...the warbles sing in the deep dark wilds of the mighty and wise at Xmas

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Alyn has a Brit contingent and a tasty Gary Burton Group if that's your sauce; me i'll take George hearings bop piano ...

Geoffrey spins some Christmas Crackers

Claire natters to Bobby Wellins amongst others

Jazz Line-Up's Christmas round table is introduced by Claire Martin as she welcomes to the programme Jazz Legend, Bobby Wellins, the new director of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Mark Armstrong, and the new BBC Radio 3 New Generation Jazz Artist, Trish Clowes. Providing the live music will be scottish pianist, Euan Stevenson with his trio. Expect the unexpected and just a dash of Christmas Cheer!

Jon3 reviews albums of 2012 ... a cool slide into Xmas am unless Midnight Mass is your thing ... i'll go for iPlayer so i can skip bits ...

have a whoopeee of a Christmas one and all ....

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Gold, frankincense and… jazz! While you finish your last minute present wrapping, I’ll be wrapping up this year’s events here on Jazz on 3. It’s the second and final instalment of our Review of 2012 and, aided by elite jazz-brains Jon Newey (editor of Jazzwise Magazine) and Jazz FM’s Helen Mayhew, and fuelled by mince pies and general merriment, I’ll be considering the best jazz records of the last twelve months.

As last week’s ‘Gigs of the Year’ show proved, you can forget stocking-fillers - it’s been an absolutely fantastic year for jazz. Amongst the very best we’ve had fiery punk-jazz from Neneh Cherry and The Thing, a new future in jazz vocals from Gregory Porter, brilliant Brit-jazz-come-math-rock from Troyka and the venerable Kenny Wheeler back with his first new big band album in years.

For the full, definitive list (well… where we all managed to agree), do join me this Christmas Eve from 11pm; or if you prefer, listen online for seven days after broadcast.

From everyone here at Jazz on 3, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Jez


If you have comments about the show, or requests for music you’d like to hear, do get in touch at jazzon3@bbc.co.uk


Coming up:

7 January – Jazz on 3 returns in the New Year with another chance to hear Neneh Cherry and the Thing in performance

14 January – Anthony Braxton presents his Falling River Music quartet

21 January – Django Bates Belovèd trio in concert, reinterpreting the work of Charlie Parker

from newsletter

next year starts well!

[Quarky]

Alyn has a Brit contingent and a tasty Gary Burton Group if that's your sauce; me i'll take George hearings bop piano ...


Claire natters to Bobby Wellins amongst others

Don't often listen to Claire Martin, as her musical centre of gravity tends to be more regular mainstream, but she certainly got me thinking last night (which is quite a feat!). I mean the Trish Clowes interview and her performance of her composition Little Tune. A very original musician, and some impressive flights of improvisation, interspersed with some stock sequences.

But on the subject of improvisation, I found it interesting to compare Max Reinhardt's Late Junction last Thursday, firstly with Ravi Shankar playing solo Raga Lalit. An absolutely brilliant improviser, who I guess leaves most Jazz musicians standing. And the LJ session involving Nils Frahm, Ghost Poet and Hyelim Kim. This seemed to be mainly collective improvisation. A rewarding listen.

Jazz can't claim as its own exclusive property improvisation, so how can we define Jazz? Improvisation obviously a key component, but more than that a set of loose very subtle rhythmic structures together with "blues" sounds/ feel? I must listen to more Trish Clowes, but I somehow doubt when it comes to playing the blues, that she is in the 'Trane, Bird mould. However I'm not really interested in that - I'm more interested in where she might be going.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yep oddball my thoughts about JLU exactly nice show and Ms Clowes is very interesting .. since she is a R3 young whatsit we may presume to hear more of her on our fav station

[salymap]

only the top half of words are visible on this computer and I thought it was about the Wombles. And we know wnhere they hang out

[Serial_Apologist]

yep oddball my thoughts about JLU exactly nice show and Ms Clowes is very interesting .. since she is a R3 young whatsit we may presume to hear more of her on our fav station

Trish is often on the door when not actually playing at our regular Amersham Arms Tuesdays - home of the SE Collective, source of many as good as she, and her nurturing habitat up to now - with the beeb's Young Generation Artist bestowal. That said, I've no doubt for the forseeable future too, as it (the SEC) is siring new groups like there is no tomorrow (ahem).

I'll pass on to her The Boreds' best wishes, yeah?

S-A

[handsomefortune]

I'll pass on to her The Boreds' best wishes, yeah?

that'd be lovely!

i caught second half of jlu, a much more vibrant prog than usual i thought. i have the rest to catch up on during eczemas day, when things are finally less frantic.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Please Do!

[Quarky]

[Jon3 reviews albums of 2012 ... a cool slide into Xmas am unless Midnight Mass is your thing ... i'll go for iPlayer so i can skip bits ...

have a whoopeee of a Christmas one and all ....

A really entertaining Jon3 - not least for the informed exchanges with the guests, and a really good selection of Albums.

But I am going off the idea of classifying albums as the "best" of 2012 - so many differing factors there, that one person's number 1 will not rank in another person's top 50. Let's call them "some of the best" For example I would not dream of placing a big band playing fairly unsurprising arrangements as the best of 2012 - but I respect Helen Mayhew's views (if not her Dinner Jazz programme).

Troyka and Neneh Cherry. Must listen to more of them.

But Matthew Bourne - is that Jezz's idea of a joke?

[Tenor Freak]

But Matthew Bourne - is that Jezz's idea of a joke?

In a word, no.

Actually, that Matt Bourne track wasn't that bad; nice and minimalist, and no felching pig samples.

Some interesting choices in there, and although the Kenny Wheeler album wasn't, in my opinion, as great as Helen Mayhew would have it, they did at least play the standout track from that CD. (I do wish the BBC would release all those Jazz Club big band sessions he did in the 70s on CD - the world needs more Kenny Wheeler big band music.)

[Tenor Freak]

i'll pass on to her the boreds' best wishes, yeah?

S-a

yes please

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

(I do wish the BBC would release all those Jazz Club big band sessions he did in the 70s on CD - the world needs more Kenny Wheeler big band music.)

absolut! [oops been watching the killing on the hard drive]

and it springs to mind as BBC4 cuts costs over the hols with archive material that they could get much more ambitious about their archive [wait for the whine about performing rights [pay the money]]

[Serial_Apologist]

absolut! [oops been watching the killing on the hard drive]

and it springs to mind as BBC4 cuts costs over the hols with archive material that they could get much more ambitious about their archive [wait for the whine about performing rights [pay the money]]

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Well maybe, but the rights issue is a BIG issue...I remember asking Alyn S about the rights to sixties BBC jazz interviews. Charles Fox, Peter Clayton etc. Not as simple as we'd like.

BN.

Just as well Ive got em on cassette innit.

[Serial_Apologist]

Well maybe, but the rights issue is a BIG issue...I remember asking Alyn S about the rights to sixties BBC jazz interviews. Charles Fox, Peter Clayton etc. Not as simple as we'd like.

BN.

Just as well Ive got em on cassette innit.

A mate donated me his collection of the like when he went all-digital; it included several broadcasts of early Barbara Thompson Paraphernalia that never got onto vinyl, some great stuff among it, which I "loaned" to Barbara and Jon thinking they might be able to put it out. John spoke subsequently about the extorted charges to cover said rights payments. Can't very well ask for 'em back now, of course...

(Jon, in case you happen to be reading this...)