1. Norma Winstone – Outpost of Dreams 2. Jimetta Rose and the Voice of Creation – Things Are Getting Better 3. Rita Payes – De Camino Al Camino 4. Ganavya – Daughter of a Temple 5. Franco Ambrosetti – Sweet C […]

Tip top ten – blurb below: 1. Vince Mendoza – Epiphany 2. Bobby Hutton – Piece of the Action 3. Bobby Watson – Love Remains 4. Two Tons of Fun – Get The Feeling: The Complete Fantasy/Honey Recordings 5. V/A – We’ […]

1 Claire Martin/Scott Dunn/RPO – I Watch You Sleep Beautifully arranged and sung celebration of Richard Rodney Bennett/the great American songbook 2 Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth Veteran soul man r […]

1 Roy Hargrove – The Love Suite: In Mahogany Previously unreleased – remarkable joyous live concert of the then 23-year-old jazz trumpet star’s self-penned suite 2 Pharoah Sanders – Live at Fabrik Hamburg 1980 St […]

Eric Bibb’s lovely new version of the old folky favourite: And another old tune – but “newly released” on a 7 via Bob Stanley’s Measured Mile label – an old northern soul banger that irked the purists when it […]

If anyone is looking to offload a substantial collection, it might be worth considering an auction – maybe a specialist music one like Omega (up north) or SAS (Newbury) or Wessex Auctions in the south. Plenty of […]

Worth having a look at your UK state pension – the govt has just pushed back the deadline to July to make additional contributions to get to maximum entitlement. Apparently, it’s a decent investment to put some […]

SEEN: Decent month for live music – with some legendary figures in fine form. Now 82, Norma Winstone has worked with pretty much everyone in British jazz and beyond since the mid-60s – and still puts out fine mus […]

Some Ashford and Simpson genius at work. Three years after writing/producing a soul perfection chart hit for Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell you dismantle the song and rebuild it into a symphonic gospel masterpiece for […]

From the top:

Kim Tibbs – The Science of Completion Vol.1
Somi – Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba
Kit Downes – Vermillion
Lewis Taylor – Numb
Joyce – Natureza
Immanuel Wilkins – The 7th Hand
D […]

Latest release in the ongoing Resonance label unissued Bill Evans live performances is pretty wonderful – both the music across two CDs and fascinating booklet – and now almost half price at the dodgers at around […]

In order 1-5:

Sammi Smith – Looks Like Stormy Weather 1969-75
Melancholic downbeat soulful country from the 70s.

Bill Evans – You Must Believe in Spring
Sparkling re-master of classic late period ballad set […]

Kurt Elling – Cambridge Arts Theatre:
Finally got to see probably my favourite jazz singer – just a brilliant performance of vocal dexterity with a fabulously funky trio in front of a rapturous crowd.

New Reg […]

Laura Nyro – first album when she was 19 with maybe half a dozen self-penned songs that went on to be big top 10 pop hits for Barbra Streisand, Fifth Dimension and others.

Also, Janis Ian – “Society’s Child” – […]

SEEN:

A welcome return for the Cambridge Jazz Festival after a couple of years’ absence, managing as usual to pull together a busy fortnight of varied music scattered across a range of interesting city v […]

Some country pickin’ – with pedal steel bonus.

Mellotron…heavenly choir…flute solo…violin – and strangulated vocalising!

The new Daniel Lanois album “Player Piano” is a decent late-night listen – piano and effects noodling in an ambient-ish style.

Others recent albums for the twilight hours:

Sachal Vasandani/Romain Collin – Still […]

Very sad indeed, but not unexpected after witnessing his final live appearance at the “We Out Here” festival in the wilds of Cambridgeshire a few weeks ago.

It was a highly charged emotional farewell to the gre […]

Introducing the TOP Queens – an (almost) all women tribute act from Argentina to veteran funkateers Tower of Power: