Sandy Brown Jazz
What's New
July 2025
Following discussions between Westminster Council and The Blue Note Entertainment Group, it was confirmed in May that the famous New York jazz club (pictured above) that now has jazz clubs in several countries, will open a club in London in early 2026. Negotiations about planning consent have finally been resolved and the club will open in the basement of St Martins Lane hotel in Covent Garden. There are more details here.
Joni's Jazz
According to Pitchfork, Joni Mitchell has announced that she will be releasing a compilation of her musical relationship with jazz in September. Over the years she has collaborated with Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus and others including Wayne Shorter to whom the compilation is dedicated. “It was a joy to play with him,” she said of the late jazz great.“ He will be missed, but he will remain alive for me in this music.” The compilation will encompass 8 LPs and 4 CDs box set formats. The physical editions are accompanied by liner notes, photographs, and some of Joni’s original artwork. It’s also being released digitally. Listen to a demo of Be Cool here.
BBC Radio Scotland Seeking Young Jazz Musician of 2025
In association with the Glasgow Jazz Festival, BBC Radio Scotland has announced that it is looking for young talent in the Scottish Jazz scene for the 2025 Young Jazz Musician Award. Entries close at 16:00 on 8th September 2025. Entrants must be aged between 18 and 27 (inclusive) as of 23 June 2025; and must currently reside in Scotland and must have resided in Scotland for at least 1 year immediately prior to 8th September 2025. Terms and conditions are here and an entry form is here.​
Myanmar Jazz Club
Myanmar, which used to be called Burma, has a jazz club based in Yangon, which in turn was once called Rangoon. It is the largest and most populated city in Myanmar and until 2005 was its capital. Its jazz club was founded in 2020. It is a particularly socially conscious club bringing music to people in many situations. In March of this year an earthquake struck central Myanmar killing more than 5,000 people and leaving thousands of others displaced. The club has stepped in to help. You can read more about the club and their work here.
World Music Day and International Jazz Day
India Today has published an article asking what is the difference between World Music Day and International Jazz Day? "World Music Day and International Jazz Day are both global celebrations of music, but they differ significantly in their origins, focus, and the way they are observed." You can read the article here.
Video Juke Box
Click on the pictures to watch the videos..... or take pot luck and click on the picture of the Juke Box and see what comes up.
Rainy Days And Mondays was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols for The Carpenters. Composer Roger Nichols passed through the Departure Lounge on the 17th May. He was not a jazz musician, but many jazz musicians have interpreted his songs. So, in tribute to Roger, here is Sarah Vaughan singing Rainy Days And Mondays. There is another fine interpretation by guitarist Pat Metheny - he talks about it and plays it here.
Joe Venuti and Marian McPartland play China Boy in this 1975 video with Major Holley (bass) and Cliff Leeman (drums). The notes tell how Cliff Leeman was almost blind at this point although you wouldn't know that from his drumming.
Joshua Redman plays A Message To Unsend from his new Blue Note album Words Fall Short. [See Recent Releases]
Here is A-Z from guitarist Ant Law's new album Unified Theories played live at the 606 Club (See Recent Releases]
Clarinettist George Lewis solos on Burgundy Street Blues backed by Alcide 'Slow Drag' Pavageau (bass) and Joe Watkins (drums).
In June, Emmet Cohen met 19 year old pianist Brandon Goldberg at Emmet's Place.
Did You Know?
Miles Away
"Miles Davis and his group were playing at a club in midtown Manhattan and when the set was supposed to start a guy came out and announced that we were all going to see "Miles-Away Davis!"
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"Miles came on to the little elevated stage pushing a pipe clothes rack which had several suits hanging on it. He said, "The manager told me these suits are important to the shows he puts on in this club. So I brought them out for you to see. If you want to hear us play, let me know. I'll be backstage," and he walked off."
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"The audience went wild, the band came out on to the little stage and they played their set. The clothes rack sat there on the side."
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It was 2008 when a box set of Miles' recordings was released with the title Miles Away, and in 2014, from Riverside Drive to West End Avenue, 77th Street in New York City was renamed “Miles Davis Way.”
Two Ears, Three Eyes
These pictures of vocalist Jo Harrop and saxophonist Jo Fooks were taken by Brian O'Connor LRPS from Images of Jazz at The Clocktower in Croydon at the end of May.
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Brian says|: "One week Jo Harrop is supporting Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall. The next, at the Clocktower Cafe in Croydon in front of an audience of about 40 (sans Gregory). The jazz world is fortunate to have so many artists with the willingness to adapt to such a wide variety of venues. I've mentioned before that The Clocktower Cafe Jazz Club is a beacon of light in the rather sad centre of Croydon. On just about every Thursday for two hours, commencing at mid-day, first class jazz can be heard in totally informal and friendly surroundings. Jo Harrop and Jo Fooks have been friends for a long time, and it shows in the way they interact with each other. Andy Cleyndert on bass likewise, with Terry Seabrook standing (though in fact 'sitting') in at the last moment, blended seamlessly in to the quartet. The gig consisted of mainly songs from the Great American Songbook, allowing Jo Harrop to showcase her total command of the genre."
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Jo Harrop's website is here with an introduction to her album The Path Of A Tear.
Take Two
Where we take two different jazz interpretations of a song
It Never Entered My Mind
I don't care if there's powder on my nose
I don't care if my hairdo is in place
I've lost the very meaning of repose
I never put a mudpack on my face
Rodgers and Hart wrote the lovely, sad song It Never Entered My Mind for the show Higher and Higher in 1940. Since then it has understandably become a jazz clssic. The show was made into a film in 1943 with Frank Sinatra in a small part, but the movie had different songs by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh.
Oh who'd have thought that I'd walk in a daze
Now I never go to shows at night but just to matinees
Now I see the show
And home I go
The verse to the song (above) is often not included, but it is here in our first take by American vocalist Siri Vik.
Once I laughed when I heard you saying
That I'd be playing solitaire
Uneasy in my easy chair
It never entered my mind
And once you told me I was mistaken
That I'd awaken with the sun
And ordered orange juice for one
It never entered my mind
Our second take is an instrumental version of the song from the album Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster. In a series in Jazzwise magazine in 2024, American tenor saxophonist and bass clarinettist David Murray told Brian Glasser how the album with the two tenor titans set him off on his musical life’s journey (here). "... When Coleman Hawkins played, his rhythm was so dominant; whereas Ben Webster’s sound and vibrato stood out when he played .... a friend of mine, Steve Potts, told me that one time he got a chance to play alongside Ben Webster, and he said you couldn’t stand too close to Ben ‘cause you might get hit with some spit! There was air in his sound. He was so dynamic because you could hear the note before he played it – you could hear his breath forming the note before it actually came out. Coleman Hawkins was quite different. ... Coleman Hawkins was like fighting with an axe, Ben Webster was like fighting with a feather! .....'
Once you warned me that if you scorned me
I'd say a lonely prayer again
And wish that you were there again
To get into my hair again
It never entered my mind
Time Out Ten
Better Be Quiet Now
Brad Mehldau
For this item you need to be able to stop for ten minutes.
We are often moving on to the next job, the next meeting, scrolling down social media, taking the next call ......'Time Out Ten' asks you to stop for ten minutes and listen to a particular piece of music; to find a time when you won't be interrupted, when you can put in/on your headphones and chill out. Ten minutes isn't long.
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What a great track title from Brad Mehldau's forthcoming album Ride Into The Sun due out at the end of August. This song, composed by Elliott Smith, is actually about a romantic break-up where the singer still has a long way to go distancing from their lost love, but for our ten-minute break, let's just concentrate on the title and Brad Mehldau's playing. It is not always easy to find somewhere quiet, but worth it just to stop for breath.
'Shrin yoku' is an idea in Japan that means ‘forest bathing’, or enjoying the calm and quiet of being in a forest. It is another way of taking time out ten if you have trees nearby ...
The forest is a special kind of still.
In the quiet of the trees.
I breathe deep as roots.
My mood grows as bright
as the light
that streams through leaves.
My thoughts open like buds.
I let my worries rest on softest moss.
The forest is a special kind of still
and in the quiet of the trees
I become
a special kind of me.
Kate Wakeling from A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop (Otter-Barry Books)
Who Is She?
They say romance came to you early but when it disappeared you learned that fools in love grow wise. Somehow, over the years, you have changed now – smoking, drinking, living for the day. You wear your shiny diamonds, dance and dine with some man. I know you miss your lost love and cry when nobody is looking.
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The answer is HERE
The Story Is Told
Kellys' Blues
'The cornet / trumpet players named Kelly were two, Chris Kelly, of whom there are no records and photographs and whose band played all over Louisiana, and Guy Kelly, who began his career playing with the Toots Johnson Band in Baton Rouge ....... ' (Carlo Simonettic, YouTube).
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"New Orleans, through the years, had some thirty-odd halls, each one incorporated, and most of them are active and standing today. Each of these halls had a different class distinction based on colour, family standing, money and religion. The most exclusive was the Jean Ami, which very few jazzmen ever entered - down to the Animal Hall, where even a washboard band was welcome if they could play the blues.
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So, Chris Kelly, who was dark of colour, low on finance, Baptist from birth, and cultured in the cornbrakes, never gave a thought to blowing his horn in the Jean Ami Hall and a dozen other amusement places.
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Chris could play slow, lowdown gut-struts until all the dancers were exhausted and dripping wet. His masterpiece was Careless Love, preached slow and softly with a plunger. He always played it at twelve o'clock, just before intermission. He'd blow a few bars before knocking off, and his fans would rush about, seeking their loves because that dance meant close embracing, cheek-to-cheek whisperings of love, kissing and belly-rubbing.
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The dance would always end up in a fight by some jealous lover who was dodged or who couldn't be found at Chris' signal. The moment the fisticuffs started, he would knock off a fast stomp that sounded like Dippermouth Blues .....
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Now, there was a caste system in New Orleans that's died out now. Each one of those caste systems had its own trumpet player, and Chris Kelly played for those blues, cotton-picking Negroes, what they called in the old days, 'yard and field' Negroes .......Chris would come on the job with a tuxedo, a red-striped shirt, a black tie, a brown derby, and a tan shoe and a black shoe. Whatever he picked up in the house before he left, that's what he wore. And nobody said anything to him because they wanted to see him. ...."
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Danny Barker in Hear Me Talkin' To Ya Edited by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff (1955)​
Guy Kelly
'Guy Kelly, who began his career playing with the Toots Johnson Band in Baton Rouge and then touring Texas, settled in New Orleans in 1927 for 2 years, where, among others, he played with Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra, making 2 recordings (the only ones from the 1920s). In 1929, after he had toured with Kid Howard’s band as a sub for Percy Humphrey, he moved to Chicago playing, among others, with Cassino Simpson’s Band, Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon, Erskine Tate, Tiny Parham, Carroll Dickerson, Jimmie Noone, Albert Ammons. ...
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Here is the tune with his only solo in 1920s, a stop time solo: ''Ta Ta Daddy'' (Papa Celestin) - Celestin's Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra – recorded in New Orleans on December13th, 1928 (Columbia 14396-D - Mx. 147633 - Take 2), downloaded from ''The Syncopated Times'': The personnel according to Brian Rust: Celestin's Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra: Oscar Celestin (cornet, director); Guy Kelly (cornet); Ernest Kelly (trombone); Earl Pierson (clarinet, alto sax)/ Sid Carriere (clarinet, gtenor sax); Jeanette Salvant (piano); Narvin Kimball (banjo); Simon Marrero (brass bass); Abby Foster (drums). The photographs and the recording in this video are more then 50 years old.
Kasper Rietkerk
The Happy Worrier
by Howard Lawes
The paradoxical title of this new album from Dutch saxophonist Kasper Rietkerk is just one element in the story behind its genesis. Kasper learned to play classical music at a young age but inspired by a new teacher, transferred to jazz in his teens. Having grown up in a small town the final year of his jazz saxophone degree in the city of Utrecht opened his eyes to the opportunities that a city provides, while his time with the Netherlands National Youth Jazz Orchestra introduced him to a host of like minded young people. Keen to broaden his horizons Kasper travelled to London to study for a Masters degreee at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and while there, Kasper formed a band called the KRSIX and released an album called The Island (2024). He has revelled in the opportunities that the vibrant London jazz scene provides, not least as a member the Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra playing gigs at Ronnie Scott’s and Swanage Jazz Festival.
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Kasper has graduated from the Royal Academy of Music and is the winner of the first UK Brubeck Living Legacy Award; his album, The Happy Worrier (2025) is the result.
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Here is an introduction to the album:
​The Brubeck Living Legacy in America.
In 2019, the Dave Brubeck family founded the Brubeck Living Legacy with the mission to promote awareness, interest and the understanding of jazz and its role in American and international culture and to build on Dave and Iola Brubeck’s lifelong dedication to music, creativity and the promotion of social justice through performance, education and outreach. Brubeck Living Legacy honours Dave and Iola’s belief in our shared humanity and the power of music to connect people from all walks of life.
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A particular example of its work is the Brubeck Jazz Summit that takes place each summer at Lake Tahoe and provides outstanding young musicians with an inclusive and nurturing learning environment, where students and faculty build a strong community of lifelong connections. Students are challenged to grow musically and personally and are provided with an educational experience designed to inspire and equip them in their journey as the next generation of creative leaders in jazz.
​The Brubeck Living Legacy in the UK.
In the UK the Brubeck Living Legacy Prize will be awarded every other year to a young musician who demonstrates excellence in both performance and composition, selected from the jazz student body at the Royal Academy of Music in their final two years of study, as well as those in the first year following graduation. Via Zoom Darius Brubeck described how the prize, which was proposed originally by the late Director of the Ubuntu Management Group, Martin Hummel, is awarded.
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The prize includes funding and support for the release of the prize winner’s proposed recording on a record label, which would have been Martin Hummel’s Ubuntu Music record label. Following the tragic death of Martin Hummel the album has been self-released. Eligible musicians submit an online application for consideration, which is then reviewed by a panel of industry-related judges. For the first year, the judges were composer/arranger/pianist and President of Brubeck Living Legacy, Darius Brubeck; Royal Academy of Music Professor & Head of Jazz Programmes, Nick Smart; jazz vocalist, recording artist and co-founder of ECN Music, Claire Martin (OBE), and founder/director of Ubuntu Music, Martin Hummel.
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Darius emphasises that this award addresses that point in a young musician’s career when their academic education has been completed and they endeavour to become successful, professional artists. It focusses on the process of converting a studio performance into a saleable product and provides help with production, packaging, warehousing, promotion and touring.
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There are no hard and fast rules, but the recipient of the award needs to demonstrate qualities that they are likely to advance their career in music. These include quality of composition and performance, feasibility of the project, new ideas and in the case of a band, good leadership skills. The winner of the first award, presented in 2024, was recent RAM graduate, Kasper Rietkerk and the album, The Happy Worrier (2025).
The Happy Worrier.
Talking via Zoom, Kasper Rietkerk explained the reason for the title and how he won the first Brubeck Living Legacy Prize awarded in the UK. Arriving in London from The Netherlands, Kasper threw himself wholeheartedly into the thriving jazz scene. He was quite taken aback by the wealth of opportunity, with so many excellent musicians, so much inspiration and the motivation to work and succeed. Being the gregarious type, he made many friends and joined in with all sorts of music sessions, eventually forming his own band called the KRSIX and releasing an album in 2024 called The Island. The island in this case was the British Isles and he visited many parts of it as well as Europe on an album tour. Here is avideo introduction to The Island album:
The Jazz Quiz
The Flower Show
This is a time of fetes and flower shows so in the quiz this month we give you fifteen
jazz-related questions on the topic of flowers. How many can you answer?
The July Jazz Quiz is​
Jazz Remembered
Bill Brunskill Remembered
by Don Coe
Inspired by the articles written by Ron Drakeford about jazz in Kingston-on-Thames (here), banjo player Don Coe recalls life with Bill Brunskill's band:
Let me say, right up front, that I played the banjo with more enthusiasm than talent. I have an enormous respect for the technical ability of present-day banjoists and can never hope to achieve the digital dexterity of most of them.
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Would I want to? I don’t think so. In the days of the jazz revival in this country it was the job of the rhythm section to lay down a solid, exciting beat and, by God, was it exciting! A solo then was once through the tune thumping out the basic chords, with an occasional glance at the chord book and the odd tremolo and flick roll. The main idea was to give the front line a rest. The drummer also went wild for a few bars hitting everything in sight.
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My introduction to jazz was immediately after demob from the army in ‘51. I was given a banjo by a colleague at work who played guitar, and he announced that we would go next week to the Camberwell Art School where there was to be a dance. I had a week to learn a few chords. He had arranged that we would sit in after the interval and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be so loud that they won’t hear you anyway”
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We did and they didn’t! The band was the Crane River Jazz Band with John RT Davies, Ken Colyer and, I think, Ian Wheeler - it was all such a blur.
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Here is a recording of the Crane River band in August 1950 playing Just A Little While To Stay Here. The line-up on this audio track was:- Ken Colyer (trumpet); Sonny Morris (cornet); John R.T. Davies (trombone); Monty Sunshine (clarinet); Pat Hawes (piano); Ben Marshall (banjo); Julian Davies (bass) and John Westwood (drums); (Not the line-up shown on the band photograph, which was taken later).
I married soon after this and we went one Sunday evening to the “Fighting Cocks” at Kingston to listen and dance to Bill Brunskill and his band. Several weeks later when we were on nodding terms with the band, I had the temerity to ask Bill if I could sit in one night. “Of course” he said. (In all the years I played with Bill I never recall him refusing anyone a sit in). The following week I noticed that the banjo player had changed. It was Eddie Smith, who was to join Chris Barber a couple of weeks later. Eddie was filling in for Bill’s full time banjoist who had moved on.
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I couldn’t have been that bad because soon after Bill asked if I would like to join him until he could find a full time banjo. I was to stay with him for many years.
Don Coe
We were resident at a Club in Gerrard Street, London; on Sunday afternoons at the Cy Laurie Club in Windmill Street and at the ‘Cocks’, Kingston, on Sunday evenings. The Band comprised Bernie Newlands (trombone, Bernie raced a Riley Nine), Bill (Trumpet/Cornet), Reg Woolley (clarinet), Me (banjo), Blind Johnny Fletcher (washboard, thimbles and cowbells (!) and Bill 'Punchy' Wren (piano).
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Because of Johnny’s contacts at the Royal Institute for the Blind, we blagged rehearsal facilities at their HQ in Tottenham Court Road. The first night I attended we struggled up three flights of stairs in the pitch dark, Johnny leading ‘cos he knew the way. He had neglected to ask them to leave the lights on. Bill tripped on the stairs and put a dent in his cornet. He never let Johnny forget it at subsequent jobs. He would shake his fist a couple of inches from his nose and say, with a grin, “Look at that, you crab – buggered up a perfectly good instrument”! Johnny, not able to see would just put two fingers up and carry on assembling his cowbells.
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I had arrived in at the deep end. So there I was, a fully fledged member of Bill Brunskill Jazz Band with a brand new chord book with about ten tunes copied from that of Bill Wren. Bill Brunskill was so tolerant that he would call a tune and ask me if that was OK. If not Bill Wren would call the chords with his stentorian voice while I scribbled them into my book! Sometimes he would say, “Just like ‘Closer Walk’ but move it up a couple of frets”
Then Bill would give one of his crooked smiles and stomp it in.
I remember a time when we were well into the second half at Gerrard Street and the place was really rocking. Moisture was dripping from the ceiling and we were all in a euphoric haze. The ‘stage’ was made up of trestle table tops supported on beer crates and was bouncing up and down in time to Blind Johnny Fletcher ’s right foot. The piano was on the floor to the right and Bill 'Punchy' Wren was in a world of his own.
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Through the fog of sweat, dust and cigarette smoke we could see four or five black guys carrying suspicious looking cases forcing their way through to the front. Bill blew louder and faster which didn’t exactly have the calming effect he intended.
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With a final flourish of his horn, Bill ended the tune and confronted the visitors. They had just finished a concert at the Earls Court NFJO concert and had been advised to visit Gerrard Street to 'ferret out Bill Brunskill, who would be sure to invite them to sit in’.
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So it came about that Albert Nicholas and three others, whose names I never did learn, climbed up onto the stage and, for the next 30 minutes or so, blew, banged and sang us into oblivion. It all ended uproariously when the beer crates finally gave in and we all collapsed in laughter over Bill Wren who said something like, “F*** it” , got up from the floor and walked out!
One of our venues was at Richmond. It must have been in 1955 ‘cos my wife, Bron, was very pregnant with our first born, Steve, and he arrived in May of that year. Arriving in the town I slammed on the brakes of my Austin Seven and rammed the back of a car waiting at a set of lights. The furious driver insisted that I follow him round the corner to exchange details. I did - but unfortunately whacked into his car again just as he was getting out! He was now incandecent with rage (I think Don means 'incandescent', but who knows ... Ed). He opened my door, presumably to drag me out and beat me up. At that, Bron gave a convincing groan of imminent childbirth and the driver stopped in his tracks, apologising profusely when I told him that we were seeking a hospital – urgently. He drove off. We drove the few yards to the Jazz Club and had a great session. Bill was so impressed with the excuse for my delayed arrival that he became Godfather to my son, Steve.
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Bernie Newlands (trombone), had moved on by now and his place had been filled by Fred Bannister (Fred married Wendy, daughter of the Richmond Jazz Club proprieter). We played an enormous variety of venues. Those which spring to mind are, New Cross Working Men's Club, Eel Pie Island, Walton-on-Thames at the Nat Gonella Club, (I believe that Bill Brunskill had played guitar with Nat in a previous life), Hampstead Youth Club, Riverboat Shuffles and Southend Pier.
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My most memorable times are definitely those when we played the Cy Laurie Club on Sunday afternoons, then on to the ‘Fighting Cocks’ for the evening session. I was working in Charing Cross Road at that time and lived in Kingston. Parking was a doddle in those days before yellow lines and parking meters. I would park in Windmill Street, drop the banjo off in the Club, walk round to the ‘Star’ restaurant in Old Compton Street for a cheese sandwich & coffee, and that would keep me going until a beer and crisps at the ‘Cocks’ in the evening.
Here is a recording of Bill Brunskill's band in the early 1960s playing the Robert E. Lee:
Anagram
ONE NIGHT LOSE DREAM
(Big band theme tune from 1930s / 1940)
The answer is HERE at the start of this clip.
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Lens America
Journalist/guitarist Filipe Freitas and photographer Clara Pereira run JazzTrail in New York City. They feature album and concert coverage, press releases and press kits, album covers and biographies and they are valued contacts for Sandy Brown Jazz. You can read Filipe's reviews of album releases here and see Clara's gallery of pictures here.
This is one of a set of stunning pictures Clara Pereira took at NUBLA in New York City in May where drummer Marcus Gilmore was featuring his album Journey To The New.
In his review of the gig (here), Filipe Freitas writes: "Throughout his career, Marcus Gilmore - a first-rate, Grammy Award-winning drummer and composer - has been a vital contributor to projects led by Chick Corea, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, David Virelles, and Shabaka Hutchings, among others. Though less prolific as a bandleader, he released Refract in 2023, a co-led trio project with pianist Jason Moran and electronic artist BlankFor.ms, and further expanded his musical palette this year with an experimental sextet on the newly released Journey to the New - Live at Village Vanguard." The gig featured Emmanuel Michael on guitar, Burniss Travis on electric bass, Jason Lindner (subbing for David Virelles) on Rhodes and synths, Morgan Guerin on EWI and tenor saxophone, and Rashaan Carter on acoustic bass. Filipe continues: ".... The music - a progressive fusion of the present day - blended elements of post-bop, neo-soul, ambient electronic, and Black American music. The concert opened with Travis’ “Voltaire”, where his electric bass often functioned like a synth, delivering effect-drenched harmonies with Michael soloing atop. At the core were odd-metered riffs that set the stage for the solos. The following piece, “Interlude One”, centered around a semi-acoustic guitar riff. Written by Michael, it showcased his voice, supported by a rhythm section that generated dynamic undercurrents to keep the atmosphere vibrant and engaging........."
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The album Journey To The New : Live At The Village Vanguard is available here and listen to the track Voltaire here.
5Km Productivity
by Matt Fripp of Jazzfuel
Matt Fripp set up his own music agency and website, Jazzfuel, in 2016, since when he has established a client base across many countries. Although born in the UK, Matt is currently based with his family in Paris, France, but the international aspects of his work make little difference to his location. What is different about Matt and Jazzfuel is the information that he shares publicly on his website. Matt has kindly agreed to share some of his thoughts as an agent with us from time to time:
A couple of years ago, I got back into running. Nothing fancy - just a 5K, twice a week. What I noticed - and later found is surprisingly common - is this pattern:
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• Km 1–2: You start fast. Adrenaline, motivation, good intentions.
• Km 3–4: You slow down. Fatigue sets in. Focus drifts.
• Km 5: You see the finish and surge. It's often your fastest split.
It’s a perfect mirror for how we approach goals. We launch in a blaze of energy, then slow as resistance and routine creep in. If there's a deadline - a visible finish line - we often push through and finish strong. But if there’s no clear end point? We don’t finish. We just drift... and eventually stop at some random bus stop.
Maybe you're one of those people who gets a million things done every day. If you're more normal - and struggle with keeping on track - give this a try:
Goals need two things:
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enough spark to start fast
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a clear finish line close enough to pull you through the messy middle
All the best.
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Matt
Forum
Behind The Juke Box
Many thanks to Vic Grayson, Programme Secretary for Bournemouth Big Band Swing & Jazz Club who identified the tune behind the juke box in last month's Video Juke Box section (here). Vic says: "It took me a little while to 'name that tune' which the Central High School Jazz Band were playing on that superb YouTube video. Then it clicked of course - 'Bweebida Bobbida' by Gerry Mulligan! I couldn't find a single mention on the TY video."​
Jazz Satire
Lionel King writes: "Dear Ian, I am putting together something on jazz satire - there was a vogue for this about the time I graduated from University in 1959. The subject has always intrigued me. I thought I'd like to explore it further and follow up with a contribution. One or two points of information which your erudite readers may be able to help me with.
The satirist Stan Freberg recorded an interview with an imaginary French horn player called 'Oscar Pederstein' allegedly with Stan Kenton. The poor chap could say very little more when answered about his work save 'I don''t dig those crazy scales, man, I just blow." Hilarious! Does any one know where this track appears - probably an LP?
There was another LP made by Doc Sverenson titled 'Jazz at the Town Hall' (or somesuch)? This is an imaginary concert allegedly by a whole galaxy of jazzmen of all eras incongruously playing together with such easily identifiable names as Theloneliest Plunk (piano), Merry Julligan (baritone sax) etc. etc.
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Any information your readership could let me have would be most gratefully acknowledged.
Volunteer Wanted
Steve Bewick is a freelance jazz broadcaster based in Manchester who produces the online jazz programme Hot Biscuits on mixcloud.com/stevebewick/ Steve is looking for assistance: "At the moment I am seeking help in recruiting a new member to the team here. This will help in reducing the time it takes from accepting new releases and getting them out of the in-box and on to the airwaves." To find out more, contact Steve through his Facebook page here.
Departure Lounge
Information has arrived about the following musicians or people connected to jazz who have passed through the 'Departure Lounge' since our last update.
When this page first started, links to newspaper obituaries were free. Then increasingly advertisements were added and now many newspapers ask for a subscription to read a full obituary. Where possible, we initially link to a Wikipedia page which is still free of charge, but we also give links to newspaper obituaries in case you want to read them.
Foday Musa Suso
Gambian kora and gravicord musician and composer who emigrated to the United States in 1977. In Chicago, he formed the Mandingo Griot Society with local percussionists Hamid Drak and Adam Rudolph which played fusion music around the world. He had performed with Bill Laswell, Pahroah Sanders, Jack DeJohnette, Ginger Baker and others. He worked with Herbie Hancock on 2 albums, Sound-System and Village Life. Foday passed through the Departure Lounge on 25th May 2025. Obituaries : Wikipedia : New York Times : A video of Jack Dejohnette and Foday Musa Suso playing Ocean Wave is here.
Louis Moholo
South African drummer born in Cape Town in 1940. A member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, The Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. He emigrated to London in 1964 where he played with many musicians. He returned to South Africa in September 2005, performing with George E. Lewis at the UNYAZI Festival of Electronic Music in Johannesburg and later went under the name Louis Moholo-Moholo because the name was more ethnically authentic. Obituaries: Wikipedia : The Conversation : Listen to Louis Moholo and Zanele here.
Lalo Schifrin
Perhaps best known as an American movie music composer (Mission Impossible, The Eagle Has Landed, etc) his jazz beginnings and influences are less credited. Born in Argentina in 1932 as Boris Claudio, he studied Sociology and Law but became interested in jazz as he studied piano and won a scholarship at the Conservatoire de Paris. He formed a jazz big band, met Dizzy Gillespie and wrote an extended work for Gillespie (Gillespiana). Gillespie invited Schifrin to fill the vacant piano chair in his quintet. Schifrin moved to New York City, as Gillespie's pianist and arranger and wrote a second extended composition for Gillespie, The New Continent. In 1963 he wrote for his first hollywood film for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Lalo passed the rough the Departure Lounge on 26th June 2025. Obituaries : Wikipedia : The Guardian : Variety : A video of Lalo Schifrin with Dizzy Gillespie is here.​
Recent Releases
A few words about recent releases / reviews:
Apart from where they are included in articles on this website, I don't have a 'Reviews' section for a number of reasons:
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I receive so many requests to review recordings it is impossible to include them all.
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Unlike some publications/blogs, Sandy Brown Jazz is not a funded website and it is not possible to pay reviewers.
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Reviews tend to be personal opinions, something a reviewer likes might not suit you, or vice versa.
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It is difficult to capture music in words, so much better to be able to listen and see whether the music interests you.
For these reasons in particular I just include a selection of recent recordings below where I share the notes issued by the musician(s) as an introduction and links to samples so you can 'taste' the music for yourselves. For those who like to read reviews, these, of course, can be checked out on other sites.
Some Recent Releases
UK
America
Daniel DeLorenzo - We Probably Wouldn't Get Along
Dan Weiss Quartet - Unclassified Affections
Hanging Hearts - Where's Your Head At