Nelson's column?

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 9 Mar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jlcc

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001sv6k

Sun 10 Mar

http://www.alynshipton.co.uk/blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001wytr

Fri 14 Mar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001lzjg

Re the above, the website does not state what Radio Times advertises as a new release by Shabaka Hutchings, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace.

[Ian Thumwood]

i thought that J-Z had sone interesting tracks tonight. The duet between Gerald Clayton and Samara Joy was a musical masterclass. Alot of what was played was not really jazz but the track by Meshell Ndgeocello was just abut the best thing I have heard played on this prgramme for ages. I could recognise DOn Byron in the line up immediately but there is no full personal listing on the website. The DJ suggested that Kenny Garrett was on the track but the wesbite suggests Oliver Lake. Either way, this music was sensational and exactly what contemporary jazz should sound like. The whole feel of that record suggested Wayne Shorter and the fact that it was able to match the complex and accessible in order to produce music that was hugely compelling was a huge factor in why I felt this record was a standout . To my ears, this is what contemporary jazz should sound like . Sonny Rollin's comment that jazz is "the sound of surprise" is usually an excuse for some pretty third rate jazz these days. The Ndegeocello track truly lived up to that statement.

I won;t miss Jemoke Fashola as a presenter, though. She is unbearable,

[Serial_Apologist]

i thought that J-Z had sone interesting tracks tonight. The duet between Gerald Clayton and Samara Joy was a musical masterclass. Alot of what was played was not really jazz but the track by Meshell Ndgeocello was just abut the best thing I have heard played on this prgramme for ages. I could recognise DOn Byron in the line up immediately but there is no full personal listing on the website. The DJ suggested that Kenny Garrett was on the track but the wesbite suggests Oliver Lake. Either way, this music was sensational and exactly what contemporary jazz should sound like. The whole feel of that record suggested Wayne Shorter and the fact that it was able to match the complex and accessible in order to produce music that was hugely compelling was a huge factor in why I felt this record was a standout . To my ears, this is what contemporary jazz should sound like . Sonny Rollin's comment that jazz is "the sound of surprise" is usually an excuse for some pretty third rate jazz these days. The Ndegeocello track truly lived up to that statement.

I won;t miss Jemoke Fashola as a presenter, though. She is unbearable,

I certainly agree about the Ndgeocello track being the best, and it certainly sounded more like Oliver Lake than Kenny Garrett, unless Kenny Garrett has become a far more interesting saxophone player of late!

[Quarky]

In passing, I note there is a first class concert hall in the middle of the north Essex countryside, Saffron Hall in Saffron Walden. It's about 15miles south of Cambridge. I know the area from my cycling days, and am surprised it is a viable concern. Mainly classical, but some jazz events, including Samara Joy.

[Ian Thumwood]

I certainly agree about the Ndgeocello track being the best, and it certainly sounded more like Oliver Lake than Kenny Garrett, unless Kenny Garrett has become a far more interesting saxophone player of late!

For my money Kenny Garrett is one of the best live gigs to see in jazz. i saw him in 1996 with Pat Metheny, Nat Reeves and Brian Blade in a club in Copenhagen and it is still one of the best gigs I have been to. Seen him a few times since and you wouldhave to be a curmudgeon not to enjoy his music. a lot of his more recent music has been heavily influenced by East Asian folk music. I would say he is probably more imteresting than you might think. Certainly, one of the best jazz musicians to hear perform live. Garrett'smusic has a strong, Black identity and, in my opinion, the absence of this makes so much contemporary jazz not worth listening to.

Wondered if you had heard the Coltrane tribute album or something like "African Exchange Student? " Kenny Garrett is a great player and I am also keen on Oliver Lake's work too. I don't see them as being an "either / or" scenario but I would argue that both are far more exciting than alot of the newer stuff being promoted on programmes like J-Z.