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Editorial: Practice What You Preach! Mark Latimer: Unhinged? Definitely, pianist Mark Latimer explains why! Musician's Play List:Pianist, Gareth Williams picks his top ten favourite jazz albums. Iain Ballamy: Food and Anoraks, saxophonist Iain Ballamy reveals more. Trudy Kerr & Geoff Gascoyne: At Home With The Gascoyne?s. Young & Talented: A look at some of the budding young talent waiting to burst on to the jazz scene. New Releases: A look at some new releases scheduled for December. CD Reviews: Reviews of new releases by Tommy Smith, Norah Jones, Theo Travis, George Haslam & Paul Hession and more... Jazz Views Special Offers: Limited number of copies of 'The Right Vibes' by Bill Le Sage Trio and Trudy Kerr's sensational album 'My Old Flame'; plus two of Caber Music?s hottest new releases, ?Live At Henry?s? by the Brian Kellock Trio and Colin Steele?s ?Twilight Dreams? for just ?11.00 each! Competition: Three copies of ?Zeitgeist? up for grabs in our Christmas competition, courtesy of pianist Mark Latimer. Site Map: For a quick reference key in your search words to locate page references and links. Subscribe To Jazz Views Subscribe to Jazz Views to receive regular email updates.
I suppose if you climb upon a pedestal to make a statement then it can only be a matter of time before somebody knocks you off, but oh no, not me?I have to jump first! When I started Jazz Views, initially as an email Newsletter and then as the website, I was appalled (like every jazz fan) at the general lack of media interest and exposure given to the music, and was determined that the pieces featured in the Newsletter?s would aim to give maximum exposure to some of the excellent music that is currently being released under the jazz banner! Inevitably, you cannot like everything you listen to, but the intention is and was (and always should be) not to prejudge and make sure that everything is given a fair hearing. However, having said that, I recently found myself guilty of exactly that! Receiving an album, for review that appeared more that just a little out of the norm, by an Argentinean multi-instrumentalist who plays all the instruments you might find in a classical orchestra, in addition to quite a few more that you wouldn?t! I then committed, what with hindsight now seems to be the ultimate sin, of putting to one side ?for consideration at a later date?. It was then I realised that the ?putting to one side? was at once an act of prejudice and perhaps an unwillingness to deal with the unknown and something I might not have felt immediately comfortable with, and it is this very notion that stops a vast majority of people exploring music outside of the narrow confines of what is considered acceptable to receive airplay on our radio stations. To make matters worse, and to reinforce the point the album in question was a revelation! Unlike anything I had previously come across, not merely a juxtaposition of classical music and jazz, but with elements of Argentinean folk music and improvisation. The album in question? ?Orquestra Salvaje? by Jorge Szajko, released on the Slam label. To find out more check out this month?s CD Reviews. After eating a healthy slice of Humble Pie, I now feel refreshed and revitalised and eager to go out with open ears to discover new listening delights, and vow never again to commit the cardinal sin of pigeon-holing or dismissing without giving due consideration that is the right of any artist to expect of their audience. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish visitors to JAZZ VIEWS a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Keep swingin? Nick Top of Page
Interview by Nick Lea 
Mark Latimer is a phenomenally gifted pianist, equally at home in classical music and jazz and has built a reputation for touring and performing difficult works that are deemed almost unplayable! He made his orchestral debut at sixteen playing Prokofievs 2nd and Rachmaninovs 3rd piano concertos, and soon after began developing his credentials with gigs at the Pizza Express and Ronnie Scotts. Mark has played with top American players such as Benny Carter, George Coleman, Stan Getz, Slim Gaillard and Warren Vache, as well as with the cream of the current UK scene; and maintains a busy classical schedule and an interest in theatre, poetry and pop music. JAZZ VIEWS: There are many musicians that have an interest in both jazz and classical music, but very few that have such a command of both musical idioms as performers. How do you cope switching between two contrasting musical worlds? MARK LATIMER: Vis the subject of this classical/jazz thing I have to admit that it has always been incomprehensible to me that there is any kind of mystique appended to this kind of 'versatility' as music, whilst undeniably an abstract even abstruse art form/science, is still, in the final analysis a single language. Whilst the various musical disciplines may in themselves seem irreconcilably even diametrically opposed, they are really tantamount to little more than dialects within the overall genre. No-one seems in the least shocked by a linguist with an infallible command of several languages - this latter incidentally a phenomenon which leaves me limp with admiration. It is perhaps more an indictment of our society and its rabid and dogmatic desire for compartmentalisation that has led to surprise and even mistrust of a musician refusing to be imprisoned by such extraneous and manufactured sub-divisions. Much as I?m notoriously not big on purveying, either literally or metaphorically the wares of the authors of the ?American songbook?, I do subscribe to Cole Porter?s apposite summation, ?Don?t fence me in? - pigeon holes are principally the domain of pigeons. Maybe this is just a totally intrinsic situation - maybe it just is, but equally maybe rigorously institutionalised teaching with its tunnel vision and straight-jacketed stultification of the new and innovative is responsible for contributing to this cultural apartheid: it is incalculably less prevalent, even anathema elsewhere in the so-called civilised and cultured Western world. I can only say that personally I find no conflict whatsoever between the requirements of either musical avenue to the extent that a number of times it has been necessary for me to play both within a short space of time and frequently even within the parameters of the same concert, neither situation allowing time for any kind of an adjustment. JV: What about musical influences, I understand that as a youngster discovered jazz first? ML: Certainly 'jazz' was my first musical access but as far as influences - that is in the common musical parlance and vernacular usage of the word as something or someone who exerts an indelible impression or path to be slavishly followed and adhered to both in a stylistic and musical sense - I can in all honesty admit to absolutely none whatsoever. As an illustration of this, I read a review some time ago of a recording I'd made which made the unequivocal claim that I had been 'influenced' by Ahmad Jamal. Now I have nothing at all against the great man Jamal, but as I have not ever listened to him this would seem to me to militate against his being an 'influence' on me! In fact I have to admit that I find this whole business of ?influences? ridiculous. The idea that it is an imperative that a sax player for example has to sound like an aural photocopy of Parker, Hawkins, Young, Coltrane, Brecker, Redman in order to be taken seriously or to find a market or an audience says more about the market and the audience and strikes me as ludicrously incongruous and the very antithesis of the raison d?etre of this kind of music. More often than not however these days, the main reason piano player X sounds indistinguishable from Bill Evans or Oscar Peterson et. al., (or to cite more trendy examples, Brad Mehldau and Keith Jarrett although to my ears the former sounds as though he has been ?influenced? by the latter and is himself also an alumni of one of the establishments I am about to speak of) is precisely because they have been inculcated so to do by one of these jazz schools/colleges/academies summer schools/lycees/ecoles/summer courses that are proliferate on virtually every street corner. My views on the subject of so-called jazz education are apparently so well known as to have been vilified in some quarters but I continue to maintain that, in the exactly same way you can?t TEACH someone to breathe and you can?t TEACH someone to like broccoli or hate Ginger Rogers, so you can?t TEACH someone how to play this music. Sure, you CAN teach imitation and mimicry and how to end up as, at best, a low alcohol substitute for the imitated original but you also CAN?T teach the necessary imagination to find a genuinely individual voice. Much has been made recently of these marvellous seats of learning beautifully condensing ten years into three; this rationale completely misses the point that those are the most important and formative ten years. It seems that this particular tired old justification, or excuse for the existence of these courses is wildly erroneous as most of them are only in existence to keep ?practising professional? jazz musicians in paid work and off the dole queues. I read somewhere recently another paroxysmally hilarious justification inasmuch as these emporia ?spoon-feed? the student; in fact, in common with all the rest of the recent corporate vogue for dumbing-down, they force-feed bite-sized, liquidised, easily digested bits and pieces of that-which-is-to-be idolised upon the student: altogether the all to easy and soft tutorial option. Another reason for specifically this country?s pathological and obsessional preoccupation with influences? is that it has become almost unavoidable in a field so virulently overrun with inevitable standard after standard after standard after standard played exactly the same way as the last time and exactly the same way as the next time and exactly the same way as their ?influences? played fifty years ago. In this respect, there is often a more improvised element in a current performance of a Bartok string quartet. JV: Let?s talk about some of your recordings. ?Zeitgeist?, for example is totally improvised with no preconceived rhythmic or harmonic framework, an approach that is almost alien to the classical genre. How did you approach the recording of that album, and the preparation of the piano itself? ML: As I mention in the annotation I wrote to accompany 'Zeitgeist', the entire undertaking was preceded by little more than a few scant hours notice and as a direct consequence of this extreme haste, there was genuinely no premeditation to any aspect of this particular CD up to and including any of the 'preparation' of the instrument. I simply turned up at the hall with no preconceptions whatsoever and discovered by complete chance and serendipity those miscellaneous items that subsequently found themselves on the disc. To pick up momentarily on the idea that improvisation is alien to the classical world, there is a not inconsiderable number of 'classical' practitioners, especially organists who are extraordinarily consummate improvisers and who, for whatever reason, would emphatically not classify themselves as 'jazzers'. It is, however probably expedient not to dwell too long on this paradox though as it opens up all sorts of philosophical, existential and semantic questions, a number of them very hoary indeed, as to what constitutes jazz and the whole meaning of jazz. JV: The two releases on Spotlite Jazz are more firmly in the jazz tradition, although completely different in approach. ?Take #1?, from 1998, is a quiet yet intense examination of some jazz standards; whilst the recent album ?Unhinged Take #2? has more original compositions along with some classical references and comes across a much more upfront. Was this a conscious decision on your behalf?  ML: I suppose the only completely and candidly accurate answer to this is yes and no. Music, especially the recording element is emphatically still a business and with the best will in the world, it is almost an impossibility to completely ignore market forces and other such commercial exigencies and often one will disregard them at one's own peril. It is foolhardy for anyone to expect any record company to completely indulge every whim of those who they record. Therefore this disparity between the two records you mention was conscious and intentional since the earlier 1998 CD was my first for Spotlite and I could not at that juncture have expected to be able to get away with some of the more 'out' material that found its way onto the more recent disc. By nature I am no more enamoured with compromise than I am with compartmentalisation and so consequently anything that may be perceived as classical music is not there for any more gimmicky purpose than my more recent explorations of the indie pop and world music genres. In spite of the aforementioned comments on standards, I have nothing against them per se just how one is expected to approach them. The sheer weight of history on the shoulders of this repertoire leads yet further to the polarisation of jazz and the audience for it. Most of these tunes are now so authentically antiquated that they are nearer to ?classical? music and are so knee deep in ?definitive? performances that the architypal ?jazz? audience expects their ?comfort zone? of familiarity. Recently and ironically apocryphally, I have been throwing into an otherwise completely ?free-improvised? environment things such as deconstructed versions of Jerome Kern?s ?All the things you are? - but with one major difference here - Kern?s structure is totally incidental and the main concern in this design is the total metamorphosis of Charlie Parker?s overused intro - overused almost to the point of it becoming a pastiche of itself. We recently recorded it and in my humble opinion it is fifteen glorious minutes of pure imaginative music and group interplay in which Kern comes and goes as the piece develops. Now to return to this familiarity issue and its perilous proximity to contempt, this degeneration can surely not represent good news for an art form which, although it should move forward on paper at least, cannot possibly move into the future whilst simultaneously mired in and intimidated by the past. Nobody has more respect or reverence for the achievements of the great men who preceded me but I?m damned if I would ever concern and thus paralyse myself with the fear that what I?m doing might not conform to the rules and strictures that they conformed to. I think it was Confucious who said ?seek not to follow in your master?s footsteps - seek what he sought?. JV: What about the future? What plans do you have to develop your jazz concept further, and do you have any plans to put together a permanent working band? ML: I am somewhat fortunate in that most of the venues I play afford me the luxury of being able to present pretty much what I like and perhaps even more remarkable than that is the fact that most of the audiences also seem to be becoming, mutatis mutandis more adventurous. Maybe this has something to do with the inexorable 'legitimisation' of jazz, its acceptance in the concert hall and conservatoire. Immediately prior to this interview I returned from Scandinavia where I had a couple of Festival engagements. I was not only flabbergasted by the astounding level of musicianship there but also by the uniquely astonishingly wide age range of the audiences. I briefly listened to a young girl singer there - alas I was at the time in a great rush - who was about seventeen and was without a shadow of a doubt the best ?jazz? singer I have ever heard. Amazingly she was singing ?But not for me? or something of that ilk but she was genuinely and unaffectedly fantastic, but equally amazingly she told me she was anxious to attend the ?jazz course? at the local University - go figure! There must be infinitely more genuine enthusiasm and inspirational pedagogics and less Fascism in the Norwegian musical education system if someone this ridiculously accomplished actually aspires to attend. The guys I was personally working with there were not only jaw-droppingly good but also unbelievably easy to work with and this is unquestionably a band which developed an instantaneous concept which I look forward immeasurably to developing. Over here in the UK I already have as near to a permanent working band as it's possible to get in this insanely impermanent business - the extraordinary Mario Castronari and Asaf Sirkis, both capable of holding their own with anyone. JV: Finally, when can we expect another recording from Mark Latimer, the jazz pianist? ML: As well as a fair number of ?classical? discs due out imminently, there is at least one other Spotlite CD currently already to go that will hopefully be out before too long and seems destined to be imaginatively entitled 'take 3' ! I?ve also recently contributed to a number of typically very interesting recording projects by John Williams and Don Rendell among others. There are also other 'live' CD projects, a good number of them 'in the can' and we hope also to have them out soon. You never know, there might even be an itsy-bitsy little standard on one of them!! For more info visit Mark?s Website and Spotlite Jazz. Top of Page
 Gareth Williams is rapidly establishing a reputation as one of the leading pianists in the UK. He has worked extensively with singer Claire Martin, and has also worked with many international jazz greats, including Art Farmer, George Coleman, Bud Shank, James Moody and Dave Liebman, plus top British musicians such as Martin Taylor, Martin Drew and Tim Garland. He has also recently been touring extensively both in Britain and abroad with the Scottish tenor player Tommy Smith. As bandleader, he formed the Gareth Williams Trio in 1995. The trio has worked regularly in Britain and has enjoyed several weeks in residence at The Ronnie Scott?s Club. Featuring Gareth on piano, guitar and vocals, Dave Green on double bass and Tristan Mailliot on drums, the trio has recently released their debut album ?Three? (see this month?s CD Reviews), recorded live at Ronnie Scott?s. The music presents both a fresh take on standards as well as original compositions, and draws on influences ranging from contemporary classical music to Welsh folk songs. Of his favourite jazz albums, Gareth has chosen (in no particular order!): 1. ?Belonging? ? Keith Jarrett (ECM 829115-2) Quite simply the best of Jarrett?s European Quartet. My favourite Garbarek album. 2. ?Crescent? - John Coltrane (Impulse! 051200-2) ?Crescent? is the perfect marriage of Coltrane?s modal intensity and his most thoughtful compositions. 3. ?Sorcerer? ? Miles Davis (Columbia CK 65680) There is so much that I could say about Miles, but this is the quintessential line-up for me - Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. 4. ?Affinity? ? Bill Evans & Toots Thielemans (Warner Bros 7599-27387-2) Because this album is absolutely drenched in melancholia. Check out Bill?s solo on ?Body and Soul? and reach for the pills. 5. ?Afro McJazz? ? Sandy Brown (EP) Heart-rending lyricism and beautiful melodies from this Scottish acoustic architect (and clarinettist) who died with a glass of whisky in his hand while watching Scotland?s Rugby Union side lose to England in the 1975 Calcutta Cup. NB ? The EP referred to is now probably a collectors item, but ?McJazz & Friends? is available on CD on Lake LACD58. 6. ?Crazy People Music? - Branford Marsalis The late Kenny Kirkland released just one album under his own name but was at his best with Branford and Jeff Watts. Kenny is quite simply the most swinging piano player of all time. 7. ?A Love Supreme? ? John Coltrane (Impulse! 051155-2) Like a chicken supreme with bones... One of the most powerful records ever released. 8. ?Standards Live? ? Keith Jarrett (ECM 827827-2) This captures Jarrett?s Standards Trio ? featuring Jack de Johnette and Gary Peacock ? at the height of its powers in a live setting. Jarrett?s solo on ?Too Young to go Steady? is perhaps his most lyrical ever. 9. ?The Bill Evans/Tony Bennett Album? (Original Jazz Classics OJC 439) Fantastic playing from Bill Evans when I think he least expected it. Bennett hits some breathtaking notes in ?When in Rome?.  10. ?Mexican Green? ? Tubby Hayes (unavailable on CD) If it weren?t for this album I wouldn?t ever have listened to the other nine. Amen! Check out Gareth's album 'Three', see December's CD Reviews . Top of Page
Interview by Nick Lea  Since his emergence on the UK scene in the early eighties, saxophonist Iain Ballamy has been featured in some high profile bands. A five year stint with the big band Loose Tubes, and then adding his distinctive saxophone playing to the first incarnation of Bill Bruford?s Earthworks not to mention his own band The Iains that was a firm favourite on the gig circuit. Never one to avoid the uncharted or adverse to taking the odd risk or two, Ballamy has always ensured that his music remains fresh and challenging. I took the opportunity to talk to Iain about the new Food release ?Veggie? and his plans for future projects on which his views were both enlightening and at times highly amusing. ?The Food album you could say is like a remix album really. I mean the last album we made, ?Organic & GM Food?, you could say I was the chef. In other words I produced it, and I made the necessary cuts and edits, and put the track sequence together. With the new album, we gave a lot of material to Helge Sten, the guy who produced it and who goes under the lovely trading name of ?Deathprod?, to do his thing. It?s like taking something you?ve created and giving it to someone else and relinquishing control to him or her to mix and produce the final product. It is not the easiest thing to do, to let go and say to somebody else ? Here you are, I?m not going to fight you, you do with it as you see fit.? It happens a lot in other types of music but not in jazz. Jazz musicians are normally control freaks, and of course with things being as they are usually if a musician starts an album he or she will almost inevitably end up doing everything themselves. It is not like doing something for a big record company who might appoint a producer and an engineer, and say ?this is the way it will be done?. Perhaps jazz is a little behind with this in some way.? An unusual way to present freely improvised music, although I don?t think that Food is particularly bound by any conventions or preconceptions anyway? ?No, perhaps not, but it seems natural to me. It only since I?ve been playing with Food that I?ve been playing improvised music, even though I?ve been playing solos and stuff. What I?ve done over the years is, I suppose like most jazz musicians, is improvise within a structure or format, such as a clearly defined song form or chord changes. When we make music with Food it?s very different. It?s literally a case of we talk about sound textures and ideas but we don?t have a box of tricks like for example, when you?ve got a clever tune and some fantastic licks together. I think the difference with the kind of improvised music we make together is the use of samples and technology in a very unslick way. In that I mean that it is not all programmed and sequenced, its much more sort of risky. The idea that we make music that is free but it?s not ugly. Sometimes it may be mysterious, but its not militant free jazz that sounds like a ?burning farmyard? as George Melly once said!? There is a very lyrical bent too much of the music, is this a conscious thing? ?Yeah, I think so. I think some of it is me trying to hang on to some of the things that I love within a band without a harmony instrument. Arve Henriksen is an absolutely amazing musician. I would probably say that the three musicians that have most inspired and excited me in my life have been Django Bates, Hermeto Pascoal and Arve. He?s such a fantastic singer, and he?s got an amazing sense of what to do, and when to do it.? I mentioned to Iain that to my ears the new ?remixed? Food placed a stronger emphasis on electronic textures as opposed to the interaction and interplay of the acoustic instruments. ?Absolutely, and that was how Helge Sten heard the music. The thing is you get criticised whatever you do. If you do a live album like our first release, which wasn?t supposed to be an album at all, but came out sounding so good we thought ?Wow, let?s release it!? And when you have made that decision to release it, people then think you should follow it with a studio album. In actual fact our second release ?Organic & GM Food? is a 70/30 split between studio and live material. May be its not such a good idea to give to much information, let people judge the music on its own merit without any preconceptions! The new album has very much an ambient, electronic and conceptual feel to it. Handing it over to Helge as we did, we didn?t choose the order of the tunes, and there isn?t actually that much saxophone on there. That was the producer?s choice, and you have to accept that. If you read what Miles Davis said about producer Teo Macero, he calls him all the names you can think of, but we regard them as great records. Miles might have hated the fact that there are bits edited together but 99% of the people who listen to them probably don?t even think about the edits that went to make the completed album. It?s all about trusting somebody to do a good job.? 
We talked at some length about the way the jazz scene has seen fashions and trends come and go in recent years, and how the things have changed for the artists themselves. A point that Iain was a pains to point out that there doesn?t always seem to be a lot of support for some of our creative artists. ?Having worked with these musicians from Norway it really makes you realise what poor cousins we really are here in Britain. There is a distinct lack of recognition for jazz and its practitioners in this country. In Norway, for example, the musicians are very well supported by the various Arts and Cultural organisations, and there is funding in place for all the arts, not just music. An artist can apply for funding to enable them to study or work on an aspect of their craft, or even concentrate on a particular project; and they will receive a reasonable sum of money that will in effect buy them time to concentrate on this work in progress without having to worry about where the next gig is coming from. This is something almost unheard of in Britain. Everybody is saying how hip Norwegian jazz is, and they?re right. They have a vibrant and creative jazz scene. And so do we, but the musicians here don?t receive the help and support that is available elsewhere. I don?t wish to sound negative, and I love what I do, but I do have a burning anger inside when you hear that Opera for example, has allocated something like ?18million a year and jazz ?186k. It just doesn?t stack up for me. Again, don?t get me wrong, I love Opera and enjoy many different types of music but the jazz scene in this country relies so much on the people who love the music so much that they are willing to invest their own time and money. The offshoot of all this is that I teach at the Royal academy of Music and also at Trinity College, and I?ve got some very talented students but I just wonder what they?re going to do, and where the opportunities for them to play will be. I do feel that the opportunity was missed to form a central organisation for the music, and now as a result of this what little funding there is seems to come from many diverse sources.? When talking about the changes and shift of emphasis in the fortunes of jazz over the last 15 or 20 years, Iain raised the point that he thought it must be very difficult for musicians who are just about to start their playing careers. ?I was very fortunate I think to have started my career at the time when there was a fashionable interesting jazz during the 1980?s. The climate at that time certainly allowed the big band Loose Tubes to exist for a few years, and this was very much where I served my apprenticeship. But over the years the climate has changed a lot. Musicians nowadays certainly need to be more aware of about how the industry as a whole works; how to be more corporate almost about how they present themselves. And as musicians we?re not always very good at that! The bass player, Lawrence Cottle, told me a great story as an example of how musicians and bureaucracy don?t always see eye to eye. He was in America with a British player who was living out there and they went to the bank to withdraw some money. This guy filled in the form and gave it to the cashier. She took one look at it and said ?You haven?t filled in this correctly, you?ve put the date the wrong way round, and you?ve missed this bit out.? ?Oh give us a break?, this guy said ?I?m a musician. I mean, do you know the notes in a C7 chord?? ?C, E, G, B flat? she said, and passed the form back!! So I suppose there?s no excuse, you have to be like a tiny one-person business doing the job of about fifteen people. I?m sure that if you?re a successful classical musician like Evelyn Glennie, you?ve got an office full of people taking care of the business side so she can concentrate on being a musician.? And what about future projects? ?Well my last few recordings have been quite different from my earlier albums, especially my involvement with Food which has been a big departure. Yeah, maybe it would be nice to play some more straight ahead jazz, and that is something that I?m currently working on. I always really loved that Cedar Walton had with George Coleman on tenor and Billy Higgins (d) and Sam Jones (b). What a great band! That tune of Cedar?s, ?Bolivia? was the one that actually started me off wanting to be a saxophone player, so it has a kind of special meaning for me. I?ve always liked that record, perhaps because it didn?t sound like post-Coltrane. It had that light sort of feel, and a nice contrast with Sam Jones being quite pushy on bass and Billy Higgins being smack in the middle. And Cedar Walton?s tunes were great, with those vamps, but not the heavy modal type thing that was so popular at the time. That?s always been in the back of my mind, to make a ?jazzy? record (if that?s not a daft thing to say), and I?ve got this new band together with Gareth Williams (an unbelievable pianist, absolutely fantastic), Orlando le Fleming on bass and Martin France on drums who I?ve been playing with for years. The bands called ?Anorak? and it?s a kind of affectionate celebration of the way the scene is over here, funded and supported by anoraks (thank God for that, or we?d be dead in the water!), but it is very much how the British jazz scene is perceived.? So a it?s back to your roots? ?In a way it is. I?ve written all the for it, but its not supposed to be in a particular genre or anything like that, but I want it to be a jazzy thing. I thought it was straight ahead, but the critic Jack Masserak heard the band and said to me ?You call that straight ahead?!? The other thing about the band is that I decided to write one tune in every style, and every tune has two titles. I wrote a tune called ?The One? which is a blues with a weird sort of spiral head, and so the Anorak title is ?The Blues?, and so it goes on. You have ?The Blues?, ?The Bossa?, ?The Ballad?, ?The Old Chestnut?, ?The Latin Number?; and of course they have proper titles as well. One of the tunes is called ?Re Cedar Walton?; as trombonist Ashley Slater said ?What do you call a bald pianist? Answer ?ReCedar Walton!? I?m really looking forward to getting out there with the band and developing these tunes live, and maybe do a recording.? Upon concluding this interview with Iain, and pondering some of the points he?d made, I noticed it was raining outside. Without giving it a second thought I slipped on my anorak? For further info check out Iain?s Website. To buy Iain's CDs visit  Top of Page
Interview by Nick Lea  Trudy Kerr and Geoff Gascoyne are another in a rapidly increasing line of husband and wife pairings making an impact on the UK, and indeed international jazz scene. Both record for the Jazzizit label, with each having notched up several well-received albums in recent years, with Geoff having concluded his four CD series each focussing on a different season as the underlying theme with ?Songs Of The Summer? being released earlier this year; and Trudy releasing a highly personalised and affectionate tribute to trumpeter/singer, Chet Baker, ?My Old Flame? (see CD Reviews, and alsoJazz Views Special Offers). Having celebrated the arrival of their baby daughter, Ruby, in May of this year it was indeed my good fortune when Trudy agreed to supply the Musician?s Playlist for November?s Newsletter, and the seeds were sown for this interview with the proud parents. JAZZ VIEWS: Perhaps we should start at the beginning and work forward. Music seems to been an important part of both your lives from the start. Trudy, ladies first, has singing always been your first love and how did you get started? TK: Yes I always wanted to be singer since 5 years old. I used to stand on a chair and sing to anyone who would listen. My repertoire then included ?Kum By yah? and ?Two Little Boys?. My first professional singing gig was aged 17, in a restaurant 7 nights a week for 2 years. JV: Do you find singing jazz a natural and intuitive thing for you to do, or have you studied formally? TK: I began as a pop singer so jazz singing is still work in progress.  JV: What about you Geoff, I believe that the piano was your first instrument and the bass came later on? GG: Yes that?s right, I studied Classical Piano from the age of 6 to about 15 passing all my Graded Exams and then at school I joined a Punk band that needed an electric bass player. Regrettably I never touched the piano again for 10 years but now I use the piano all the time for composing and arranging. JV: Like many jazz musicians you also have a love of the visual arts. I know you studied painting seriously for a while at St Martins School of Art, but I guess music was the stronger calling? GG: I always painted as well as playing music. In my last year of my degree course at St Martins I was offered a retainer with a pop band and found myself too busy to stay in college. It was a relief when I left because I could finally concentrate on my music and not feel that I was caught between the two. Recently I have started painting again and really enjoying it without the pressure of school. JV: You?ve both had diverse and varied playing experiences throughout you careers, being involved in different areas of music, but Trudy, you now seem firmly committed to jazz as your natural means of expression. TK: Yes that?s right a few years ago I heard John Coltrane?s classic album ?Blue Trane? and I knew there was no going back. JV: And what about influences? TK: Vocalists include Norma Winstone, Chet Baker, Cassandra Wilson, Sarah Vaughan and our own Georgie Fame. JV: Geoff, I know you had a long collaboration with the group Everything But The Girl and an ongoing association with the opera star Willard White. How do you view the differences in approach these seemingly diverse musical idioms? GG: I love lots of different types of music. Working with EBTG I learned a lot about discipline through touring and playing the same music every night, I learned about the subtleties and detail required to make good music. I have applied my knowledge to many other playing situations ever since, there is so much more to being a great musician that just playing the notes. So many musical styles cross over in the work I do, there is a lot of improvising when I play Paul Robeson music with Willard White and a lot of discipline when I play jazz with Georgie Fame. JV: You both have an impressive discography on the Jazzizit label, and with the ?Songs of the Summer? album the musical journey through the four seasons is complete. How do you feel the music has developed from one album to the next? GG: My musical outlook has changed. On my first CD in 1995 I wanted to do too many things musically, and consequently the results were slightly muddled and un-focused. The period leading up to the recording of my 3rd CD, ?Autumn? was a great learning experience for me, I composed a lot of music at that time for the same musicians, which was in-valuable and the results were much more focused. I have grown so much as a musician; I think that my compositional and arranging skills are much more developed now. JV: And what about future projects? Quite rightly you have picked up plaudits for your arranging skills, is this something that you are looking to develop further?a big band album, may be? GG: I am writing and rehearsing new music at the moment for my new group, called ?Freebop? with guitar, alto sax, drums and bass. We play Ronnie Scotts? in April. I am trying to fuse bebop, (my first jazz inspiration), with more free jazz. But I also love taking the great standards and coming up with new arrangements and hope that I continue to be asked to arrange for other groups and singers. I did arrange a big band for Georgie Fame once and would love to do more of it, I just need the time and the money to do it. JV: Trudy, your albums show a deep respect and understanding for the American popular song, and your recent tribute to Chet Baker is an interesting take on the ?songbook? approach. Do you have any other musical heroes or heroines that you wish to remember in a similar way, or do you have the urge to write your own material? TK: Well I have been writing ?Vocalese?s? (lyrics to instrumental solos) recently, who knows that might lead to more compositions, however I never tire of singing standards. For my next album I am thinking of another Chet Baker tribute, perhaps all Chet?s ballads. JV: And finally, who rules the hi-fi in the household?! Do you find you share similar tastes in what gets played around the house, or is it a case of first one through the door? TK: Mostly Geoff. If its singerless we're OK, I like what Geoff listens too. Geoff is not a lover of female vocalist either, so if I'm in mid stream listening to Sarah Vaughan, she doesn't usually make it to the last track! GG: I prefer male singers on the whole, (Frank, Nat and Harry mainly.) TK: Shame he's married a female singer!   For further info check out Geoff and Trudy?s websites at www.geoffgascoyne.com and www.trudykerr.com. Top of Page
 If jazz is to thrive long into the 21st Century then the music must continue to encourage the younger generation not just to listen to the music but also actively encourage them that jazz is not just good to listen to but is a valid means of expression for all budding young musicians. It is therefore heartening to hear of young talent flourishing throughout the UK; after all these are the very people we will be looking to provide us with live jazz and recordings in years to come. It is very easy for us to forget that the jazz scene is not just made up of the musicians that we all enjoy going to hear live at our local jazz club, but also the people behind the scenes that run the clubs, promoters, independent labels and the enthusiasts who put countless hours into keeping the art form alive. By the same token there are a lot of dedicated (and talented) people who dedicate much time and effort (along with boundless encouragement) in teaching music, passing on their knowledge and experience to eager students. One such person is saxophonist and teacher, Peter Scaddan, who with his colleagues runs the Music Studio in Abergavenny in South Wales. Peter is a self taught musician ?because when I was learning to play there very few teachers in our area?, and feels that there is a need not just for music tutors but also for somewhere for the students to play in group situations, learning to interact with fellow musicians. One of Peter?s students is fifteen year old Martha Skilton, a remarkably proficient alto saxophonist, who also doubles on soprano and flute. Martha started out playing piano at an early age, and has passed many of her graded examinations on this instrument. At eight years old she took up the saxophone and started taking lessons with Peter. He is now, quite rightly proud of his young prodigy, and recently organized her first ?solo? gig, hiring a professional rhythm section to accompany her. It was then much to our delight that JAZZ VIEWS received this review of the concert, and the opportunity to profile a promising young jazz talent:
Review by Sarah Fowler Photo by Paul Dunleavey ?The Cripple Creek, Raglan was bursting at the seams last Sunday (17 November) to witness the ?maiden voyage? of The Peter Scaddan & Martha Skilton Quintet. For the first time ever, teacher and well respected Saxophonist Peter Scaddan teamed up with pupil, 15 year old Martha Skilton to put on what can only be described as a highly entertaining and successful debut performance. You could be forgiven for assuming that both teacher and pupil would have similar styles of playing but this was not the case. The performance was as diverse as the set list; from the wonderfully harmonious ?Alone Together? to the modal flavour of ?Cantaloupe Island? both musicians brought forth their own dynamic styles on both the Soprano and Alto saxophones. Martha, who is more used to playing in jazz bands at such venues as Brecon Jazz Festival and St David?s Hall, Cardiff, seemed equally at home in a more personal setting such as this. Solo?s were gutsy, vibrant and inventive and showed a maturity of playing that one would not expect from one so young. After delighting the crowd with such energetic numbers as ?St. Thomas?, ?Now?s the Time? and ?Mr P.C.?, and witnessing some astounding improvisation from both musicians particularly on my personal favourite ?Loverman?, the highlight of the evening had to be Parker?s ?Bloomdido?. This was Martha?s solo feature for the evening when she launched into Bird?s rhythmically complex lines, playing both the ?Head? and three choruses note for note completely from memory, then following it up with three choruses of her own!! It was obvious to all that a lot of hard work and preparation had gone into this performance, and supported by a strong rhythm section, pianist Brian Waite, Erika Lyons on Bass and John Gibbon on Drums, the whole evening was a great success. I hope that Martha will continue to headline along with her mentor Peter Scaddan. This will not only enable her to progress even further with her playing, but also to gain more experience regarding the performance aspect of a gig which is just as important, especially when you have the added responsibility of being the ?main attraction?.? If you have any ?Young And Talented? musicians in your area, aged 17 or under, then we want to hear about them. Email JAZZ VIEWS with details to nick@jazzviews.co.uk Top of Page
The following releases are scheduled for early December- JUNE CHRISTY - COOL CHRISTY (Proper Records PVCD112) This 49 track survey of June Christy's career concentrates on two early phases, her first stint with Stan Kenton and her early solo sides, on which we meet a singer who tried many things and took numerous chances on her way to becoming one of the great jazz voices of the mid-20th century. She is accompanied by the cream of the 1940's jazz scene including the likes of Shelly Manne, Barney Kessel, Kai Winding, Art Pepper and of course Kenton himself. OSCAR PETERSON - GENESIS (Proper RecordsPVCD113) Oscar Peterson's virtuosity makes him stand apart from the large majority of jazz pianists, who obtain their results in spite of generally quite uneven keyboard accomplishment. Peterson's virtuosity, his awesome technical skills combined with his basic rhythmic power and his inexhaustible stamina made him into the most frequently recorded and most popular jazz pianists of the second half of the 20th century. Peterson's formative years are covered on this 51 track 2 CD set. THELONIOUS MONK - CRISS CROSS (Proper RecordsPVCD114) The most important jazz composer without doubt was Duke Ellington, but not far behind the Duke was Thelonious Monk. Monk, quite rightly so, has always been looked upon as a non-conformist, yet the tunes he wrote since the 1940's were played by a wide range of musicians of the day, from Cootie Williams, via Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie to Miles Davis. 31 tracks dating from 1941-51 are presented on this 2 CD set and Monk is supported by the likes of Coleman Hawkins, Art Blakey, Charlie Christian and Milt Jackson. LUCKY MILLINDER & HIS ORCHESTRA - APOLLO JUMP (PVCD115) Lucky Millinder could not read music, nor could he play any instrument, he was not the only bandleader with little musical knowledge, Cab Calloway waved a baton in front of a band, jumped around and maybe sang a song. Yet Lucky Millinder was a catalyst who could bring out the very best in the many musicians he employed, who were an impressive range of top-notch instrumentalists and singers. This 48 track career overview features the cream of Millinder's repertoire. TED HEATH & HIS MUSIC - BIG BEN BOUNCE (PVCD116) Ted Heath created one of the best big bands of the post war years anywhere, a non-American big band that successfully mixed elements of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Les Brown and Woody Herman, a band that could withstand comparison with its illustrious American counterparts. Ted Heath and his Music became an institution. Our celebration of this man comprises of 51 tracks over 2 CD's with a 16 page booklet containing session detail and Heath's story. JOE LIGGINS & HIS HONEYDRIPPERS - THE SHUFFLE BOOGIE KING (PVCD117) The city of Los Angeles was probably the main centre of the Rhythm and Blues explosion during the mid-1940's and one of the main pioneers of the genre was Joe Liggins, an artist who recorded countless sides for the major Californian R & B labels, and sold millions of records during those heady, immediate post World War II years. This 50 tracker illustrates what a pivotal figure Liggins was during the 40's and early 50's with sides he cut for Exclusive and Specialty. BEN WATERS ? SHAKIN? IN THE MAKIN? (JAZZIZIT JITCD0230) Pianist Ben waters is one of the best boogie pianists this country has produced. This new album features brand new material from Waters and the band as well as drawing on classic R&B material. Jools Holland makes a guest appearance on one track (which he also co-wrote), and the energy that emerges from Ben and the band is truly infectious. JIM MULLEN ? SOMEWHERE IN THE HILLS (HEPCD2085) Jim Mullen has been at the top of the jazz guitar lists for nearly four decades ? from his work with the Average White Band and Morrisey-Mullen to more straight ahead jazz projects. This new release features Mullen in a quartet with Gareth Williams (p), Mick Hutton (b) and Gary Husband (d) in a set of standards and a new Mullen original. DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET ? JAZZ AT THE COLLEGE OF THE PACIFIC: VOLUME 2 (OJCCD10762) Previously unreleased performances from 1953 capturing pianist Brubeck at the beginning of one the most illustrious careers in American music. Featuring Paul Desmond on alto. BILL EVANS TRIO - CONSECRATION (MILESTONE 8MCD44362) This 8CD box set features the final recordings by pianist Bill Evans captured live at the Keystone Korner, San Francisco. Recorded August 31 to September 7, 1980 with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. Bill Evans died September 15, 1980. LEE KONITZ & WARNE MARSH ? LONDON CONCERT (WAVECD16) Saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, bassist Peter Ind and drummer Al Levitt first worked together as members of pianist Lennie tristano?s groups in the late 1940?s and early 1950?s. In 1976 they were reunited in London for this memorable concert which is now being released for the first time on CD. RED GARLAND ? STRETCHING OUT (PRESTIGE PRCD24722) Reissue of two dates (?Satin Doll? and ?Lil Darlin?) from Red Garland who was one of the most popular and influential pianists of the late 1950?s and early 60?s thanks to his affiliation with the first great Miles Davis Quintet, and his own trio recordings. BRIAN SHAW ? A NIGHT AT THE VORTEX JAZ BAR (33JAZZ 076) Jazz vocalist Brian Shaw has been organising ?vocals@vortex?, a special night at the Vortex Jazz Club in London, since July 2001. This platform has enabled him to develop as a singer and songwriter, and his debut CD features him performing 10 of his own compositions. JAMES CHADWICK ? UNDERCURRENT (33JAZZ 074) James Chadwick is a highly respected guitarist on the UK and European jazz scene, mostly featuring in other musicians groups. A former student of John Paricelli and Dave Cliff, Chadwick?s debut album features a trio and quartet playing his own intimate contemporary compositions. ALSO: ROSEMARY CLOONEY ? THE LAST CONCERT (CONCORD CCD21662) RAY BROWN ? THE BEST OF THE CONCORD YEARS (CONCORD 2CD CCD221642) PONCHO SANCHEZ ? ULTIMATE LATIN JAZZ PARTY (CONCORD PICANTE 2CD CCD221532) ART TATUM - THE TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES: VOL 2 (PABLO CD2405452) ART TATUM - THE TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES: VOL 3 (PABLO CD2405462) ART TATUM - THE TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES: VOL 4 (PABLO CD2405472) ART TATUM - THE TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES: VOL 5 (PABLO CD2405482) ART TATUM - THE TATUM GROUP MASTERPIECES: VOL 6 (PABLO CD2405492) News from Provocateur Records is that saxophonist, Andy Sheppard, will be back in the recording studio putting together an album due for release early next year, in collaboration with guitarist, John Parricelli. Also this enterprising label has announced a forthcoming album from one of the UK?s leading vocalist, Norma Winstone, and will feature arrangements by Mike Gibbs. As previously reported singer/songwriter, Christine Tobin, has recorded a new album for the Babel label which is due for release in March. Watch this space! Top of Page
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