Stepping into the Open Sonic Space of Modal Jazz There is a distinct physical sensation when a jazz performance moves from a rush of changing chords into a more open soundscape. The floor seems to settle beneath the band. Instead of being carried rapidly from one harmonic destination to another, the listener is given roomRead more
The Living Room of Sound and the Allure of the Jazz Cellar There is a particular romance to jazz heard in a room that seems almost too small for it. In a brick basement club, the air carries traces of coffee, timber, old plaster and the faint metallic shimmer of cymbals. Along the coast, anRead more
The Living Rhythm of British Jazz The apparent resurgence of British jazz is not a sudden fashion, nor simply a reaction against polished pop production. It is the latest movement in a long, restless conversation. The music heard across contemporary clubs and festival stages has been shaped by post-war bebop, Caribbean migration, South African exile,Read more
Stepping into the Circle of Sound There is a particular charge in entering a jazz jam session. The room may be small, the lighting low, and the stage only a raised corner with a piano, drum kit, amplifiers, and a few waiting microphones. Yet the atmosphere feels unusually alert. Conversations soften when the band begins,Read more
Rhythms by the English Channel Along the Dorset coast, the sound of swing has long arrived with the tide. In Bournemouth, Weymouth, Christchurch, and the surrounding resorts, music was not confined to prestigious city clubs or metropolitan concert halls. It flourished in ballrooms, pier venues, municipal theatres, hotels, ice rinks, and seasonal clubs where holidaymakersRead more