I’ve arrived, sadly but inevitably, at that age where one keeps hearing that friends and former colleagues have passed on. Just a week or two ago, it was Tony Rayns; now, another person I encountered during my years at Time Out, and another terrific writer: Brian Case. (In many ways these two men could not … Continue reading Man of music (movies, and much more): in memoriam Brian Case (1937-2026)
Since I first came to live in London 40 years ago, there’s been a handful of American jazz favourites I’ve made a point of seeing on each and every occasion they’ve crossed the Atlantic to play a gig. It was certainly that way with both Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden, and it’s still the case … Continue reading Not in Their Names: Carla Bley and Liberation Music Orchestra in London
While I may have reservations about the sheer size of the London Jazz Festival, I long ago stopped asking myself whether this or that act can really be described as ‘jazz’. What matters for the individual in the audience, after all, is whether he or she enjoys the music, and the organisers’ highly inclusive approach … Continue reading Norwegian good: the Nils Økland Band in London
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 