mac, Birmingham UK 01-05-2013 Imagine you had dropped in to Clark Monroe’s Uptown House in Harlem in 1942 and heard this man Charlie Parker creating a new kind of saxophone vocabulary. Or you were at the Five Spot in New… Read More ›
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Quercus and Neset lead the Midland jazz attractions this week
There are two great gigs marked on the calendar this week. One is the mature folk/jazz trio Quercus at Warwick Arts Centre on Monday and the other is the brilliant young saxophonist Marius Neset at the mac on Wednesday. Quercus… Read More ›
Concert review: Neon Quartet
mac, Birmingham UK 09-03-2013 You can’t beat a good tune, and there was one good one last night. Should anyone in the audience have chosen to sing or whistle one on the way home that tune would undoubtedly have been… Read More ›
Joelle Barker with TG Collective by Garry Corbett
Photographer Garry Corbett was at the mac on Friday evening to enjoy the sunny side of the European continent via the music of Birmingham’s TG Collective . He writes: “The band were on top form, and their set included an… Read More ›
The Gentlemen lead the week’s Midland gigs
“This feels like the start of something special… Let’s hope it becomes more than a one-tour stand.” That’s what I wrote in May 2010 about a band that didn’t have a proper name at that point, and I’m pleased to… Read More ›
Concert review: Soweto Kinch Trio
mac theatre, Birmingham UK 20-10-2012 I went to a serious jazz gig last night. The saxophone trio – sans chords – is a strenuous set-up and one which demands not only great stamina from the players but also great concentration… Read More ›
The mighty range of the alto saxophone – the gigs this week
The alto saxophone from ancient to modern – well from bebop to hip-hop anyway – is on show this week with two excellent gigs showing the full range of that music we call jazz. First up, on Saturday night at… Read More ›
Ethiopian musical trade winds arrive in the Midlands
The music of Ethiopia is on a surge and blowing this way, with two strong gigs in the Midlands in the next few weeks. First up is a Making Tracks performance at the mac this Thursday featuring Krar Collective. This… Read More ›
Glasper and Beats lead the week’s Midland gigs
The big gig this week places a real game changer in US jazz on the same bill as a fresh young UK outfit working to renew a venerable tradition. The US jazz star is pianist Robert Glasper, the UK outfit… Read More ›
Concert review: Phronesis
mac, Birmingham UK 15-05-2012 It’s an endless source of fascination to me how the classical jazz trio of piano, bass and drums has changed down the years and how freshness and innovation can still be found in this well-worn format…. Read More ›
Two top trios in the week ahead in gigs
After a relatively quiet couple of weeks in Birmingham, this is something of a bumper week for jazz, with two major trios visiting the city for two unmissable gigs. Andy Sheppard first came to my attention when he won a… Read More ›
Concert review: Empirical
mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham UK 18-02-2012 The music was nearly all from Empirical’s recent album Elements Of Truth (Naim Jazz), but it had been a while since the four members of the band had all been on stage at… Read More ›
Concert review: Bobby Wellins Quartet
MAC, Birmingham UK 26-11-2011 The 75-year-old saxophonist apologised for forgetting the setlist and thanked us for “coming out this evening to Help The Aged…” Of course the joke was that even if he was old enough to be pianist Barry… Read More ›
Late reminder: three good gigs tonight
Depending on where you are in the Midlands and whether your taste is for the quietly classy or the in-yer-face brilliant, there is some lovely stuff going on this evening. If you are near Birmingham, head for the MAC in… Read More ›
The week ahead in gigs
Tomorrow’s Rush Hour Blues session in the Symphony Hall foyer bar features pianist Dave Stapleton and his Catching Sunlight project, written for a saxophone quartet, piano bass, drums and trumpet. The quartet in question is the Lunar Saxophone Quartet. The… Read More ›
The week ahead in gigs
One of the most creative and distinctive new strands in British jazz over the last few years has been the consolidation of a strong crossover between jazz and Asian music. Zoe Rahman’s band with her brother Idris on clarinet, is… Read More ›
Meadow headlines the week ahead’s gigs
After what seems like an awfully long time, Birmingham Jazz finally gets fully into gear this week with a prestige double bill on Saturday, the first of the new Jazz Club season on Wednesday and collaboration with the Supersonic Festival… Read More ›
