Farewell, Soweto, and thanks....

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 21 Sept
4pm - Jazz Record Requests

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

Not for the first time, this week's J to Z has been confined to the twilight of the gods.

12midnight - Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Geoffrey Smith chooses works by trumpeter/composer Kenny Wheeler.

This is a repeat, but "our Kenny" was, after all, arguably Canada's finest export here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04xrntb

Mon 23 Sept
11pm - Jazz Now
This final edition of Jazz Now features alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch joined by his trio, plus a duo comprising Jazz Now co-presenter Emma Smith and pianist Jamie Safir.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdc

They bulldozed the township in South Africa after which Soweto was named; these days it's done in more civilized ways. Oh, and order me up a pizza, would you?

For Wednesday's Late Junction at 11pm, Laurie Anderson reads from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, with timely appropriateness; and there's some Canadian free improv too. This programme provided jazz fans as well as other cross addressers something of a follow-up to the late lamented Mixing It, and in missing it I reproduce the following column from Simon O'Hagan in next week's Radio Times (Thursday - P.134) who pretty well sums it up:

It was back in 1999 that Radio 3 created the magical late-night listening experience that is Late Junction, home to sounds drawn from music's outer limits by the programme's rotating cast of ace regular presenters - Verity Sharp, Max Reinhardt, Fiona Talkington and Nick Luscombe. But there are no 20th anniversary celebrations because next week LJ goes from three nights a week - Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays - to a single slot late on a Friday. Earlier this year the first ever Late Junction festival took place in east London, so this development - part of a wider schedule shake-up on Radio 3 - is all the more dismaying, not least for the 500 leading arts figures who wrote to The Guardian in March to protest about it. This is the last week in which we'll be able to enjoy Late Junction's riches to the full, and tonight is the last time that Reinhardt presents solo before he and Luscombe sign off tomorrow with what they describe as a night of Late Junction ping-pong. I just hope the game isn't up for this type of output on Radio 3.

Apologies for my mistyping the Joe Harriott URL to last week's Geoffrey Smith's Jazz - now corrected.

[Serial_Apologist]

Mon 23 Sept
11pm - Jazz Now
This final edition of Jazz Now features alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch joined by his trio, plus a duo comprising Jazz Now co-presenter Emma Smith and pianist Jamie Safir.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008pdc

If no one managed to hear this broadcast yesterday, I would recommend clicking on the above for an enjoyable ride with several surprises along the way. Take or leave the first two of the three sets - a piano trio led by Adrian Henry, one of the original - if not the original - pianist with the Jazz Warriors in '86; and Emma Smith and Jamie Safir in a sequence of Gospel-influenced songs - and for what you will have been waiting for, slide across to Soweto's spirited set, in which the altoist freejams his agile post-Dolphy style through a medley of Monk tunes, interacting in all manner of unexpected turns with Orphy Robinson's vibes in an "Out To Lunch" updated stylisation, followed by a couple of superimpositions on one of his own recordings to create a rich tapestry of acoustics and electronics, with a corny but friendly concluding series of turns on "Twisted" with Annie Ross's original vocalisation, Kinch showing his abilities as a bop pianist, and our Jazz Record Requests presenter guesting on bass - don't tell him I mentioned this. Quite a lump in the throat as Soweto signed off with thanks to all and sundry at the end.

[Alyn_Shipton]

S-A I won't notice you told anyone... but the pianist wasn't Adrian Henry, but this fellow: https://www.ashleyhenrymusic.com
And it was Ashley on the final "Twisted" as well, Soweto was playing alto there....
Lumps in the throat all round. The three and a half years has been the best team of presenters and producers/assistant producers/sound engineers I've ever worked with, and I'd like to think that putting out 40+ specially recorded sets or concerts a year (allowing for - very occasional - repeats and European sessions to make up 52 weeks) has been worth it now the BBC is no longer committed to a full length concert each week. Good luck to Corey Mwamba for the new late night show in Geoffrey's slot that starts in November. And you may have seen that R3 plans to co-operate in shared content with Jazz FM. https://londonjazznews.com/2019/09/2...-with-jazz-fm/

[Serial_Apologist]

S-A I won't notice you told anyone... but the pianist wasn't Adrian Henry, but this fellow: https://www.ashleyhenrymusic.com
And it was Ashley on the final "Twisted" as well, Soweto was playing alto there....
Lumps in the throat all round. The three and a half years has been the best team of presenters and producers/assistant producers/sound engineers I've ever worked with, and I'd like to think that putting out 40+ specially recorded sets or concerts a year (allowing for - very occasional - repeats and European sessions to make up 52 weeks) has been worth it now the BBC is no longer committed to a full length concert each week. Good luck to Corey Mwamba for the new late night show in Geoffrey's slot that starts in November. And you may have seen that R3 plans to co-operate in shared content with Jazz FM. https://londonjazznews.com/2019/09/2...-with-jazz-fm/

Thanks Alyn. It wasn't even Ashley Henry I'd been trying to remember, the memory schtick not being what it was, but Adrian Reid - should have checked. Anyway thanks for the advance info on what is coming up - lots to think about.

[Quarky]

Thanks Alyn. It wasn't even Ashley Henry I'd been trying to remember, the memory schtick not being what it was, but Adrian Reid - should have checked. Anyway thanks for the advance info on what is coming up - lots to think about.

We will be relying on you, S_A, to keep track of all this!

But grateful as always for your informative posts.

[Serial_Apologist]

We will be relying on you, S_A, to keep track of all this!

But grateful as always for your informative posts.

This week's weekend spoiler will be all the shorter, or, should I say, less long that usual!

[antongould]

Just caught up with the repeated Kenny Wheeler on Sounds ..... absolutely wonderful. As a novice I didn’t realise he’d recorded with Keith Jarrett .......

[Old Grumpy]

Just caught up with the repeated Kenny Wheeler on Sounds ..... absolutely wonderful. As a novice I didn’t realise he’d recorded with Keith Jarrett .......

OG