Gig Guide

31 Empirical
Drill Hall, Freeschool Lane, Lincoln,

31 John McLaughlin 4th Dimension
Barbican Hall, London EC2

31 Empirical
Drill Hall, Freeschool Lane, Lincoln,

31 Martin Taylor and Alison Burns
City Halls, Glasgow

31 Indo-Jazzwise: The Teak Project and Arun Ghosh Indo-Jazz Sextet
Pizza Express Jazz Club, Dean Street, London W1
Second night of the very special Indo-Jazzwise mini-fest sees a double bill of the amazing Teak Project who put a fresh spin on the Shakti aesthetic featuring hugely talented sitar virtuoso Jonathan Mayer, guitarist Justin Quinn and Neil Craig on tabla. Barnstorming Indo-groove-meisters Arun Gosh set the pace with an opening set that combines Gosh's Indian heritage with his native Manchester’s dance music heritage for irresistible results.

31 La Mariposa Tango, Laura Hansen, Carlos Morera - Bath 08
Invention Studios, Bath

31 Bob Brozman
Conygre Hall, Timsbury

31 John McLaughlin 4th Dimension
Barbican Hall, London EC2
As if all of the amazing gigs taking place this month weren’t enough, John McLaughlin finally brings his incendiary new jazz-fusion band to the UK after extensive tours of the US and Europe. It’s a decidedly European set of talents that Mack draws on here – pairing drum/keys man Gary Husband with ferociously talented drum tyro Mark Mondesir against phenomenal young French electric bass prodigy Hadrien Feraud to create an peerless power trio. With a new Indo-Jazz album Floating Point due for release soon after these gigs, McLaughlin’s creative fires are burning as bright as ever with this young band pushing him to a new heights.

31 Carol Grimes
Vortex Jazz Club, Gillett Street, London N16

31 McCoy Tyner Quartet featuring Joe Lovano
Ronnie Scott's, Frith Street, London W1

31 Paul Farr
Matt & Phred’s Jazz Club, Tib Street, Manchester

31 Nate James
Jazz Café, Camden, London NW1

31 Bobby Wellins Quartet
606 Club, Lots Road, London SW10

31 Mike Garrick Duo
Peter de Wit’s Café, Greenwich Church Street, London SE10

Ronnie Scott's, Frith Street, London W1
see 30.06.08 Led Bib

Gallery Cafe, Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple, North Devon,
see 25.06.08 Julia Biel

Charlie Wright's, Pitfield Street, London N1
see 27.06.08

Jazz FM To Return In The Autumn

Radio station Jazz FM will be relaunched later this year as a DAB station. The Local Radio Company, run by Jazz FM former chief exectutive Richard Wheatly has signed a three-year licensing deal with Guardian Radio to run the station GMG bought Jazz FM several years ago, relaunching it as Smooth FM, but retaining the rights to the name.
01.07.08

Vienne Opens with James Brown Tribute, Avishai Cohen and Diana Krall

The French jazz festival season got underway over the weekend with the start of the Jazz a Vienne festival in the small town of Vienne just a stone’s throw away from Lyon. The main concerts take place in the Theatre Antique Roman Amphitheatre that dominates the town. The opening night’s concert was themed around a tribute to James Brown and featured Rose Ann Diamalante and her band and then a fantastic band put together by Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley featuring Cheikh Lo and singer Simphiwe Dana.

30.06.08

Soweto Kinch and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble Set For Durham Brass Festival

A 15-day celebration of brass-inspired music draws Soweto Kinch and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble to Durham next month for the genre-defying festival Brass, featuring brass bands, classical brass ensembles as well as folk and jazz groups.

27.06.08