Top sounds and gigs in 2024 and farewell to Martial Solal and Benny Golson

Today I’m reflecting on the twenty seven gigs I attended and the music-old and new that have most caught my attention through 2024.

Gigs

Despite the spectre of small music venue closures and the continuing impacts of BREXIT which has forced many UK musicians to choose between the UK and Europe plus cost of living pressures, the London jazz scene is thriving.

I have selected six outstanding gigs that have stayed in my memory. I won’t replicate memorable gigs that I’ve written about already last year, notably the Christian McBride/Kurt Rosenwinkel duo, Guy Barker’s remarkable big band score and performance at Ronnie Scott’s or the Emma Rawicz quintet at the London Jazz Festival

A good embodiment of the contemporary state of the London jazz scene is reflected in the Monday night sessions upstairs at the Parakeet in Kentish Town which has for years been showcasing younger jazz talent from the UK and further afield. The Parakeet is less than a mile away from where I live. It’s a bit like stepping back in time, a small venue above an old style , although recently made over pub with minimal amplification and an optimum audience of 40 or so people. The booking policy is exciting, and the core audience is loyal. It’s a room combining the optimum elements to hear live jazz.

Three of my standout gigs last year were from the Parakeet,

• Josephine Davies’s haunting chamber jazz. The gig saw the London launch of her latest album, Weatherwards, a compendium of original compositions reflecting Davies’s origins in and attachment to the Shetland Isles. The band were fully aligned with her compositional intentions with Dave Whitford on bass, Alcyona Mick playing beautiful piano on the quartet pieces and Jay Davis on drums.
• A sensational quintet led by trumpeter Miguel Gorodi and featuring Nathaniel Facey on alto and Alcyone Mick (again) on piano
• Jon Gordon an American alto player who I had never before heard of playing a selection of jazz standards with a very individual style and fluency. UK trumpeter Jamie O’Donnell provided a great front line match for Gordon.

The following gigs were performed within a week of each other last Spring at another favourite London jazz venue, the Vortex in Hackney a notable double coup for the venue. Again, a compact room with a great acoustic and a booking policy that ranges across cutting edge jazz from the UK, Europe and very occasionally the U.S.

• Young vibraphonist Joel Ross. An hour of intense, melodically fascinating ultra-high quality music. Ross kicked off with a brief reference to Monk’s Misterioso before transitioning from one original to another. The supporting trio were all outstanding. Zero showboating. Optimal listening. Ecstatically received by a packed Vortex. Line up -Joel Ross on vibes, Jeremy Corren on piano, Kanoa Mendenhall bass, Jeremy Dutton drums
• Tenor sax star James Brandon Lewis and his quartet. The evening kicked off with highly intense post Coltrane tunes, moving closer to David Murray territory. Wonderfully accompanied by his long standing trio of Aruan Ortiz-piano, Brad Jones- bass & Chad Taylor-drums. Brandon’s deep tone, total control and intensity throughout was astonishing. Ortiz on piano evoked echoes of free jazz icon Cecil Taylor at times.
• The final highlight was a December concert at London’s legendary Wigmore Hall-primarily a showcase for chamber classical repertoire from the Emmett Cohen trio. Kicking off a European tour and comprising Emmett’s long time drummer Kyle Poole and bassist Philip Norris. Cohen covered the whole waterfront of jazz from stride onwards. The trio played beautifully as a unit and individually for a well-balanced 90 minute show. Cohen is technically sensational with a total command of jazz vocabulary right across the generations. Unusually, at least for a jazz musician, Cohen always looks as though he is having fun and communicates well with the audience. Standing ovations and an encore were guaranteed.

Finally, I want to mention one major disappointment: John Scofield’s quartet at Ronnie’s back in April. I’m a huge admirer of Scofield, but on this occasion, I found the set list lacking in variety, the sound balance was poor, the guitar solos repetitive and Vicente Archer on string bass was inaudible.

On the Shoulders of Giants

In the last 6 weeks jazz and the music world more widely has mourned the passing and celebrated the lives of four jazz giants, all nonagenarians. I’m talking about   Benny Golson, Martial Solal, Lou Donaldson and Quincy Jones.

Golson who came up in Philly a year or so before Coltrane leaves a legacy of compositions that remain jazz standards. Solal born in Algiers and immersed in the Parisian jazz scene from the early 50’s had incomparable technique -often likened to Art Tatum. and throughout his long career explored new improvisational possibilities. He also wrote the soundtrack for Jean Luc Godard’s new wave French classic Au Bout de Souffle – a film I saw many times as a somewhat precocious teenager. I’ve been listening a great deal to Martial since his passing and am in awe of the range and extraordinary quality of his output and his many musical associations- solo, duo, and  trio, large orchestral settings. A frequent visitor to the U.S. and Europe it’s a big regret that I never caught him live in London.

And the incomparable Quincy Jones whose grounding was in jazz as a trumpeter, composer, orchestrator and band leader and then went on to achieve global status through his movie scores producing credits and associations with an array of pop figures including Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson.  Quincy Jones always venerated his jazz roots.

Lou Donaldson probably doesn’t count as a jazz giant but his early mastery of bebop language in the 50’s and his subsequent string of recordings in a more laid back, funky style featuring his distinctive alto tone certainly merits respect.

The Playlist

My playlist is a mix of recordings that first appeared last year and historic and re-issue performances, often featuring artists I’ve been listening to throughout their long careers including Jacky Terrason, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Julian Arguelles and John Scofield. I am pleased to include cuts from three women who are in the early stages of what will certainly be exceptional careers, saxophonists Sarah Hanahan , Nicole Glover and  pianist Jihye Lee.

My playlist concludes with some distinctive tracks from the four departed giants.  Including Quincy’s take on a Benny Golson classic, Killer Joe and Lou Donaldson’s Blues Walk which launched his 60 year career.