Jazz Articles about Jay Phelps

About Jay Phelps

Album Review

Alina Bzhezhinska & HipHarpCollective: Reflections

Read "Reflections" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
September 20, 2022

In an inspired piece of programming, London's Barbican Centre presented the then virtually unknown harpist Alina Bzhezhinska and her quartet as one of the support bands on its November 18, 2017 one-nighter A Concert for Alice and John, a show headlined by Pharoah Sanders. It would be an exaggeration to say Bzhezhinska stole the show (see “Pharoah Sanders" above), but she was sensational, offering up fresh readings of Alice Coltrane tunes and a few originals, accompanied by Tony Kofi on ...

Album Review

Xhosa Cole: K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us

Read "K(no)w Them, K(no)w Us" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
August 14, 2021

When tenor saxophonist Xhosa Cole won the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year prize in 2018, Britain was introduced to a young player with formidable technique and a solid grasp of the post-John Coltrane African American tradition. Cole was then little known outside Birmingham, his hometown in England's Midlands, and he had developed independently of London's alternative jazz scene. His classic as opposed to radical aesthetic brought a refreshing vibe. So too did that of saxophonist Alex Clarke, a ...

Live Review

Jay Phelps at the Harrow Arts Centre

by Barry Witherden
July 25, 2017

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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Live Review

Jay Phelps Big Band: Snape, UK, August 17, 2011

by Bruce Lindsay
August 26, 2011

Jay Phelps Big BandSnape MaltingsSnape, UKAugust 17, 2011 Trumpeter Jay Phelps, a native of Vancouver who moved to the UK in his teens, first came to the attention of the British jazz scene as a member of Tomorrow's Warriors. In his early 20s he co-founded Empirical, playing on that band's debut album Empirical (Destin-E Records, 2007) before leaving in 2008. He released his own first album, the bop-inspired Jay Walkin' (Specific Jazz) in 2010. A ...

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Album Review

Jay Phelps: Jay Walkin'

Read "Jay Walkin'" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
November 16, 2010

Canadian-born trumpeter Jay Phelps moved to the UK at the age of 17. Since his arrival Phelps has gathered much valuable experience with acts such as Dennis Rollins (who guests on Jay Walkin''s “10 Years"), Tomorrow's Warriors and the award-winning Empirical, before embarking on this debut recording as leader at the age of 28. It's paid off, for Jay Walkin' is confident, stylish and charming. Phelps has a great love of the jazz tradition and an enthusiasm ...

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Interview

Jay Phelps: Swing Is The New Avant-Garde

by Bruce Lindsay
November 16, 2010

At the age of 28, trumpeter Jay Phelps already has a broad range of musical experiences under his belt, including co-founding the award-winning jazz group Empirical. Releasing his debut album as a leader, Jay Walkin' (Specific Records, 2010), seems like a natural next step. But Phelps is clearly not a man to be rushed. The album title is not just a pun; it also reflects Phelps' considered and studious approach to his own personal musical development. He's a bright, engaging ...