Music & Performance

Stride piano.  Something that you don’t hear every decade. The second album I ever bought, (after Astral Weeks), was called ‘The Jazz Piano’, and featured Willie ‘the Lion’ Smith, as well as Art Tatum,  Earl Hines and many others.  All those three were great exponents of stride piano, a genre that is almost never now…

Pumping away vigorously, the monumental  Albert Hall organ was given a sustained pounding by Thomas Trotter on Tuesday night, stunning promenaders, who gave ecstatic applause after a magnificent and thunderous climax.* The organ at the Albert hall is one of the wonders of London, and a genuinely thrilling instrument to hear.  It is the second…

Also, new camera proves quite effective, so your correspondent doubly chuffed.   I have always liked the Jayhawks – one of those bands that should have been bigger, but would probably have been worse as a result. The essence of the Twin Cities-based band was the close harmony between lead guitarist Gary Louris, and Mark Olson….

Friends and family probably don’t think of me as an emotional person.  Yet I do not by choice read books or watch films where the dog dies.  I don’t like it when the dog dies and that is why we don’t currently have a dog (or cat, as it turns out I don’t like it…

Nice places to listen to chamber music at lunchtime in London. In a previous post I noted that it’s possible to listen to chamber music at lunchtime almost every day (except Saturday) in London. Here’s a short overview of each of the locations for those that might want to give them a try. I include…

Gifted guitarist vigorously picks away. Eight years ago or so I was sitting 10 feet  behind Chucho Valdez, as the big man played jazz piano in the Bluenote.  He played so fast I could not see his hands actually move – there was just a blur at the end of his arms. Although this was in my period…