STARS ON THE WATER

I am in fact aware of a strange contradiction in my attitude to all this discussion of what is best, what is favourite and who wrote what. My view on all this might be best summed up by something Hugh Moffatt (I think) once said to me in an interview, that ´we must intend what we write for live years of travel´, and when we have done so , according to Roland Barthesian theory, the author ´dies´ and the song belongs instead to the people.

a year of MANCHESTER FESTIVALS

19th-28th May 2023 will see Manchester Jazz Festival take place at venues and sites across Manchester, including weekday gigs at St Ann’s Church, nightly gigs at Matt & Phreds, events at Forsyth Music Shop and at The Yard with partners NQ Jazz, and close with an extended weekend-long party at Band on the Wall. In fact according to today´s headline on their web site, MANCHESTER JAZZ FESTIVAL WILL BRING ‘THE SOUND OF SURPRISE’ TO THE CITY IN MAY.

CONTEMPORARY & TRADITIONAL AS ONE

Those folkies who believed the past is another country could never get along with those in the other half of the folk clubs who believed that tradition must be preserved at all costs by repelling all boarders (or borders).

ENGLISH FOLK EXPO PARTNERSHIP SHOWCASES 2023

It is obvious how much professionalism and organisation has been brought to the UK folk scene by EFE, and how they have created a productive and cost efficient environment, that enable artists to better focus on their artistic skills so that their song-writing and playing flourishes.

JAZZ CONNECTIONS: Criminality

For the first half of the twentieth century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed.

BEN FOLDS: found, ´lost´ and found again

Folds has also written scores for classic animated movies such as Hoodwinked! and Over the Hedge. The jack-of-all-trades in music has brought a refreshing sound to the world of singer/songwriters. It helps to know how to play the piano, bass and drums when making some of the best songs of the 21st century.

JAZZ NEWS FROM THE USA

Today we give a loud shout-out to the jazz Grammy award nominees and winners of 2023, we mourn the passing of Wayne Shorter and we share recommendations from jazziz about new record releaes and upcoming jazz gigs. We alo point you to the official web site of a lady causing quite a stir and who looks certain to take her place among the jazz greats.
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ART ALL AROUND

Ángeles Portana (left) was born to be an artist. Like a tree, she grew up with roots within a family of great masters, whose works are in great museums such as the Prada Museum.Ángeles has participated in multiple exhibitions in Spain. She has achieved recognition of professional prestige, Gold Medal, Europe Forum 2001 in Madrid, and her works have sold in many countries U.S.A., France andGermany
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CHUCK BERRY duck-walks along our new bookshelf

While celebrating Chuck Berry´s accomplishments, the book also does not shy away from troubling aspects of his public and private life, asking profound questions about how and why we separate the art from the artist.

GUITAR GREAT GOES GENTLY

Beck rarely, if ever, used a pick. He’d strum with his thumb and index almost immortally, as if the heavens touched his hands in a way the rest of us will never experience. 50 years have passed and all of Beck’s creative ticks and tricks are still indescribable.