Una dedica a John Coltrane segna fin dal titolo la personale retrospettiva - ricca di inediti e rarità - che Alan Skidmore ha affidato a Confront Recordings, A Supreme Love: "John Coltrane has had a profound effect on my life for over sixty years, I had never heard the tenor saxophone played the way he played it. And I never will again: that would be impossible. And what an amazing composer. So thank you Trane for all your help and spiritual guidance. It has been an incredible experience listening to you all these years. It truly has been A Supreme Love."

How do you represent a seven-decade career in only six CDs? In our favour, Alan Skidmore’s vast private archive: from every stage of his professional life, there are radio, concert, and studio recordings surviving in very good order. But what to leave out? We begin in 1961, with Skid’s radio debut, playing with his father Jimmy. He was just 19. This was the year he witnessed John Coltrane’s famed appearance in Walthamstow. Coltrane’s impact was immediate, and Skid’s love and respect for him has lasted a lifetime. Throughout the recordings, we hear how Skid absorbs Coltrane’s music and transforms it into his own. With just a handful of exceptions, the tracks in this box are previously unreleased. They include collaborations with some of Skid’s most talented contemporaries. You’ll hear him with Alexis Korner, Humphrey Lyttelton, Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Tony Oxley, Wayne Shorter, Tony Levin, Paul Dunmall, Joe Zawinul, John Surman, Mike Osborne, John Taylor, Elvin Jones, Colin Towns, and many others. There is much to discover along the way, and Skid’s seriousness and respect for the music are obvious everywhere. Our journey concludes in 2019, with Skid’s beautiful - and only - rendition of Coltrane’s “Psalm” from A Love Supreme. A stunning finale to this crucial portfolio. (Mark Wastell)

https://alanskidmore.info

https://confrontrecordings.bandcamp.com/a-supreme-love

 

Oggi che ricorre l'anniversario della nascita di Duke Ellington (1899-1974) Mike Westbrook offre in suo omaggio Says the Duke in un'inedita versione orchestrale presentata per la prima volta l'anno scorso a Londra, al Ronnie Scott's, con l'Uncommon Orchestra. E' su Bandcamp.

This big band version of Says The Duke was premiered by The Uncommon Orchestra at Ronnie Scott’s in London in April 2022. It was part of a new, expanded version of ‘On Duke’s Birthday,’ a piece commissioned by festivals in Amiens and Angoulême in 1984 to mark the 10th anniversary of Ellington’s death. Originally written for and recorded by an 11-piece ensemble, ‘On Duke’s Birthday’ has been adapted and extended over the years. The latest, 23-piece version was premiered at Ronnie Scott’s, London in April 2022. A new addition to the suite was a big band arrangement of Says The Duke, originally recorded in a 7-piece version during lockdown by the Granite Band. Kate’s lyric is based on quotations from the Duke and Mike’s orchestration is full of Ellingtonian references. There are cameo appearances by the Orchestra’s soloists, notably Alan Wakeman on tenor, Roz Harding on alto, Chris Biscoe alto, Pete Whyman on clarinet, Dominique Pifarely, violin, Frank Schaefer, cello, Marcus Vergette bass, Jesse Molins on guitar and Sam Massey trumpet, with Graham Russell on lead.

https://mikewestbrook.bandcamp.com/says-the-duke-2

 

Torna per Jazz in Britain in edizione ampliata e aggiornata - accompagnata da un cd con rarità e brani d'archivio - la discografia di Ian Carr (1933-2009) amorevolmente curata da Roger Farbey: Elastic Dream.

This book, a comprehensive, annotated discography, discusses the great British trumpeter Ian Carr’s recorded works and includes up to the minute additions to the Carr canon. It is the most complete discographical text on the works of Ian Carr. The discography is divided into two parts with archival releases being covered in the second part. Three appendices detail Carr’s appearances in the Melody Maker jazz polls, biographies either by or about him, and finally details of Ian’s miscellaneous media contributions, including television, radio and film work.

The object of this book was to write a comprehensive critique of the musical works of Ian Carr. It was intended to be comprehensive enough to cover everything that could be located to listen to, but not intended to be an in-depth review of every piece. The main intent was to draw attention to the music of Ian Carr as it was felt that it had not gained the recognition it deserved.

During the 1960s and 70s Carr and his peers, such as Graham Collier, Michael Garrick, Michael Gibbs, Mike Westbrook, John Surman and Keith Tippett moved the goalposts of contemporary jazz in Britain. Jazz prior to 1960 in the United Kingdom was highly influenced by American traditional jazz, bebop and big band swing. After 1960, music experienced seismic changes thanks to the pop/rock/blues explosion and by the mid-1970s British and European jazz began to find its own distinctive voice. Although the focus of non-American jazz subsequently shifted, to some extent, from the UK to mainland Europe and Scandinavia, partially thanks to the burgeoning success of ECM Records and international bands such as The United Jazz and Rock Ensemble (of which Ian Carr was a key member), the 1960s–1970s in Britain were especially innovative.

The author, Roger Farbey, knew Ian personally for the latter part of his life and was well aware of the toll taken by Alzheimer’s. But Carr’s spirit was indomitable; all those who knew him will remember him as the friendly firebrand of jazz and one of the true innovators of the genre. This book is Roger’s small attempt to “take revenge” on Carr’s final illness and keep the memory of the man and his music 

https://jazzinbritain.co.uk/elastic-dream-the-music-of-ian-carr