Ben Castle and the Blah Street Band release ‘Cut Loose – A Lesson in Jazz’, featuring Matt Berry – watch the official video

Friday, January 27, 2023

What is jazz? Renowned saxophonist Ben Castle and the inimitable Matt Berry try to answer this eternal question with a tongue-in-cheek and danceably, swinging big band jazz track

Man with the horns, Ben Castle - Photo by Ruth Medjber
Man with the horns, Ben Castle - Photo by Ruth Medjber

Multi-reedist Ben Castle is known for his long list of sessions and tours with a who’s who of jazz, soul and rock artists such as Gregory Porter, Radiohead, Blur, Amy Winehouse, Quincy Jones, Villagers, Matthew Herbert, Little Simz, Stan Tracey and Jamie Cullum to name but a few, yet this track is the first single from his own Blah Street Band’s forthcoming, wryly titled release, ‘An EP’, a collection of preposterous versions of well-known jazz standards, due for release in Spring 2023 on Ben Castle’s Major Record Label.

Primarily comprised of long-term collaborators and friends, Ben Castle, Mark Edwards (Aztec Camera, The Style Council), Tim Harries (Brian Eno, David Holmes, Bill Bruford), Troy Miller (Amy Winehouse, Gregory Porter, Diana Ross), the band also enjoys adding other friends and guests into the melee.

Ben met comedy actor and musician Matt Berry (Toast of London/The IT Crowd) through their mutual friend, composer David Arnold, and Ben has played on a fair few of his albums and soundtracks, including the Bitches Brew inspired track, 'Night Terrors' from The Small Hours. When it was clear that the band needed someone to tell the world what jazz is on the track, there was only one man for the job.

Watch the video below and for more info visit bencastle.bandcamp.com/album/cut-loose-a-lesson-in-jazz

Watch

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