Last week's repeat from 18 Nov to be repeated tomorrow???

[Flyposter]

J to Z on Its way out. New late night jazz programme to come.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/26/a-james-bond-night-radio-3-boss-sam-jackson-shakeup-jools-holland

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"It's the place for people who have just rocked up (sic) to the neighbourhood".

"Hi my name's Sebastian and my partner Shamrock and our super creative kids Dagenham & Utrecht have just moved into the new warehouse complex! Great vibes!"


"Friday nights will host the old Radio 2 stalwart, Friday Night Is Music Night, with “anything from Eric Coates to Robert Farnon"

Oh God, "the neighbourhood" has got a funeral home as well!

[Old Grumpy]

"It's the place for people who have just rocked up (sic) to the neighbourhood".

"Hi my name's Sebastian and my partner Shamrock and our super creative kids Dagenham & Utrecht have just moved into the new warehouse complex! Great vibes!"


"Friday nights will host the old Radio 2 stalwart, Friday Night Is Music Night, with “anything from Eric Coates to Robert Farnon"

Oh God, "the neighbourhood" has got a funeral home as well!

Judging by the number of TV adverts for suchlike, every neighborhood (goes better with "rocked up") has one!

[Serial_Apologist]

Soweto is one of jazz's few remaining enlightened cultural observers in this country, so it's no surprise that his slot has been designated for midnight, at which hour the youthful demographic, always potentially the most open to freshness and innovation as we well know, is safely tucked up with their iphones in readiness for next week's/month's/year's/decades of "schooling".

[Alyn_Shipton]

Soweto is indeed all that you say. But his audiences for Jazz Now at that time of night were good and when I did Jazz Notes for 4 nights a week at 11.30 it always attracted a healthy-sized audience. Another two and a half hours of jazz a week on R3 might just be a good thing?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Soweto is indeed all that you say. But his audiences for Jazz Now at that time of night were good and when I did Jazz Notes for 4 nights a week at 11.30 it always attracted a healthy-sized audience. Another two and a half hours of jazz a week on R3 might just be a good thing?

Know what Alyn I used to do grams on the old R2 Round Midnight ? And it played quite bit of jazz. Brian would go through every track and time the intro and then give the dip and up sound points to the producer . A complete pro . Sometimes the live prog was slightly scuppered (not in his case ) by the pre programme pint in the Crown and Sceptre . But I don’t think that sort of thing happens these days ….

I wish Soweto well and indeed you and all BBC Jazz presenters and producers. Peter Clayton , Keith Stewart et al were amongst the best of the Beeb IMHO.

[Serial_Apologist]

Soweto is indeed all that you say. But his audiences for Jazz Now at that time of night were good and when I did Jazz Notes for 4 nights a week at 11.30 it always attracted a healthy-sized audience. Another two and a half hours of jazz a week on R3 might just be a good thing?

I read that Soweto's programme is to replace J to Z, so unless I am misinformed that is not an additional two and a half hours, is it? - genuine question, not rhetorical assertion!

[Ein Heldenleben]

I read that Soweto's programme is to replace J to Z, so unless I am misinformed that is not an additional two and a half hours, is it? - genuine question, not rhetorical assertion!

Yes indeed SA . It’s 2.5 hours of Round Midnight minus 1.5 hours of J-Z . The loss (with a net one hour gain)of J- Z has come in for quite a lot of criticism on the Guardian comments page . Guardian readers are clearly fond of the live Jazz it records and relays.

[Andrew Slater]

Yes indeed SA . It’s 2.5 hours of Round Midnight minus 1.5 hours of J-Z . The loss (with a net one hour gain)of J- Z has come in for quite a lot of criticism on the Guardian comments page . Guardian readers are clearly fond of the live Jazz it records and relays.

But isn't that gain of an hour balanced by the loss of Freeness?

[Ein Heldenleben]

But isn't that gain of an hour balanced by the loss of Freeness?

Didn’t spot that . But to be honest I wasn’t even aware of its existence which is one of the problems when a programme goes out “ Round Midnight “ as it were . . There are arguments that the aficionados will “find” the programme and that many will listen on Sounds but the reality is Jazz is losing a nice Sat pm slot and , as far as I can see, getting no airtime in return. Casual listeners just won’t come across the new programme as much as there are fewer of them .While I liked the live (or recorded as live ) elements of Jazz J-Z I wasn’t so fond of the bit where guests voice over clips of their favourite artists. They often had interesting things to say but their voice inevitably hid what they were talking about. Same problem with the Jess Gillam programme.

The Sat Jazz pm sequence has for years been a nice lead in to Opera On Three which I rarely miss. It means that the peerless JRR will now be my only jazz listening on Radio . Got a good jazz collection but it’s the opportunity to hear tracks you weren’t aware of / new London bands that appeals. I’m also in the habit of sometimes playing along on my piano or working the chords out and a lot of the music on J-Z lent itself to that.
Not this weeks Hiromi concert though…..that would need an extra hand or two …

[Serial_Apologist]

But isn't that gain of an hour balanced by the loss of Freeness?

[Serial_Apologist]

Got a good jazz collection but it’s the opportunity to hear tracks you weren’t aware of / new London bands that appeals.

Indeed so! One heard who and what was up and coming, which is always vitally important, jazz being of the immediate and timely, even if sometimes one had questions to ask about the quality of what was sometimes on offer, and the way it was always over-egged with manically contrived enthusiasm, to me at any rate. And the BBC's part of the jazz commentariat's unfortunate way of ignoring so many of still, in many instances, young exemplars from the 80s, 90s and even earlier stalwarts of a musical form whose greatest strengths are often attributable to maturity in years, jazz being a lifelong gift from those creating it. The Keith Tippett/Elton Dean generation (mine!) suffered particularly from this kind of ageism.

Maybe Soweto will have, or make live sessions part of his programme remit; it remains to be seen.

[Old Grumpy]

Soweto is one of jazz's few remaining enlightened cultural observers in this country, so it's no surprise that his slot has been designated for midnight, at which hour the youthful demographic, always potentially the most open to freshness and innovation as we well know, is safely tucked up with their iphones in readiness for next week's/month's/year's/decades of "schooling".

Would not also most of the "traditional R3 listener demographic" be tucked up in their beds at this time (admittedly without their phone - dumb or smart)? I never listen to linear broadcasts at 2330, but catch up later via BBC Sounds. I look forward to Soweto's contribution, having greatly enjoyed his previous output on Jazz Now (albeit on catch up too).

Not sure if I'll really miss J to Z now having increasingly tired of the endless repeats of late.

[Alyn_Shipton]

Let's get the sums right. Round Midnight is an hour a night for five nights - that's Five Hours. JRR is an hour, so total 6 hours. That replaces J to Z 1.5 hours, Freeness 1 hour, plus JRR. By my reckoning the current offering is 3.5 hours and what is to come is 6. I make the difference 2.5 hours... Plus Round Midnight is to include live relays and studio sessions.

[Serial_Apologist]

Let's get the sums right. Round Midnight is an hour a night for five nights - that's Five Hours. JRR is an hour, so total 6 hours. That replaces J to Z 1.5 hours, Freeness 1 hour, plus JRR. By my reckoning the current offering is 3.5 hours and what is to come is 6. I make the difference 2.5 hours... Plus Round Midnight is to include live relays and studio sessions.

Aha. The impression I had was that Round Midnight was replacing J to Z like for like. This goes to show how one should wait for the full projected schedules, rather than depend on what is said in a Grauniad article.