Churchills Snooker Club, Birmingham UK 23-10-2013 The small stage might have been cluttered with microphones and various other cameras and recording devices, but the band was looking relaxed and was firing strongly from the beginning. It’s probably a little difficult… Read More ›
chris mapp
Silk – a few steps beyond the snooker cushions tonight
Drummer Jonathan Silk and his band make a journey down the stairs and past the darkened snooker tables well worthwhile this evening. The band is a quintet with Chris Mapp on bass, Andy Bunting on piano, and John Fleming and… Read More ›
Jazzlines honours an individualist
Paul Dunmall has always followed his own path, and it’s been one in which freedom has played a crucial part. He has been a consistent, reliable and inspiring presence across the British jazz scene since the 1970s, whether working with Spirit… Read More ›
Sam strips back for a Nearly Hot evening session
Guitarist Sam Slater, staunch Albion fan and one of the friendliest people on the Birmingham jazz scene, is best known as one of the jazz-flamenco TG Collective, but he presents a pared back Nearly Hot Club Four this evening in the… Read More ›
A tale of two Chrises in this week’s gigs
There’s a bright and shiny, West Coast feel to this week’s Jazzlines Free Jazz session at the Symphony Hall cafe bar tomorrow after work, and that should suit the weather. The band is the Chris Gumbley Quintet and their chosen… Read More ›
Improv meets electronics in new project from Chris Mapp
Bassist Chris Mapp has been a strong presence on the Birmingham jazz scene for a good few years now, from his band Sugarbeats which morphed into Sub Ensemble, and then in Gambol and Elda, and as a sideman in countless… Read More ›
Reich related, plus tenor specialists in the week ahead
If you were at minimalist composer Steve Reich’s Radio Rewrite concert at Town Hall last night, you were very lucky; if you couldn’t get in, never mind, there are other Reich-linked events in town this week. Two Jazzlines gigs pick… Read More ›
Steve Reich inspires some new jazz this week
The musical highlight of this week in Birmingham must be Steve Reich’s Radio Rewrite, a concert at Town Hall on Wednesday evening, featuring not only this new work from the US composer, inspired by Radiohead and performed by London Sinfonietta… Read More ›
Birmingham and Chicago – they’re our kind of towns.
The news from Tony Dudley-Evans at Jazzlines is that Birmingham musicians are heading out next month to forge stronger jazz ties with our twin city, Chicago. I think there is a plan for a return visit of Chicagoans to us,… Read More ›
Join Steve in the doghouse tonight
Pianist Steve Tromans is the star in the reasonably-priced Spotted Dog this week. And as it’s a three-seater he has Chris Mapp on double bass and Miles Levin on drums. He says: “The three of us have worked together since… Read More ›
When bearing bad news, always bring a puppy along
That could be a PR dictum, and if it becomes so, then Birmingham musician and promoter Chris Mapp should take the credit. He has just announced that there will be no Harmonic Festival in 2012. This is the excellent showcase… Read More ›
Cheltenham Jazz Festival starts tomorrow
Whoever thought jazz was something paunchy, middle-aged men did with a pint of real ale in hand in pub back rooms, has clearly had their eyes and ears closed for the past 20 years. And for a masterclass in how… Read More ›
Take that Spotted Dog for a walk
The Tuesday sessions at The Spotted Dog in Digbeth, Birmingham, are going strong, thanks to the efforts of MD Mike Fletcher and his many friends. Tonight the band is led by bassist Chris Mapp. Or, to put it Mike’s way:… Read More ›
The week ahead in West Midland gigs
Gil Evans, the great arranger and band leader who played an equal part in the jazz-changing music that Miles Davis made as the 1950s became the ‘60s, continues to be celebrated in what would have been his 100th year. This… Read More ›
LJF concert review: three free gigs
Gwilym Simcock St James’s, Picadilly, London UK 16-11-2011 To hear the solo pianist, nominee for The Mercury Prize 2011, playing in this lovely church and for no charge (a donation to the church was recommended) was a real privilege –… Read More ›
Sons of Dave, plus the rest of the week’s top gigs
It’s a week showing the wide range of jazz available in Birmingham and around the Midlands, from wild and free to retro, plus the music of a real jazz legend. The major concert of the week features one of the… Read More ›
The week ahead in gigs
For those of us who enjoyed the overlaps between jazz, soul and R ‘n’ B in the 1970s, singer Al Jarreau has a special place. The uninitiated might find his voice a little too reminiscent of Daffy Duck, but it… Read More ›
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