Articles by Peter Jones
Various Artists: A New Awakening: Adventures in British Jazz 1966-1971
by Peter Jones
Throughout the 1950s (and beyond), modernist British jazz musicians were in thrall to the American bebop stars they had been trying to emulate since the late 1940s. It was the pinnacle to which they aspired, and gradually their efforts lifted the overall standard of UK jazz. But by the early 1960s, the international success of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Animals and many others was having unexpected effects. Not only was the British pop invasion ...
Continue ReadingThe Joy of Kissa
by Peter Jones
Just before a recent visit to Japan, essential reading arrived at home in the form of Philip Arneill's book Tokyo Jazz Joints (reviewed by Ian Patterson). Well, we all know that jazz is big in Japan, right? Certainly, jazz is a common backdrop to many everyday experiences in that country. You hear it in elevators, hotel lobbies, and department stores everywhere. And for the most part it isn't faux-jazz, smooth jazz, or easy listening: as you stroll across ...
Continue ReadingBuilding Back Jazz Brick by Brick in East London
by Peter Jones
Brick Lane Jazz Festival London April 26-28, 2024 The most innovative and thrilling jazz currently emerging from the UK is centred on a few grimy, narrow streets on the east side of London. The pioneering work that goes on in this elaborately-graffitied neighbourhood has, in recent years, contributed much to the creation of an identifiably “London" jazz sound, and the Brick Lane Jazz Festival was the place to hear it in all its glory.
Continue ReadingRob Luft: Burning the Candle at Both Ends
by Peter Jones
What kind of musician gets asked to write a concerto for a 65-piece orchestra--the BBC Concert Orchestra, no less--when still in his twenties, and when he has never previously written for an orchestra? Well, somehow or other, UK guitarist Rob Luft is that kind of musician. Writing for an orchestra is something he has always wanted to do, and the work receives its world premiere at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank on November 16th as ...
Continue ReadingSalvation through rhythm: Max Roach—The Drum Also Waltzes
by Peter Jones
Max Roach--The Drum Also Waltzes Directed by Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro PBS American Masters2023 Anyone who enjoyed the recent Wayne Shorter documentary Zero Gravity might also dig this--a more conventionally structured but equally fascinating look at the life of Max Roach. Filmmaker and interviewer Sam Pollard began making it in October 1987, then--for reasons which are not explained--left it alone for years before resuming again at some point after Roach's death in 2007.
Continue ReadingLeaving Planet Earth: Amazon's Wayne Shorter Documentary Zero Gravity
by Peter Jones
Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity Director: Dorsay Alavi 2023 Wayne Shorter was brought up in the belief that he could achieve anything he wanted to: there should be no barriers to his ambition. This three-part documentary--a true labor of love from director Dorsay Alavi--shows us that Shorter was far more than a musician. In the first part (or portal), we see Shorter and his brother Alan, portrayed in black and white by a pair of ...
Continue ReadingJosé James: Why The Female Of The Species Is Groovier Than The Male
by Peter Jones
Jazz singer José James considers Erykah Badu to be the Joni Mitchell of his generation, a woman who has constructed a world of her own in order to tell her own alternative story. To prove the point, earlier this year he released On & On (Rainbow Blonde), a whole album of Badu songs, which he has been performing on tour. This tribute to Badu's songwriting follows previous albums dedicated to Billie Holiday (Yesterday I Had the Blues, Blue Note, 2015) ...
Continue ReadingDonald Byrd: Donald Byrd Live: Cookin' With Blue Note at Montreux
by Peter Jones
What a treat it must have been in 1973 to attend the Montreux Jazz Festival: the featured artists that year included Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Chico Hamilton, Sam Rivers, Bobbi Humphrey, Dr John, Marlena Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson... and Donald Byrd with his Tentet, whose July 5 performance is captured on this album. It was also the year of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (Columbia Records) album, not to mention several Blaxploitation movie soundtracks, including J.J. Johnson's for Cleopatra Jones and ...
Continue ReadingGyedu-Blay Ambolley: Gyedu-Blay Ambolley & Hi-life Jazz
by Peter Jones
This is reportedly the 35th album from Ghanaian singer/rapper/tenor saxophonist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley. But although he has toured Europe and the US extensively, he remains relatively unknown in what we call “the West." It is a situation that ought to change, and if there was any justice in the world, this is the album that would do it. Ambolley is a leading modern exponent of high-life (or hi-life) jazz, a genre that grew out of the so-called “palm wine" ...
Continue ReadingChip Wickham: Cloud 10
by Peter Jones
Is it OK for music to be background? In other words, does all music have to be listened to with the same degree of concentration and freedom from distraction? It may be a moot question in these greatly distracted times. Here's another, related question: is the music you want on in the background necessarily inferior to the stuff you need to pay attention to? This new album from flutist/tenor saxophonist Chip Wickham is in the genre of spiritual ...
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