*****ALBUMS: 4) KIND OF BLUE “Has come to be regarded as a go-to jazz album” MILES DAVIS: Based on modality rather than Hard Bop, KIND OF BLUE (1959) (Columbia) (Sextet) (New York) was recorded over two sessions on 2 nd  and 22 nd  April?, 1959 and released on 17 th August, 1959. TRACKS: So What, All Blues, Freddie Freeloader, Blue in Green, Flamenco Sketches MUSICIANS: Miles Davis, trumpet; John Coltrane, tenor sax; Julian ‘Cannonball’ Adderley, alto sax; Bill Evans/ Wynton

*****ALBUMS: 3) PORGY AND BESS “An orchestral jazz masterpiece.” MILES DAVIS: PORGY AND BESS (1959) (Columbia) (Sextet) (New York) was recorded over three four sessions on 22 nd and 29 th  July, 1958 and 4 th  and 18 th  August, 1958, rather rushed perhaps for a work of such eloquence- nevertheless, it turned out as a whole a magnificent achievement. TRACKS: The Buzzard Song, Bess, You Is My Woman Now, Gone; Gone, Gone, Gone; Summertime; Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess, Prayer (

***** ALBUMS: 2) MILESTONES “Of the Present and the Future” MILES DAVIS: MILESTONES (1958) (Columbia) (Sextet) (New York) was recorded over three sessions. TRACKS: Dr. Jackle, Sid’s Ahead, Two Bass Hit, Milestone, Billy Boy, Straight, No Chaser. MUSICIANS: Miles Davis , trumpet, piano; John Coltrane , tenor saxophone; Cannonball Adderley , alto saxophone; Red Garland , piano; Paul Chambers : bass, Philly Joe Jones , drums. NOTES: MILESTONES’ opening piece, Jackie McLean ’s Dr

*****ALBUMS: 1) THE BIRTH OF THE COOL   INTRODUCTION: Te Birth of the Cool was much more than an album of music. It was the start of a movement as depicted in Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, the title of a movie by award winning Director, Stanley Nelson. Reviews were mostly positive but at times mixed, criticism coming from those who lament the ‘talking head’ style of documentary that predominates, unfortunately in my opinion, the structure of modern documentaries. It is amaz

William ‘Count’ Basie’s role in The Blue Devils under the musical directorship of heavyweight string bassist Walter Page , a pioneer of the walking bass line, is documented in his autobiography ‘Good Morning Blues’. It was when sleeping off a hangover in a Tulsa hotel room that Basie was awakened by a jazz band playing on the back of a truck in the street below. The talent recruited to The Blue Devils were gradually assimilated by the Bennie Moten Band. Moten was a Kansas Cit

Produced, performed, recorded, mixed, and arranged in her South London flat, Weirdo  was originally conceived as a strategy to speak about her struggles with mental health—Thackray is autistic and has ADHD. Emma-Jean insists ‘weirdo’ can be positive, suggesting something different like Byony Gordon’s Book “There is No Such Thing as Normal.” Her 2021 LP ‘Yellow’ was a great success. This album surpasses even ‘Yellow’ as Emma-Jean exposes her inner torments. The opening vignett

This is one of my favourite albums, period. While there is no more keyboard dualling (Graham Field has left to form Fields. Mark Ashton has also gone to be replaced by Fred Kelly on drums), there is plenty of guitar interplay to make up for it. It’s hard for me to spot a weakness on Rare Bird’s first of three albums for Polydor and the single, an EP really,  that is included is the icing on the cake; outstanding songwriting, singing and playing throughout. Personal relationsh

Rare Bird was increasingly sounding like an American band on a rather lightweight album, far from their more progressive roots. Nothing wrong with that and they do it rather well. Taken for what it is, the desultory reviews were a bit unfair. Rare Bird remain great song writers. ‘Diamonds’ is a good funky example; the music is easy on the ear. This song and ‘Last Tango in Beluah’ (over long perhaps?) made it into their live act. (Also ‘Lonely Street’ and ‘All That I Needed’ –

An alternative sleeve, no longer gatefold, 200g vinyl. The ‘Cirkus’ track sounds very different to the original and was produced and mixed from the original tapes by David Singleton and Alex ‘Stormy’ Mundy. In extremis ‘Happy Family’, the track that inspired the name of a Japanese prog rock band, is presented as an instrumental. A lot of liberties are taken with the drums and percussion as well basically to demote them to either not being there at all or much reduced in volum

DUKE ELLINGTON-Extract from unfinished book “A Jazz Supreme.” Duke Ellington ’s Hot Five  band was put together to record in a makeshift recording studio, OKeh in Chicago. The Hot Five had a classic line-up : Lil Hardin  on piano; Johnny Dodds  on clarinet; Kid Ory  on trombone; Johnny St.Cyr  on banjo and history was about to be made. As Ted Gioia describes, Armstrong’s playing just got better and better as 1926 went on as he displayed “increasing fluency in the upper regist

The best introduction to Armstrong’s music came out in 2020: Satchmo: The Decca and Verve Years 1924-1967 . It begins with Shanghai Shuffle with the Fletcher Henderson  Band- even though it has not transferred well from its crackly ‘78’ manifestation, it remains essential, a joyous romp with sublime syncopation. Solos follow solos on New Orleans Stomp while Black Bottom Stomp has some fast-paced tooting and may well be the ‘rave’ music of the day- although you’d need more spa

RARE BIRD – BEAUTIFUL SCARLET: THE RECORDINGS (1969-1975) EPIC FOREST (Esoteric Recordings) (CD boxset) (the third album) This is one of my favourite albums, period. While there is no more keyboard dualling (Graham Field has left to form Fields. Mark Ashton has also gone to be replaced by Fred Kelly on drums), there is plenty of guitar interplay to make up for it. It’s hard for me to spot a weakness on Rare Bird’s first of three albums for Polydor and the single, an EP really

‘What You Want to Know’ is a strong opening ballad. The mono single is also included. The replica gatefold sleeve is also much appreciated and, of course, the informative booklet and poster. The four part ‘Flight’ takes up the whole of side and this signals the more progressive approach taken. The keyboard palette has changed with what sounds like a harpsichord on ‘Down on the Floor’. ‘Hammerhead’ could have been a Van Der Graaf Generator song and was released as a mono singl

Rare Bird existed for just six years but what a six years! Each album provided something unique, labelled under progressive rock but not so easily pigeonholed. The bittersweet ‘You Went Away; finishes with a short drum solo (Mark Ashton), for heaven’s sake. It is 1969 and Rare Bird would enjoy success with ‘Sympathy’, later covered by Marillion. They also had two keyboard players: David Kafinetti (piano. Synth) and Graham Field (organ). Steve Gould was the bassist/ vocalist,

FROM THE ARCHIVE I have been reviewing the prolific improvisational space rocker Øresund Space Collective . Going back to “Ode to A Black Hole ” (2016), also by is very different. The synths take centre stage to a backdrop of heavy toms recalling the feel of Pink Floyd ’s early space explorations, guitar making an appearance later on in the second (long) piece, in a kind of Tangerine Dream  way. Mind you, it’s more of a tranquil, trippy experience than a being ripped apart as

THE MUSIC: Caravaggio is an Art Prog band with a Mediterranean flavour. A classic rock lineup – INSTRUMENTS:  electric guitar, bass and drums – meets traditional Mediterranean instruments such as accordion, bouzouki, mandolin, percussion, jigsaw WHAT’S IN IT FOR PROG LOVERS?: A distinctive sound that explores the boundaries between art rock, hard rock, world music, and progressive rock COMPOSITION:  Unconventional chords, ethnic melodies and jazz harmonies are frequently used

The prolific Santtu Laakso AKA Astral Magic along with Jonathan Sigel on guitar and violin and Shane Beck’s spoken word/ poetry is back once again asking the question – are we being watched by alien beings? A big question and a legitimate one. The musical groove starts on ‘Wormhole’ with some nice guitar fills. ‘Vector Equilibrium’ is a swirl of synthesiser as Shane continues the narrative. ‘It’s all Just a Simulation’ is like a mirror image of ‘Wormhole’, and similarly intox

‘ Running in the Gutter’ is BABAL’S 13th album, as we enter an “immersive world of intense lyricism and musical ideas” in “a beautifully crafted selection of hypnotic and rhythmic pieces, each delving deeply into the world we think we know.” The lyrics and strident vocals are in the DNA of the music with room for improvisation. “Could it be argued that Crass are joining forces with Cardiacs to deliver a Beefheart take on Byrne?” the press release asks. Kevin Rowland says the

The Swedish-based duo Us and Them’s stock in trade is vocal harmonies and strong melodies with elements of folk, psychedelia and baroque pop. Their “Introduction To” (also on Fruits de Mer) was a sell-out. Britt and Anders of the band explain the intention behind this somewhat introspective release: "While working on it, the songs were pulling in two directions, partly towards the pastoral and idyllic - a kind of escape from reality and a denial of the world that is going on

Featuring Paul "Sandy" Davis (lead vocals, 12-string guitar), Alan Cowderoy (lead guitar, vocals), Martin Kitcat (Mellotron, organ, piano, vocals), Tim Wheatley (bass, vocals) and Robert Lipson (drums), the band first came to prominence in 1968 when they supported The Who on tour. They recorded a single for Polydor Records before a support slot for King Crimson in 1969 led to them purchasing a mellotron and changing style. In 1970 their debut self-titled album appeared on the