Articles by Ian Patterson
Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet: Heaven On My Mind
by Ian Patterson
So called spiritual-jazz seemed to come out of nowhere with John Coltrane in the mid-1960s. If one jazz musician was the catalyst for the emergence this sub-genre of jazz it was he. Coltrane acolytes Pharoah Sanders, Alice Coltrane and Charles Lloyd, among others, subsequently took up the mantle. No easier to define than jazz itself, spiritual jazz is hip once again. Not that Yuri Honing openly subscribes to the label, after all this is a musician who has steadfastly chartered ...
read moreGeorge Colligan Quartet At Magy's Farm
by Ian Patterson
George Colligan Quartet Magy's Farm Dromara, N. Ireland May 8, 2024 Ordinarily the words George Colligan and Dromara would not belong in the same sentence. Colligan is one of the world's great modern jazz pianists. Dromara is a small village and sparsely populated townland in the County Down hills that bleed into the Mourne Mountains. Since the early '90s, Colligan has worked with heavyweights of the genre such as Lee Konitz, Benny ...
read moreDave Douglas & Trish Clowes: Eyes Up / Next Experiment At Bray Jazz Festival
by Ian Patterson
Dave Douglas & Trish Clowes: Eyes Up/Next Experiment Mermaid Arts Centre Bray Jazz Festival Bray, Ireland May 5, 2024 The smaller stages remained abuzz well into the wee hours on the last night of Bray Jazz Festival, but a little earlier the final act on the main stage--in the Mermaid Arts Centre--saw another full house treated to an exciting double bill. Opening the evening was pan-national group Next Experiment, while the headline slot brought ...
read moreThe Louis Stewart Trio: Louis The First
by Ian Patterson
Long before Irish guitarist Louis Stewart released his debut album, the punningly titled Louis The First, none other than Joe Pass was singing his praises. Pass was not the only one; Ronnie Scott, who hosted many of the great jazz guitarists in his famous London venue, considered Stewart to be one of the best. Stewart was 31 years old when Hawk Records released this album. By then, the Dubliner could draw on a decade of touring--and occasionally recording--with the likes ...
read moreZoe Rahman Quintet/Meilana Gillard Quartet At Bray Jazz Festival
by Ian Patterson
Zoe Rahman Quintet/Meilana Gillard Quartet Mermaid Arts Centre Bray Jazz Festival 2024 Bray, Ireland May 3, 2024 2024 should have marked Bray Jazz Festival's 25th anniversary but for those two years or more of you know what. The silver anniversary will have to wait; no matter, because each year at BJF, since Andrew Hill graced the first edition in 2000, is a little bit special--a celebration, a voyage of discovery. As ever, it ...
read moreJulian Siegel Quartet At Magy's Farm
by Ian Patterson
Julian Siegel Quartet Magy's Farm Dromara, N. Ireland April 27, 2024 Johannes Weege, co-founder of German jazz club Doubletime had traveled all the way from Hamelin. Apart from Double Time, the medieval town is famed for the story of the Pied Piper, who lured the town's children away with his hypnotic music, after the elders had failed to pay him for ridding Hamelin of its rat population. The “piper" this Saturday evening was Julian Siegel, ...
read moreJack Kelly's Honkatonktet At Scott's Jazz Club
by Ian Patterson
Jack Kelly's Honkatonktet Scott's Jazz Club jny:Belfast, N. Ireland April 26, 2024 Who knows what sort of music Charlie Parker would have made had he lived another thirty-five years? It is tantalizing to think that he might have ventured into country music. Parker loved country music, especially Hank Williams, drawn as much by the stories as anything. In this respect, Ballyclare bassist Jack Kelly has something in common with Parker. His country-inspired quartet Honkatonktet ...
read moreQueer Blues: The Hidden Figures Of Early Blues Music
by Ian Patterson
Queer Blues: The Hidden Figures Of Early Blues Music Darryl W. Bullock 352 Pages ISBN: 978-1-9131-7252-7 Omnibus Press 2023 The blues is ripe with legends and myths, not least the oft-touted claim that W.C. Handy was the father of the blues. But as Darryl. W. Bullock tells it, there is an important tract of blues history that has not got its due. Until now. In his telling, many of the blues pioneers were ...
read moreDoes Jazz History Weigh Too Heavily on Today’s Practitioners?
by Ian Patterson
It is no outlandish claim to say that jazz is obsessed with its past--just look at the number of tribute albums, songs and concerts inspired by the music's forbearers, or at the never-ending stream of historical reissues. For many jazz musicians, navigating jazz means honoring the music's “ancestors" and playing “in the tradition." Jazz education programs generally look to the past to instruct their students. Reviewers of albums by contemporary jazz musicians, almost without exception, make ...
read moreWhat Is Your Favorite Jazz Interpretation Of The Beatles?
by Ian Patterson
When The Beatles landed at John F. Kennedy Airport on February 7, 1964, they were greeted by around three thousand fans. Two days later, when The Fab Four performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, the television audience topped 70 million. Popular music was never the same again. It was not long before jazz musicians followed the lead of countless pop acts in covering The Beatles' songs. The list is an incredibly long one and, some sixty years later, ...
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 17
