages of the jazz press we could find no sign of any recent gigs by Howard at all. Was he still playing? There was one easy way to find out, and a quick search in the excellent Jazz Services directory gave us his phone number. We spoke, agreed a date and a fee, and started (with some excitement- he's been a musical hero of mine for a long time) to publicise the season.

Then the problems started; Howard was unwell and perhaps could not make the gig. Or maybe he would do one set and fill the rest of the time with a Q&A session. As the date approached even my normally optimistic spirit became a little anxious. We assured him that he would be among friends, with a sympathetic and attentive audience at what is a small arts centre with an excellent Bosendorffer. When I picked him up from the station the day before the gig it was an enormous relief when he told me: The gig's on- two sets!

We had a meal in a sombre mood- Gordon Beck's death had recently been announced, and Howard talked about the circumstances of his old sparring partner Jaki Byard's tragic end. We were not to know, of course, that Michael Garrick was to die suddenly and unexpectedly the day of the gig. Michael had charmed us with a duo gig a short while before, so the news was a great shock

The concert was a triumph. Howard played mostly standards and Monk tunes; the lightning virtuosity and extravagant technique of his 70's solo playing replaced by what Duncan Heining in his review of Howard's Monk/Ellington cd called 'careful, thoughtful and respectful' interpretations; no lack of technical expertise, but coming at the listener obliquely rather than full on. Several numbers began with improvisation, the theme emerging only at the end. Lots of knowing smiles from audience members at the point of recognition.

It was not the sell-out it deserved to be but the respectably-sized and enthusiastic audience included one guy who'd driven 80+ miles to attend. And I'm happy to say this is one gig that's not 'Gone...in the air.'  Howard asked us to arrange to have the concert recorded, just for his own use in reviewing his playing, so we asked our friend Chris Trent to set up his equipment at the side of what would be the stage if we had one. Both sets were recorded and Howard was kind enough to let me have a copy.

A week later he phoned to tell  he liked the recording so much he was going to get it released commercially by NoBusiness records who are based in Vilnius, and had released a series of Riley cds, including a 6cd box.

So at last we come to the reason for this post; today a small packet arrived with copies of the cd- Live with Repertoire. I'm delighted that the mixing was done by Alex Hawkins, who is about to do a duo concert for us at Embrace Arts with the great Louis Moholo-Moholo.

If you want a copy of  the cd you can contact me here

Cedar Walton

A customer emailed me last night with the news that the great hard bop pianist Cedar Walton had died. You can read an obituary here- the page also provides a link to an hour-long radio programme- Piano Jazz- where he talks to fellow-pianist Bill Charlap and plays solo and duo.

The programme reminded me of another conversation with Cedar that I attended at the Jazz Museum in Harlem on September 11 2008; on that occasion his partner was drummer Kenny Washington who is rather less reverential than Charlap, as you can hear here;  at the bottom of the page are links to a recording of the whole conversation which I enthusiastically recommend; you 'll hear about how he got his nick-name 'Steep', Art Blakey's band-leading style, a very funny anecdote about Blakey's reaction when a flying drumstick which hit his bass-player's instrument after an extravagant gesture by Bu, the story of his first drive through Manhattan trying to find somewhere to park his car, his part in the Giant Steps recording  and much more.

Finding myself in New York without my Walton collection I'd gone to the Jazz Record Centre to find an album for him to sign. All I could find was a 70s CBS lp - Soundscapes- which is hardly his finest hour. When I approached him after the talk with sleeve in hand and asked him to sign he looked up at me quizzically and said: I suppose I could.

Last year I sat with a group of friends at Smoke jazz club at the south end of Harlem to hear Cedar's trio play a set. Maybe Smoke's supper-club ambiance affected him (or perhaps us) but he sounded a tad semi-detached, playing a number of Monk songs as vehicles to blow on rather than digging deep. Now of course I wish I'd stayed for the next set.

Coincidentally a friend, customer (and street photographer - see http://35mil.blogspot.co.uk/)
recently bought a bunch of Eastern Rebellion albums from me then commented:

The two Eastern Rebellion LPs are magnificent too. Who would have thought such tough, machine-tooled mainstream jazz was being played -- and impeccably recorded -- in 1976?

I replied: And he's still doing it! Sadly no more.

New York City Diary May 2013

Tuesday May 21.Smalls was nearly empty when I wandered in at 7.30 on my first night in the city. But people trickled in during the set as owner/pianist Spike Wilner's trio (Jonathan Kreiberg guitar/ Paul Gill bass) play a well- chosen set of standards including an Ellington tune I'd not heard before- Melancholy- and some Strayhorn. Smalls calls itself a cutting edge jazz club but Spike's style is firmly in the modern mainstream- a soothing beginning to the trip. I caught him after the set to collect the Smalls Live cds my customers had pre-ordered; the  label is highly recommended- well recorded and packaged sessions from the club by a collection of young Smalls regulars, plus a few from an earlier generation.So there's Harold Mabern, Will Vinson, Dezron Douglous, Ralph Lalama, Ethan Iverson, Jim Rotondi....

I would have stayed for the set by the Smalls Legacy Band- including Frank Lacy from the Mingus Big Band and a young tenor- Stacy Dillard- who really impressed when I heard him at the club last year. But I was defeated by the time difference.

Wednesday May 22. The New York City Jazz Record is not the only free jazz guide you can pick up in clubs or download, but it's the essential one. Well-written articles, lots of reviews and interviews, as well the most comprehensive listing of clubs and concerts.

It was as a result of reading an interview with drummer Mike Pride in the NYCJR that I decided to hear his band From Bacteria to Boys- pianist/ keyboardist Alexis Marcelo, bassist Peter Bitenc and saxophonist
Jon Irabagon (plus tenor saxophonist Jonathan Moritz on a few numbers). The concert was at the Greenwich House Music School on Barrow St.

The stars of the show were Irabagon & Bitenc, the former showing great lyrical power on alto which contrasted nicely with Moritz' highly-charged athletic performance. Bitenc grounded the music beautifully with big calm notes. Marcelo played a decorative role, adding little but colour to the music. And the leader?- the article described his background in rock, followed by study with Milford Graves.   His playing that night, on an extended kit- 2 snares- had sadly more of the former than the latter. In short too loud.

They played through the music from their new cd- complicated unmemorable themes with Pride moving restlessly around his kit but rarely allowing the music to relax and breathe. Great to see Irabagon live though.

That NYCJR article was by one of my favourite jazz writers- Clifford Allen- so I was pleased to meet Clifford the next day to deliver some choice vinyl, including one album which had already crossed the Atlantic twice before I smuggled it in this time; I'd previously addressed in error  it to Clifford's previous address. My grateful thanks to the USPS and Royal Mail for getting the records back to me safely- Globe Unity indeed!

Thursday May 23. Mulgrew Miller suffered a serious stroke today, his second. He's in intensive care. Charlie Haden wrote: Sending love and healing light to the wonderful pianist Mulgrew Miller who suffered a stroke yesterday. We see a complete recovery.

I've no idea what 'From Bacteria to Boys' signifies- a crude definition of evolution?- but the meaning of Open Loose is clear, and beautifully apt. This is a band, musicians relaxed and confident in each others' company, empathetic almost to the point of telepathy. Bassist Mark Helias, drummer Tom Rainey and tenor Tony Malaby played 90 minutes of enthralling improvisation at Cornelia St Cafe. The movement from theme to improvisation was seamless and everybody played the song; the collective nature of the music made it almost seem disloyal to clap solos.

Half a century after Ornette Coleman opened up a new world of improvisation. Open Loose prove this world still allows for beautiful discoveries and wonderfully satisfying experiences.

Friday May 24. Back to Smalls for some hard bop from trombonist Steve Davis's sextet. First I caught a set by tenorist Tad Shull (Ray Gallon piano, Paul Gill bass, Joe Strasser drums). It was a hard-swinging set of unhackneyed standards- Dearly Beloved, Time After Time- showing off well Shull's gruff tone and eclectic approach- there were echoes of Rollins and Lockjaw Davis, and just occasionally a Coleman Hawkins-like arpeggio

Apart from Coltrane's Village Blues the Steve Davis set comprised mostly Davis originals, good vehicles to blow on, though apart from the occasional background riff they made little use of the possibilities offered by the instrumentation. Trumpeter Josh Bruneau was in generic Lee Morgan mode, altoist Mike DiRubbo had some Jackie McLean grit to his tone and the rhythm team of Nat Reeves and Billy Williams drove the music effectively. The leader, playing open throughout, had the attack if not the speed of JJ Johnson, but the meat in the sandwich came from pianist Larry Willis, whose chording was a delight (I was sitting right by his left elbow) and whose soloing was rich and percussive.

I was tempted to stay for the 1am set when I heard that Harold Mabern was in bassist John Webber's band. Another time perhaps.

Saturday May 25. A constant fear for us jazz club promoters is that we'll organise a gig and no audience will show; it's never happened to us in Leicester though we've come close on the odd occasion. No-one at ShapeShifter Lab seemed worried that only a dozen people turned up at this new Brooklyn poat-industrial space to hear ex-Sonny Rollins pianist Mark Soskin with Jerome Harris on acoustic bass guitar and Satoshi Takeishi on an oddly stripped-down drum kit. It was a warmly romantic, rhythmically-charged set from a player used to stoking up the heat for his ex-boss.

Then we sat around while the Jeff Galindo- Marc Phaneuf Quartet set up, with a guest on piano whose name I did not catch. The sound engineer wandered around adjusting microphone levels with the aid of his tablet for what seemed an age- in a room where all that was necessary was a little boost to the piano- and the lighting man practised various colour washes on the back wall.

By now the Soskin audience had largely gone home, leaving me and what seemed like friends and family of the band. Trombonist Galindo had obviously studied at the Roswell Rudd School of Advanced Poetics- he treated us to some effective rasps and smears on a couple of originals including one dedicated to Steve Lacy. Saxophonist Phaneuf was more boppish- his original composition was a bop line on Body & Soul, disguised sufficiently for it to take a few choruses before the Lego bricks came together in my brain.

Two interesting sets rendered a little uncomfortable by the size of the crowd- the musicians deserved better. ShapeShifter has an ambitious programme, but they could perhaps spend more time on marketing - an interesting gig this coming Monday does not appear in any of the jazz listings- and less on p a.

Sunday May 26 After a three park stroll in the expectation of some al fresco music- Tompkins Square (where I at last located the site of the General Slocum memorial, under an archway in the centre of a municipal building, flanked by that NYC rarity- public toilets.) My main reason to visit was to stand reverentially outside Charlie Parker's house on Avenue B.

Then to Washington Square, where a trumpet-led quartet impressed at first, before the leader started showing off by playing trumpet & flugel simultaneously, trying to out-Clark Terry! And on to the High Line, where a group of (I guess) students- tenor, 3/4 size acoustic bass, drums deservedly collected a lot of dollar bills in the bass drum case with an excellent set of jazz standards. Interesting to watch the reaction of passers-by: one small child was entranced, staring at the band, moving her arms and dancing; a few adults sat and listened, most walked straight by, either dropping a bill almost as a reflex or gazing ahead as if nothing was happening. Just occasionally young men would adopt what they apparently thought was an appropriate response to jazz- clicking their fingers loudly and in once case acting like an extra in an amateur production of West Side Story.

Then Smalls again for an afternoon session by bassist Ben Meigners, drummer Jason Brown, and, playing a few dates in the US before returning to the UK for his 50th birthday- Gilad Atzmon on alto. I wondered how Gilad would relate to an American audience- would he denounce the Israeli occupation, US warmongering and presidents present & past, and maybe play Burning Bush? In fact he was on his best behaviour (apart from a short foray into his decidedly odd take on sexual politics) and joked they would play an old jewish folk song: Oy Vey You Look Tonight. Gilad wasn't at his best- trying too hard to impress perhaps with superfast bebop phrasing, even on Body & Soul. He did impress of course, but I was hoping for more relaxation. He'd played with the same trio the previous night at Fat Cat, and whispered to me: The drummer's fantastic, before beginning the set. And indeed he was, a texturally complex player who complemented Gilad's lines well, especially when the bass laid out.

A quick stroll up 7th Ave South got me in line at the Village Vanguard for the first set of the last day of Barry Harris's week at the club. I was a little apprehensive when I saw how stiffly the octogenarian walked across the stage to the piano, and when he began a slow a cappella Sweet Lorraine I began to wonder if I'd have to make allowances for his age. Not one bit! He moved into a mid-tempo Sweet & Lovely with Ray Drummond and Leroy Williams beautifully responsive in support. The theme of the evening became clear when he told us the first tunes were a tribute to the Vanguard's owner ,'even though she can be cranky sometimes'. Then the set followed the story of a love affair: There Will Never Ever Be Another You, Just One of Those Things (with Williams playing the melody during his solo), I'll Keep Loving You & Yesterdays. This last segued into Night in Tunisia. Would he make the break?- of course he did. Then an original called something like 'You've Got the Power' which he sang with some help from audience members from (I suspect) his vocal classes. He finished with a Monk medley- Round Midnight, Pannonica, Ruby My Dear, Light Blue, before leaving us in Barbados with Charlie Parker. A consummate performance, full of delights, from the last of the great bebop pianists.

Tuesday May 28 It seems I'm stuck in the Smalls, Vanguard, Cornelia St triangle. It's Smalls tonight for some more reassuring standards from Spike Wilner, with Paul Gill once more and Spike's regular guitarist Pasquale Grasso- a player with a Joe Pass-like boppish sensibility and a technique to match. But the main event was Seamus Blake's quintet- a two-tenor front line with Chris Cheek, Aaron Goldberg piano, Matt Clohesy bass, Bill Stewart drums. The lineup makes you think of tough tenors, and there was real toughness in Blake's forthright gruff soloing on originals and unusual standards- they finished on Brian Wilson's Till I Die.
Cheek's lighter tenor sound made an effective contrast, though I got the impression that this kind of aggressive hard bop was not his natural mode of expression - I was proved right the next night. Aaron Goldberg often took a phrase and toyed with it like Mal Waldron used to, and Bill Stewart- wow! He drove the band with relentless energy.

Wednesday May 29 Second bass-led band, second two tenor quintet. Utterly original music. Chris Lightcap's Big Mouth-  Chris Cheek, tenor sax; Tony Malaby, tenor sax; Craig Taborn, piano; Ches Smith, drums at Cornelia Street.

Lightcap's compositions were strong, often anthem-like, with long notes in unison or close harmony by the saxes. One, Bounty, was driven by staccato piano chords- Taborn was magnificent throughout- and almost punk-like drumming. Some pieces had no room for improvisation at all, others, including three compositions referring to New York City- Arthur Avenue- the Little Italy in the Bronx, Nine South - the highway leading to NYC and Epicentre- dedicated to the Village Vanguard but featuring some exuberant high-note blowing by Malaby that Lorraine might not approve of, allowed the two tenors and Taborn plenty of freedom to show their superb musicianship- inside-outside music at its best.

We all wanted a second set, but after an hour Lightcap announced- That's it- we're here for 2 sets tomorrow. No good to me- I'll be in Philadelphia- and I'll be missing Dave Liebman at the weekend.

Thursday May 30 Mulgrew Miller died today.

The chance to look through a collection of 25000 lps was too good to miss, even though I knew that the high-end items would be destined for Ebay. So to Philly on Megabus and an exhausting but exhilarating weekend looking through as many of the 300+ plus boxes I could manage in 2 8-hour days. I managed around a third, plus those my host David pulled out and waved at me- How about these- 15 bucks? David is selling the collection on behalf of the estate of an old friend and it is by far the best assemblage of jazz vinyl I have ever seen (aside from David's own!) Prices reflect this- at least 5 items have fetched USD1000 each or more on Ebay so far with one which finally fetched $2800. But there are hundreds of mid-price items, and anyone wishing to see the list should contact me.

Sunday June 2 back in NYC, and what better way to end the trip than a night at the Vanguard with Joe Lovano's Nonet- Tim Hagans, Barry Ries (trumpets), Larry Farrell (trombone), Steve Slagle (alto, soprano, flute), Ralph Lalama (tenor, clarinet), George Garzone (tenor), Garry Smulyan (baritone), James Weidman (piano), Cameron Brown (bass), Steve Williams (drums). That's ten not counting Lovano, and even with the stage extended the leader had to stand on the floor- great for me, sat on what's called the 'balcony'- a narrow strip of tables and chairs slightly elevated on the right side of the room. I was just above Joe's left elbow looking down on his sheet music. Joe calls the band Streams of Expression, adding Exploring ways of playing together. And so it is; it's not an outside band though it contains some left-field players: Garzone, Hagans, Brown, some firmly straight ahead: Lalama, Smulyan, Farrell, some kind of in between: Slagle, and the leader himself of course, who can do anything. I've read criticism of Lovano, especially when he had the nerve to release a double cd, one inside, one outside. Was he hedging his bets, not firmly committed to one music or the other? Frankly I don't give a damn; he sounds as honest playing bebop as he does playing free.

The first set was bracketed by two Tadd Dameron numbers- On a Misty Night and Hot House. Joe had obviously made changes to the arrangement of Night: 'I'm playing a chorus and a half before the theme- just follow Ralph.' 'I'd follow Ralph to the end of the earth' joked Cameron Brown. With beautifully rich saxophone writing it was a thrilling start; Lovano features his own playing extensively but gives plenty of room to the rest of band- the first number lasts 25 minutes: Barry Ries- Chet-Baker-thin, ponytailed, anxious about his top plate playing an occasional Don Cherry phrase in a basically hard bop style, Tim Hagans like a slightly eccentric favourite uncle- wavy hair, pink-rimmed glasses, blazer with handkerchief in the top pocket, deeper into abstraction without ever losing touch with the changes, Gary Smulyan looking uncannily like Pepper Adams' portrait on the cover of his Mode lp, and with a style not too far away. George Garzone and Ralph Lalama, two thick set tenors, the latter firmly rooted in hard bop, the former ranging further out. Slagle- hard-toned but lyrical alto, rich flute- and a great rhythm section- Steve Williams knew just when to stoke it up like a big band drummer and when to let a cymbal beat and spare snare accents do the work. Cameron Brown- who I'd last seen in a very different context, as duo partner to Sheila Jordan, showed what a versatile and imaginative player he is- his lines were always interesting and his solos superb. And James Weidman- a new name to me- was a calm and grounding voice on piano.

The set lasted 90 minutes- this is band that likes to play- and the club was packed- so I was just getting ready to leave when the announcement came: 'You can stay for the second set for just the one drink minimum. If you are staying sit down, if you are going get out.' I sat down.

Joe Lovano does great announcements: Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou. Phew! Village Vanguard, New York City, Streams of Expression.

The second set included the first two parts of the Streams of Expression suite- Streams and Cool (which was anything but). And a stunning arrangement of Coltrane's After the Rain- good to be reminded what a great melody that is.

The music was never theme-solos-theme- this band really was exploring ways of playing together. Great background figures behind soloists (why do audiences applaud when that happens?- can't they hear the guy's still blowing?), linking scored passages, long sequences of eights and fours along the front line, and with the drums, collective improvisations- this band explored them all.

Midnight, three hours of amazing music, I can go home happy. But for now-time to eat.

Memories of Lol

I never intended this blog to become a list of obituaries and try to resist the temptation to comment on each passing. I felt I had nothing to add to the many heart-felt tributes which followed the shockingly-premature death of Abram Wilson but when I received an email from Hazel Miller of Ogun Records with the news that Lol Coxhill died last night I immediately felt the need to record my memories of this great jazz original.

When I graduated from trad to mainstream as a teenager and became a regular at concerts by US stars at the Odeon Hammersmith there was often a balding man playing soprano solo in the underpass leading to the cinema; his music sounded strange but intriguing in a serpentine way. Lol later grew tired of talking about his busking years but that subterranean music insinuated its way into my consciousness and persisted in my memory.

Then there were the years of the Bracknell Jazz Festival; Lol was hired as the announcer but found plenty of opportunities to play, standing at the corner of the stage while the bands were setting up. His annual mock-reluctant recital (with sound-effects) of 'Murder in the Air' was always greeted with a Mornington-Crescent-like cheer from the crowd but his music was always serious (even when filled with humour).

When we started Leicester Jazz House one of the first bands we booked was Dave Green's Fingers, a remarkable quintet with Lol and Bruce Turner on saxophones, Michael Garrick & Alan Jackson. Lol told me his job was to disrupt the music whenever Bruce and Dave got into a groove. Lol sang My Funny Valentine but we forgave him.

Later we heard from Anthony Wood (ex-editor of the Wire) that he was organising a tour for the Recedents- Lol, Mike Cooper, Roger Turner. We didn't think we'd get a big audience (in the event it wasn't bad) but booked them anyway. Lol stayed with us overnight and over breakfast I asked how the the tour was going; his reply?:  That was it!

At a later concert with Roger Turner at the City Gallery the musicians got into a huddle during the interval; I overheard someone telling Lol it was strange to see free musicians rehearsing and planning a set list. 'We weren't deciding what to play, just what not to play.'

For a few years we ran an annual gig as part of the De Montfort University Cultural EXchanges week- a (free-of- charge) talk in the afternoon then a solo gig in the evening. Remembering Lol's wit and loquacity we invited him two years ago and were delighted he agreed. To our surprise he was very ill-at-ease during the afternoon session, answering almost monosyllabically. We struggled to keep the conversation going and were relieved when he announced he'd play for a bit; the music was great as ever but we only we wanted him to give the audience a taster- we did want them to come back and buy tickets for the evening gig!

The lack of ease- anxiety even- persisted during the evening performance but his music was as inventive and original as ever, with twisting melodic shapes you'd hear no other saxophonist attempting.

My biggest disappointment is failing to persuade Lol to reconvene the Melody Four (Tony Coe & Steve Beresford) for a Leicester gig. I no longer have their lp 'Love plays such funny games' so I'm playing Lol's album 'Before my time' instead. There's a version of Burgundy Street Blues  with the late Paul Rutherford on euphonium and Dave Green on bass, then I'll turn it over for Buddy Bolden's Blues. I won't play What a Friend We Have in Jesus ...not today.