This was a solo show from Derek, with some help from Jacob. There were two themes to the show tonight. Firstly, tracks from jazz CD compilations including A Sense of Direction, African Spirits and the CD that comes with the current December/January edition of Jazzwise - The Yamaha New Jazz Sessions. I have only just received my copy, but from the first few samples that I have heard, I can tell you that it is definitely worth the cost of Jazzwise. I played the Gwilym Simcock tune A Typical Affair that mixes intricate piano with strong drumming – reminiscent of EST [Yes - adds Neil - a great track and a great example of the best of the new British jazz]. There was a brief introduction, also, to the long track by the Julian Joseph Trio at the end of the show.

The second feature was an intense five track extended feature on Japanese jazz. The brief for Jacob was to find me five tunes that he liked at the moment, but they still included some old favourites. The beginning of the mix was slower in tempo than we have come to associate with the genre, but by the end things were up tempo and hot. Japanese jazz as we have come to know and love it. Good, though, to have that time for calmer reflection at the start.

Tune in next week (4 December) for our Blue Note record exchange special with Alan Bramwell, who is currently presenting a series of programmes on ICR between 17.00 – 18.00 hrs on Monday nights. This series covers the story of Blue Note to celebrate the label’s 70th birthday. On 11 December we celebrate another 70th birthday - that of the pianist and jazz legend McCoy Tyner - which happens to be on that very day!!!

1. Sathima B. Benjamin - Africa
2. Michael White - Blessing Song
3. Grant Green - Ain’t it Funky Now
4. Brecker Brothers - Jacknife
5. Don Byron - “Auf einer Burg”
6. Gwilym Simcock - A Typical Affair
7. Soil & “Pimp” Sessions - Hahen
8. Quasimode - Raw Cotton Field (Live at Liquidroom)
9. Fumio Itabashi - Symphonic Poem “Watarase” with Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra feat. Yuki Kaneko
10. Sleep Walker - Kaze
11. What’s Up? - Telemundo
12. Abram Wilson - Pedal Herlin
13. Sabrina Malheiros - Terra De Ninguem
14. Cocoa Tea - Barack Obama
15. Azar Lawrence - Theme for a New Day
16. Julian Joseph Trio - The Reverend Back Home to Glory

Neil adds: Look out for our best of 2008 Christmas party show broadcast on Christmas Day with a bonus of more great music from 2008 on our New Year’s Day show. What were the best new releases and reissues you heard this year? Use the comment feature on the blog to let us know - then listen in and compare!

There’s been a lot of hype about the British jazz group Empirical. The entire front line of Nat Facey, Jay Phelps and Kit Downes were each nominated in the rising star category in the recent BBC jazz awards - what are the chances of that happening again? A quartet tonight (no Phelps on trumpet) - with alto saxophone, piano, bass, and drums – Empirical are young and sharply dressed in a post-Wynton kind of way. Does that affect the music? Answers on a postcard or better still comment in a blog – preferably ours…

So, with such rising reputations, I had high expectations of their visit to Ipswich. Were they fulfilled? Not entirely, but the longer the performance went on, the better it got. They are accomplished musicians and play collectively, a welcome change from the all too frequent and predictable head-solo-applause-solo-applause pattern which can lessen one’s appreciation of some jazz clubs. They play original compositions and they play tunes by Eric Dolphy. There is nothing wrong with that, especially when you have an intriguingly deep alto player like Nathaniel Facey in the band. In fact, a tribute album to Eric Dolphy is planned for release next month.

The size of the crowd was encouraging for a Sunday night in Ipswich and although playing in a theatre, the rapport between audience and band felt good. The band at the start of the night commented on the quality of the sound following sound checks and their enthusiasm for playing. And yet, the first set left me disappointed. Was it good in individual parts rather than a whole, was it disjointed, was it too academic and clever? Not sure, maybe it was all of these things - but it left me unsure.

But what a transformation for the second set! More extended tunes, fire instead of ice, involvement replacing distance, emotion where there had been coldness. I felt engaged. The audience were happy and their applause brought an Eric Dolphy’ tune as an encore.

For me, this had been a night of two halves rescued by an enhanced and more unified team performance after the break. Must have been those half time oranges… We will be checking them out again in the New Year when they come to Fleece Jazz – this time with young vibes star Lewis Wright in tow.

If there was a theme tonight we could take it from listener Simon’s text to the studio (text us on 07797 800712) about trumpeter Lee Morgan’s thick, chunky playing. Yes, this was a show with some hard-edged jazz - from Julian Priester’s blistering trombone solo on Force of Nature to the appropriately named Tough from Dave Douglas’s new CD Keystone.

But we also played the funky Nigerian vinyl instrumental version of Fela Kuti’s Suffering and Smiling and a great Masters at Work take on a retro classic - Atmosfear’s Dancing in Outer Space. The Japanese jazz tonight came from What’s Up? and quasimode (both tracks influenced by the sound of Blue Note) and we ended with an authentic Blue Note classic, John Coltrane’s Blue Train.

We must also pay homage to another great cutting edge Offworld show from Smoothgroove. On heavy rotation at the moment are the Motor City Drum Ensemble and the track You & I. Check out their Myspace pages and find out more.

Tom ended the show with Madnus & Scogil’s Carpet Vole (on limited promo only) and a nod to a great Carl Craig moment from the past - the Innerzone Orchestra’s Bug in the Bassbin. Tune into Offworld every week for more great music and check out the track we chose to reflect these new music stylings - Kiruna’s Black Widow. You can see the video below - one click and you’re in.

1. Kiruna - Black Widow
2. Terri Lyne Carrington - Jazz Is
3. Lee Morgan - Once in My Lifetime
4. Joe Zawinul - Scarlet Woman
5. Azar Lawrence - Force of Nature
6. Dave Douglas - Tough
7. Grant Green - Hurt so Bad
8. Scott Hill - Needs a Bridge
9. What’s Up? - Which One is True
10. McCoy Tyner - Sama Layuca
11. Fela Anikulapo Kuti - Suffering and Smiling (instumental)
12. Atmosfear - Dancing in Outer Space (Masters at Work remix)
13. N’Dambi - Soul from the Abyss
14. Tony Remy & Bluey - See No Evil
15. Eddie Cano - I Can’t Cry Anymore
16. Barrington Levy - Here I Come
17. quasimode - Percussion Revolver
18. John Coltrane - Blue Train

Our second Youtube video is from the king of dancehall, Barrington Levy - it’s not jazz but it is fun!

Read this intro quickly so that you can click on the Youtube clip of Tomasz Stanko performing a section of Suspended Night- you’ll soon see why we like his music. Now go out and buy the CD on ECM records!

Very varied choices this week from an orchestrated McCoy Tyner with a turbocharged Billy Cobham on drums through to Mike Westbrook’s delightful Love Song No.1 and a lovely swinging track from Clifford Brown and Max Roach.

Thanks to our many emailers and texters tonight – your contact always helps to bring the show alive.

Two more related Youtube links for you to enjoy this week - one click and you’re in…

First this week is an unfortunately sharply edited video of Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko in concert. It’s a pity that we can’t find a longer version of this performance on Youtube:

As a complete contrast try this version of Afro Blue - poor video quality but the sound is fine. That’s Wayne Shorter on tenor, Ravi Coltrane on soprano and Chick Corea on keyboards along with Carlos Santana (and in the background John McLaughlin and Herbie Hancock).

1. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
2. McCoy Tyner - Fly with the Wind
3. John Coltrane - Stellar Regions
4. Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin - A Love Supreme
5. Eric Dolphy - Something Sweet, Something Tender
6. Azymuth - Butterfly
7. Brecker Brothers - Not Ethiopia
8. Eddie Henderson - Kudu
9. Jazztronik feat Shacho - Heat
10. Shirley Eubanks Ensemble - The Blessing Song
11. The Mike Westbrook Concert Band - Love Song No. 1
12. The Harlem Experience - Harlem River Dance
13. Luisito Quintero feat Francis Mbappe - Gbagada, Gbagada, Gbogodo, Gbogodo
14. Dub Colossus - Ophir Dub
15. Soil & “Pimp” Sessions - Summer Goddess
16. Tomasz Stanko Quartet - Suspended Variations 2
17. Donald Byrd - Flight Time
18. Clifford Brown and Max Roach - Jordu
19. Chuck Flores - Padali
20. Tenorio Jr. - Samadhi
21. Nelsinho e sua Orquestra - Upa Neguinho

Wow! Weird mix but it all worked. Kicking off with Benga’s dubstep from earlier this year mixed straight into a classic Weather Report track from 1973. This session also brought you brand new jazz from Azymuth, Dave Holland and McCoy Tyner with some reggae, classic Fela and Brownswood basement style jazz along the way. Lots of vinyl tonight and some really cool Japanese jazz.

Two more related Youtube links for you to enjoy this week - one click and you’re in…

First up is Freddie Hubbard with his tribute to trumpet player Clifford Brown - a Benny Golson tune that has now become a jazz standard in its own right:

Now have a listen to this very smooooth classic Azymuth track - enjoy!:

Sayonara!

1. Benga - B4 the Dual
2. Weather Report - Non-Stop Home
3. What’s Up? - Telemundo
4. Azymuth - Os Cara La
5. McCoy Tyner- Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit
6. Cocoa Tea - Barack Obama
7. Sly and Robbie - Miles (Black Satin)
8. Aflex Combo - Dazzling
9. Jamaladeen Tacuma - The Creator has a Masterplan
10. Hajime Yoshizawa - Arpegio in the Forest
11. Freddie Hubbard - Little Sunflower
12. Fela Kuti - Zombie
13. Seu Jorge - Burguesinha
14. Grand Union Orchestra All Stars - white label
15. Empirical - Blessing
16. Don Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet - Boy, Dog and Carrot
17. Dave Holland - Pass It On
18. Common - U, Black Maybe

With Jazz FM’s relaunch there’s a little more jazz on the radio. Most of it is smooth rather than cosmic but worth listening to are Mike Chadwick’s weekend programmes – Latin Party (Friday 19-00 to 21-00), Saturday Night Experience (Saturday 20.00 – 23.00) and Cutting Edge (Sunday 22.00 – 00.00).

Check out Jazz FM at www.jazzfm.com

For more jazz on radio try BBC R3 and Jez Nelson’s excellent Jazz on 3 programme.
More details here.

If it’s November, it must be time for the London Jazz Festival. This year it’s bigger than ever and shared between far more venues – including the Barbican Centre and the Royal Festival Hall. Herbie Hancock is playing both venues – and they’re already sold out!

The jazz tradition lies at the heart of the Festival and major figures who are linked through the music of Miles Davis - Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and John McLaughlin - headline with inspired new bands. A number of artists introduce projects that provide a fresh perspective on the music, and include leading British saxophonist Courtney Pine, young British band Empirical, jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, guitar maestros Martin Taylor and Biréli Lagrène, plus award-winning saxophonist Alan Barnes. The strong relationship between the spirit of jazz and the art of voice is highlighted by Jazz Voice, the celebratory opening concert at the Barbican that pays homage to a century of song with vocal stars and emerging talent re-interpreting classic songs, accompanied by a specially created London Jazz Festival Orchestra directed by Guy Barker. Others taking their own innovative approach to the vocal tradition include Melody Gardot, a cappella sensations Take 6 and Queen of South African jazz Sibongile Khumalo with drumming legend Jack DeJohnette.

The love affair between jazz and Latin music can be traced through three outstanding pianists – Chucho Valdés, Danilo Pérez and Gonzalo Rubalcaba - as well as Milton Nascimento’s bossa nova project and Alex Wilson’s Salsa con Soul Orchestra.

The global flavour of jazz is marked by performances from a number of major artists including Cameroonian singer-songwriter Richard Bona, Sami artist Mari Boine, afrobeat exponent Femi Kuti, new flamenco phenomenon Buika and Turkish master instrumentalists Taksim Trio.

European jazz is brought into sharp focus by a festival within the Festival that celebrates Norway’s extraordinary cultural scene - Scene Norway brings over some of the nation’s leading musicians including Nils Petter Molvær, Sidsel Endresen, Arve Henriksen and Eivind Aarset.

Check out the Festival website for more details.

There are some free downloads available via classicsandjazz.co.uk. Click on the link for more information and to download tracks from the UCJ website. There’s some Herbie Hancock, Nils Petter Molvær, Taylor Eigsti, Jeff Neve and David Sanchez – all worth listening to if you like the music on Cosmic Jazz.