London Calling

Ornette Coleman's Meltdown London June 12-21, 2009

Ever since it was announced in late March that Ornette Coleman was to curate the 2009 Meltdown festival at the South Bank, Coleman seemed to dominate the capital. The festival's trademark image (shown below) of a young Coleman soulfully eyeballing the camera was everywhere, on larger-than-life posters ...

Historically, the London jazz scene has played an important part in the growth of the music and its appreciation although most of that importance has to do with English performers and writers and less with jazz venues. For decades, when you went to London, you thought of only one club--Ronnie Scott's. And even though there are ...

Freedom of the City, the annual festival of radical and improvised music curated by Evan Parker, Eddie Prévost and Martin Davidson, returns over the May Bank holiday weekend, at the Red Rose club in Finsbury Park, north London. As in recent years, the music will be provided by an exciting mix of familiar favourites, lesser known ...

Now that autumn is here, the London Jazz Festival can't be far behind. This year, the LJF runs from Friday 10th November until Sunday 19th November. In those ten days, the festival will include its usual mix of jazz superstars and legends, rising stars, crowd pleasers, cult heroes, great freebies, plus--with nearly twenty gigs on some ...

Fond Farewells

Since London Calling last appeared, we have all been saddened by the deaths of Derek Bailey and Elton Dean. Both leave behind a huge legacy ... and a vast unfillable gap. Anyone who has ever experienced their music knows that they will not be forgotten.

Freedom of the City 2006

For lovers ...

May was a month of celebration across the capital, largely because of success on the football field. But there were also some notable musical highlights. Here is a précis of the month.

Sunday 1st: Red Rose Club

Freedom of the City Festival

For financial reasons, this year's festival was reduced to only one day and moved ...

Index Stan Tracey Interview Freedom of the City Festival 2005 Ornette Coleman at 75 New Vortex Opens in May

Often referred to as the Godfather of British jazz, Stan Tracey has had an illustrious career in music spanning over sixty years. Despite his status, Tracey is surprisingly modest, even self deprecating about his achievements, ...

The history of jazz in the UK is a fascinating but tortuous affair, involving factionalism, class conflict, rejuvenation from immigration, youth revolt, social upheaval, decline, survival and revival. Between now and mid-February, there is an ideal opportunity to embark on an intensive crash course in many aspects of jazz in the UK, both live and on ...

Happy Birthday, Kenny!

Very best wishes to Kenny Wheeler who will be 75 on 14th January. To celebrate, Kenny is touring with musicians who have played a special role in his musical life, including Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Norma Winstone and Lee Konitz. The concerts will culminate in a new big band work commissioned by BBC ...

Having overcome endless computer virus problems, London Calling is back. Here is a brief overview of some of the things that should have been covered this year.

January Its John Cage weekend confirmed the Barbican as the most adventurous and innovative concert venue in London. The highlight of the weekend was Musicircus, ...

I don't really know why he came halfway across the world to do it, but he did. Brian Wilson came to London and took over the Royal Festival Hall for a week to give us six live performances of one of the most famous albums never to have been released - the legendary SMiLE - prior ...

This Month: Kenny Wheeler Interview Ennio Morricone Turns 75 Wayne Shorter and more...

Although he was born in Canada, Kenny Wheeler has been in the UK for over fifty years now, so we feel like he is our own.

I initially asked Wheeler for this interview at a gig at The Vortex last summer, one of ...

Improvising harpist Rhodri Davies recently released his first solo album, Trem on Confront, the label run by his friend and frequent collaborator, Mark Wastell. The album marks a significant watershed in the career of Rhodri, who is one of the busier improvising musicians on the London scene. Not only does he improvise in several contrasting ensembles ...

Early in January, Philip Glass brought his Philip on Film series to The Barbican, one of the musical highlights of the year so far. During the course of that week, he gave two interviews that highlighted his working methods and his collaborations with filmmakers. As this month sees the DVD release of Naqoyqatsi - the third ...