Articles by Barry Witherden
Steve Harris tribute at the Lighthouse Arts Centre
by Barry Witherden
Zaum, Jan Kopinksi and friends Lighthouse Arts Centre Poole, Dorset September 28, 2018 Steve Harris--educator, facilitator, composer and master drummer--was born on 16 August 1948 and died on 11 January 2008. For some years he lived in Dorset, contributing a great deal to the arts scene, especially in Poole. In his memory, the studio auditorium in the town's Lighthouse Arts Centre hosted a tribute to him, remembering particularly his contribution to Pinski ...
read moreAndy Hague Quintet at The Bronx Bar
by Barry Witherden
Andy Hague Quintet Bronx Bar and Restaurant Teignmouth, Devon June 7, 2018 After two exotic imports (Sur Ecoute from France and Duski from Wales) Teignmouth Jazz and Blues Club went relatively local for their latest booking... Bristol-based trumpeter Andy Hague. Hague fronts other groups, including medium-sized Afro-Cuban/salsa bands and Silverado, a sextet paying tribute to Horace Silver, but this gig featured his basic quintet, which brilliantly evokes the great days of Blue Note.
read moreDuski at the Bronx Bar
by Barry Witherden
Duski The Bronx Bar and Restaurant Teignmouth, Devon May 2, 2018 “Do you want happy or loud?" Aidan Thorne asked the audience calling for an encore. In the event the extra piece was both, as indeed were most of the numbers Duski played this night. The band hails from Wales, and their first number was “Flat Holm," referring to one of two islands in the Bristol Channel--Steep Holm is English, Flat Holm is ...
read moreSur Ecoute at The Bronx Bar & 'Cue
by Barry Witherden
Sur Ecoute The Bronx Bar & 'Cue Teignmouth, Devon February 17, 2018 Teignmouth, an archetypal English seaside resort on the south-east coast of Devon, has recently found itself in the spotlight thanks to The Mercy, James Marsh's film starring Colin Firth as disappeared lone-yachtsman Donald Crowhurst. However, it has other claims on the attention, not least an active jazz club that organises monthly gigs at The Bronx bar and restaurant, and a ...
read moreAfro Peruvian New Trends Orquestra with Corina Bartra: Uniting Beats (Ritmos Que Unen)
by Barry Witherden
Most of us are familiar with Afro-Cuban styles, which jazz has flirted with and sometimes wholly embraced since at least the 1940s. The Afro-Peruvian label is probably unknown to most, but Corina Bartra, the director of this project, has been working in this genre for decades, also encompassing various other Latin American traditions, including Brazilian. For some, small doses of Latin jazz may be sufficient--all that clattering percussion and ping-ponging congas and bongos can quickly pall. But Bartra gets the ...
read moreMike Osborne: Force Of Nature - Part 2-2
by Barry Witherden
Part 1 | Part 2 The passion and conviction of Osborne's playing was so intense that it almost always came across undiminished on recordings, whether they originated in a pub, club or concert-hall gig, or in a studio as part of a formal session. Some of his most exciting work was captured in front of an audience at the BBC's Maida Vale premises, a converted swimming-pool in West London, but it is pretty certain that the Corporation wiped ...
read moreMike Osborne: Force Of Nature - Part 1-2
by Barry Witherden
Part 1 | Part 2 Some three-and-a-half minutes into Release, the Deram recording of Mike Westbrook's seminal suite mixing Swing classics with Westbrook originals, after a scorching solo by John Surman on “The Few," an alto saxophone cadenza emerged from a free ensemble passage: the tone was penetrating, incisive, severe, the phrasing intense, passionate and ascetic, adding up to a remarkable, unsentimental romanticism. The alto player's following reading of the theme of “Lover Man" evoked the most affecting ...
read moreChicago / London Underground: A Night Walking Through Mirrors
by Barry Witherden
Rob Mazurek is a remarkable musician, with a rare breadth and depth of expression. Off-hand, the only artist I can think of who possesses a similar emotional profile is Wadada Leo Smith. Like Smith, Mazurek can sear your ears and nerves one minute and soothe your soul the next, without any sense of strain or contrivance in the transition. This capacity was displayed in an especially emotional way with his 2014 release Return the Tides: Ascension Suite and Holy Ghost ...
read moreJay Phelps at the Harrow Arts Centre
by Barry Witherden
Jay Phelps Harrow Arts Centre Hatch End, London July 7, 2017 Harrovians don't know what they're missing. The Harrow Arts Centre, tucked away in Hatch End off the teeming Uxbridge Road in London's north-western suburb, has an adventurous booking policy--most such enterprises seem unwilling to recognise any jazz other than trad or dinner-jazz--but whenever I have been there the audience has never exceeded 50. In an area that includes a large South ...
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