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33

John Kelly, musician, actor, performer

Read "John Kelly, musician, actor, performer" reviewed by Sammy Stein


John Kelly is a musician who, with his band 'Rockinpaddy' performs in pubs and clubs around the London area. He is also an actor, campaigner for disability rights and in grave danger of becoming something of a national treasure. He is a freelance performer with Graeae Theatre Company, has performed on major stages around the globe with artists including Herbie Flowers, The Blockheads and Linda Gale Lewis and is an active campaigner for disability rights. He has even been known ...

60

Jazz in the UK now

Read "Jazz in the UK now" reviewed by Sammy Stein


The jazz scene in the UK is buzzing at the moment. Clubs whose managers not so long ago were faced with the difficult decision whether to continue offering new sounds to a dwindling audience or turn themselves into a wine bar--offering small slices of live music to appease their consciences perhaps--are finding it was worth hanging in there. It seems free music has been saved--not by record companies wanting to pour in their millions but by the very nature of ...

14

Ian Dury: "More Than Fair" Art Exhibition

Read "Ian Dury: "More Than Fair" Art Exhibition" reviewed by Sammy Stein


By the time Ian Dury had his first major hit, he was 35 years old. With frightening speed he and his band became household names and Dury remained a national treasure until his death at the age of 57 in 2000.However, before the Kilburns, the Blockheads or the Music Students, before he was bewitched by the overpowering enchantment of fame, sex, drugs or rock and roll, Dury had a different life. He was an artist, a teacher and ...

16

The People Band with Gina Southgate at The Vortex

Read "The People Band with Gina Southgate at The Vortex" reviewed by Sammy Stein


Gina Southgate and The People Band The Vortex London, UK May 11, 2013 On a Saturday evening in the heart of Dalston, East London, The People Band once again graced The Vortex with its free form and improvised style of jazz. As the group played, artist Gina Southgate, with the help of a very computer-literate assistant, created live paintings which were projected on a screen behind the musicians. The collaboration created a visual ...

16

The People Band, London, UK, March, 2013

Read "The People Band, London, UK, March, 2013" reviewed by Sammy Stein


The People BandCafé OtoLondon, UKMarch 6, 2013Café Oto, Dalston, London was the setting for a performance by legendary free form group, The People Band. Formed in the 1960s and led by drummer Terry Day and pianist/multi-instrumentalist Mel Davis, the group has played on and off right through to the present day. The lineup for this gig included Day, drums and percussion; Davis, piano and keyboards; George Khan, saxophones and flute; Mike Figgis, ...

12

Street Music UK

Read "Street Music UK" reviewed by Sammy Stein


Late at night while walking recently through Covent Garden, London, I was stopped in my tracks by the sweetest voice I had heard in a long while. Signaling my friend, we set off to find the source.All we could see was a crowd of dancing people but we managed to squeeze in and found the source of the singing was a diminutive figure of a girl with blonde hair, a backing track playing on a CD player and ...

11

And So to Dotage - Not!

Read "And So to Dotage - Not!" reviewed by Sammy Stein


It is a funny thing but when you are young, you expect things to be short- lived and to fade almost as quickly as they become popular, like the crazes of deely boppers, leg warmers and clackers, which at the time, were must-haves. It was the same with music--the teenage idols in the '70s were The Bay City Rollers, Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, The Who and Queen. At the time, each craze enjoys a brief passion unless, like some ...

16

Jazz in a Changing World

Read "Jazz in a Changing World" reviewed by Sammy Stein


Jazz has influenced many other genres of music and, likewise, many other genres have influenced jazz from its very beginning. What is really exciting about the scene at the moment is just how much enrichment it is getting from the rest of the world. It works both ways, of course; jazz musicians from countries which have, until recently, had very small scenes are benefitting from warm receptions in established venues. Audiences are benefitting from having an increasingly diverse range of ...

11

Courtney Pine: Suffolk, UK, September 20, 2012

Read "Courtney Pine: Suffolk, UK, September 20, 2012" reviewed by Sammy Stein


Courtney PineSuffolk, UKSeptember 20, 2012Courtney Pine is not so much a musician as an experience. The event was the opening night of the Ipswich Music Festival and the venue was the grand hall of Ipswich High School-grander than most school halls granted but not the sort of venue Pine would normally be associated with. The last time I saw him in action was just over a year ago at Snape Music Festival, where he ...

13

The People Band and Vortex Outdoors– Vortex 22nd Sept 2012

Read "The People Band and Vortex Outdoors– Vortex 22nd Sept 2012" reviewed by Sammy Stein


The People BandVortex OutdoorThe VortexLondon, EnglandSeptember 22, 2012The Vortex Club in Dalston, north London, recently celebrated 25 years as a jazz venue. For a quarter of a century, first in Stoke Newington and later Dalston, The Vortex has offered jazz of all genres to the world. Major names, as well as those starting out, are given the chance to reach audiences from all over the UK and a look through ...


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