Sandy Brown Jazz
What's New
June 2026
This painting is one of a series of paintings of the saxophonist by the American artist Sabian Bruni. You can see the rest of his images in his gallery here.
Who Was Sonny Rollins?
Sadly, American saxophonist Sonny Rollins died on the 25th May. There are many obituaries online where you will find some answers as to why his influence and respect is held by many, but most of us will not have met him. Take a look at the variety of paintings of Sonny showing how different painters have seen and interpreted him (here), or watch interviews with him such as here or here. However for most people Sonny Rollins is his music. That too will naturally vary, we all have different experiences of it. Back in 2019 we ran a series called Jazz As Art where we tried to match a range of paintings to tracks by various musicians. One of these was Sonny Rollins' There Are Such Things. It is still online here - perhaps see how you relate to it?
Köln 75
Some time ago we reported the making of a film about how a young German girl was responsible for one of pianist Keith Jarrett's most famous concerts. The film, Köln 75, is scheduled for release in the UK on the 5th June. Initially, Keith Jarrett arrived to play the concert but was about to leave when he found the piano was not up to scratch, and then ... You can read the story here. The trailer is here.
Jazz Journalists Association Awards
Last month we reported how the American Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) present various awards, one of which is the Book Of The Year (2025) Award. They also present an award for 'Jazz Heroes' for the year. Amongst them is an 'England' Jazz Hero, and this year Fiona Ross has been named. Fiona is 'An award-winning jazz artist, a pianist, songwriter, and vocalist, but what makes her a Jazz Hero are her tireless efforts championing other women on the scene as a journalist and founder of the Women in Jazz Media organization.' The full list of Heroes is here. Some awards were delayed because of 'a bereavement in the JJA family', but Facebook has named the winners of the Book Awards as: Stomp Off, Let's Go! The Early Years of Louis Armstrong by Ricky Riccardi and The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, The Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life by John Gennari.
Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center
For just under 40 years, Wynton Marsalis has been the founder, managing and artistic director, 'and plenty else besides' of Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. It has been announced that his contract as Artistic Director will end in 2028, and from 2027 he will end his tenure as Artistic Director and serve in an advisory capacity. From 2028 he will continue to be a Board member as Founder. There is more information 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.
Saxophonist Sam Braysher and guitarist Linus Eppinger have a joyful new album out A Sinner Kissed An Angel. This live video from Amsterdam has a different rhythm section to the album but gives us a taste of Sam and Linus with Put On A Happy Face, a tune featured on the album [See Recent Releases]
Saxophonist Jasmine Myra plays Likeness and Shadow from her new album Where The Light Settles [see Recent Releases]
This film (20 mins) about the Cambridge Riverside Jazz Band was made by the U3A Cambridge Moviemakers Group. The band was founded in 1957 and has been going ever since, with obvious changes in personnel. See the Forum section below for details.
God Gave Me Feet For Dancing - This video of award winning Ezra Collective at Glastonbury last year captures the charisma that draws in so many young people - the song is on their album Dance, No One's Watching. where Yazmin Lacey sings the song - Yazmin received the Vocalist Of The Year award at the 2026 Jazz FM awards on the 16th April. [See Howard Lawes' article here]
Pianists Chick Corea and Hiromi duet on this performance of Lennon and McCartney's Fool On The Hill.
In September last year baritone saxophonist Hannah Horton and her quartet played I Wish I Knew How It Would Be Free. Hannah has a new album out Stories On The Wind (here) [and see Recent Releases] this tune is not on it, but try the ones that are - particularly Whisper.)
Here we reel back the years to 1928 and Gus Arnheim's West Coast Orchestra playing Tiger Rag. Gus Arnheim was a significant dance band leader in America in the early nineteen hundreds. You can read about him here and of his links with Sophie Tucker, Bing Crosby, Stan Kenton and others.
Did You Know?
Ted Wallace and his Campus Boys
Mean To Me
Ed Kirkeby
An number of people have uploaded to YouTube copies they have of the 78 rpm record Mean To Me by Ted Wallace and his Campus Boys - who was Ted Wallace?
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He was actually Wallace Theodore Kirkeby, in 1916 an assistant manager of the Columbia New York studios in New York. He left Columbia to go into publishing, but he kept contact with twenty-two recording studios and from the early 1920s until around 1937 he arranged recording sessions for a number of groups that he put together under various pseudonyms - The California Ramblers, The Littkle Ramblers, The University Six, The Varsity Eight, The Goofus Five, Ed Lloyd, Ted Wallace (his two first names), and others. Ed Kirkeby eventualy became Fats Waller's manager.
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He recorded prolifically but details are obscure and the personnel on the recordings often unknown. Many of the musicians were not well-known jazz names, but from time to time, some were. From some of band names it is clear that the target audience was college students. Violinist Arthur Hand was generally responsible for public appearances and Adrian Rollini for picking featured soloists from the main band and others to promote the more 'rhythmic' recordings. The Dorsey brothers, Stan King, Red Nichols, Fud Livingston, Mannie Klein, Adrian Rollini, and others are all thought to have taken part.
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Perhaps we shall never know the names of the personnel on Mean To Me, it is tempting to guess (is that Adrian Rollini on goofus?). Albert J. McCarthy and Dave Carey's discography says that the number was recorded on the 6th March 1929. They suggest the band probably includes Phil Napoleon (trumpet) and Tommy Dorsey (trombone). Those who uploaded to YouTube suggest the vocalist is Smith Ballew.
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Here is a YouTube version from a vinyl compilation where the sound is a little better.
Rehearsal
A series in which we catch on video musicians or a band in rehearsal.
Slow Jazz and Tripletizing
Saxophonist and auther Ray Smith rehearses a high school big band through this exercise. 'Tripletizing' is a technique of dividing a standard, duple-based beat into three equal parts instead of two or four, creating a three-notes-in-the-time-of-two rhythm. This adds a flowing, urgent, or "swing" feel to music, commonly seen as eighth-note triplets, which pack three notes into the space of a single quarter note.
Anagram
The Story Is Told
Avon Blues
a jazz fantasy
imagined by Lionel King
The Stratford Herald recently carried reports of tourists complaining about losing a night’s sleep while staying in a B&B near Charlecote, Warwickshire. The matter is being taken seriously by the English Tourist Board. The aggrieved pair, an American academic and his wife, heard someone playing a tenor saxophone.
“It sounded wonderful at first, coming through the open window from far away in the darkness but it went on all damn night for God’s sake! No one else heard it. The landlady thought we were mad.”
Memories have been stirred of similar unexplained occurrences in the area dating back forty years. A forlorn-looking individual, with a gaunt, expressionless countenance is reported to have been seen in several instances staring at musical instruments through shop windows for hours on end in various Warwickshire towns. At the Leamington Jazz Festival in 1979, a tenor sax player captivated enthusiasts at a fringe event at The Dun Cow. After playing solo for an hour, he promptly left without identifying himself. Witnesses recalled a man in his late 20s, perhaps older, clad in a sombre dark grey suit, his Brylcreamed hair parted neatly down the middle in 1930s style. Despite the technical intricacies of the jazz numbers he played, he demonstrated complete mastery of his instrument and effortless breathing control. His facial expression was immutable throughout. Festival organisers suggested he was one of many musicians whose services had to be turned down through lack of sponsorship or that he was a talented amateur, eager to take part in this prestigious event.
A retired policeman wrote to The Warwick Observer later, recalling an incident in the 1960s. Two traumatised poachers had turned up to the station where he was on desk duty in the middle of the night, freely confessed to their nefarious activities and reported having just seen ‘a spectral clerical gentleman’ playing a musical instrument, standing on a tiny island in the river Avon. They were not taken seriously.
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In the 1980s, an intrepid electronics student from Lanchester College, having heard something of the poachers’ story and other rumours, camped out near Guy’s Cliffe. He saw no apparitions but heard music which he captured on a cassette recorder. The late Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz musician, broadcaster and a leading authority on jazz history, studied the tape. He was given no information about the circumstances in which it had been recorded. His verdict was that it appeared to be the work of a highly accomplished musician, playing unaccompanied in a distinctly rhapsodic, personal style, influenced by the American saxophone virtuoso of the 1930s and ‘40s, Coleman Hawkins. He remarked on the unknown musician’s faultless technique on his extended renditions of the jazz standards, I’ve Got To Sing A Torch Song, It’s The Talk Of The Town, Blue And Sentimental, Indian Summer and Avon Blues, among others.
Humph commented on the haunting, ethereal tone of the music, which he suggested was recorded by a river in the open air. He specified passages in which lapping water could be heard, also the muffled cry of waterfowl, and that the latest modern sound filtering equipment would erase such extraneous noises without damaging the quality of the music. Humph’s verdict was that they represented original recordings by a saxophonist unknown to him.
Jazz Played Here
The A-Trane
Berlin
by Peter Maguire*
The A-Trane has been a permanent fixture of the international jazz scene and the nightlife at Savignyplatz since 1992. Even when Berlin was divided, the square with its cafés, bars and restaurants was a popular place to go out. The name is a play on words referencing New York's "A" train (immortalised by Duke Ellington) and the nickname of jazz legend John Coltrane ("Trane"). The venue hosts a constantly changing programme of local and world-class international stars, including past performances by Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, and Diana Krall. There are Jam Sessions every Saturday night after the main concert when the club hosts its legendary "Jazz after Midnight" jam sessions.
The A-Trane Club can be found at Bleibtreustraße 1, 10625 Berlin – Charlottenburg, (Postadresse: Pestalozzistr. 105)
Tel: +49 30 3132550.
Their website with details of upcoming shows and other information is here
Here is a video of vocalist Thomas Quasthoff's Trio playing Corcovado at the Club in 2025:
*Trombonist Peter Maguire is based in Belgium and is the creator of the Jazz Clubs Worldwide website, a valuable database if you are looking for jazz clubs elsewhere. Peter will be telling us of other clubs in future issues.
Tea Break
A series where musicians and others stop by for an imaginary Tea Break to talk about their music and projects.
Verona Chard
It was the lull after the lunchtime rush at Café Le Rêve. A young couple were still sat in the window seat – empty coffee cups, talking, listening, eye-to-eye - early stages. Joe, the chef, was taking a well-deserved break at the back table by the kitchen door, scanning his ‘socials’.​
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He looked up: “Hi Ian”​
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“Hi Joe. You playing tonight?​
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“Yeah. Frankie’s Diner. Trio with Nick on bass and the Prof on drums, Rob said he might look in later but someone else wanted a good guitar player tonight. I hope Ferdinand will let me off on time later.”​
Natalie appeared from the kitchen: “Don’t worry Joe, I’ll cover for you. Hey Ian, I’ve booked the booth for you. Who have you got coming in?”​
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I smiled: “Verona Chard, singer and actor. She’s lovely, you’ll like her.
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Natalie thought for a moment, “That’s sounds interesting. Tell me about her?”
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“I remember she told me that she first got the performance bug when she was in a school nativity play in Bristol or Bath. I think she was playing ‘Mary’. Anyway, later, she persuaded her parents to pay for her to have singing lessons. They must have paid off because she went to both the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. She was a good jazz singer and in no time was singing at top clubs like Ronnie Scott’s and the 606 Club. Humphrey Lyttelton asked her to record the Jail Break track for his Sad Sweet Songs and Crazy Rhythms album.”
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“I’ve heard of Humphrey Lyttelton,” Natalie said.”Didn’t he have a programme on the radio?”
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“You’re thinking of when he chaired I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. But he was one of the UK’s top jazz trumpeters and bandleaders for many years. Jail Break is a really challenging Blues for a vocalist. Humph originally recorded it in 1953 with Iris Grimes and Verona captures the distressed feeling well – take a listen:”
“Wow!” said Natalie. “You can really feel the prisoner’s despair and wanting to escape!”
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“Verona’s own album, Fever – In Love With Shakespeare came out in 2011. Here’s the CD. Can we play the title track to cheer up the mood please Natalie?”
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“Good idea!”
“So, on the music front, Verona went on to set up the British and International Vocal (Jazz) Academy continuous workshop courses, and for young children, the Musical Balloon Band. That initiative for toddlers has really taken off and I want to ask her how it is going……”
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At which point Verona arrived wearing her usual infectious smile. I introduced Natalie who showed us to the booth at the back of the café.
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Natalie asked: “What can I get you both? Do you take sugar Verona?”
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“Coffee for me please, but no sugar,”
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“Same for me please, Natalie.”
With a short few words about the weather and our coffee served, I started to catch up with Verona:
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You have been really busy on many fronts recently – acting, singing, and your work with children. I believe you have a musical play that has recently staged in Uppingham about the comedian Kenneth Williams. What is ‘Kenny’ is all about?
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‘Kenny! The Kenneth Williams Centenary Musical’ is about the life of Kenneth Williams with references from his personal diaries. It is currently a three hander. Kenneth is played by Wink Taylor; Charlie Williams, his father, is played by Andrew Fettes, and I play Louisa Williams his mother. It is very funny as you'd expect but also highly emotional especially in scenes between Kenny and Louisa."
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Was he really born a hundred years ago?! When you say that Kenny was played by the impressionist Wink Taylor – was that weird having someone on stage who seemed like Kenneth?
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It was perfect for this type of show and the audience loved the interactive elements, the ad libs and references from Kenneth's working life.
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What is the music like?
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The book and lyrics were written by Henry Dawe with original music by Tom Neill who also founded the Windsor Jazz Club. The musical director was Christopher Peters and the play was directed by John Hewer. The music draws on Tom's jazz, musicals and theatre experience, I would say there is something for everyone to enjoy.
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And how has it been received? Are the plans to take it on somewhere else?
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There were two full houses in Uppingham! I can't give too much away at this stage, but we are now looking for a London theatre venue for the next stage of its development.
Time Out Ten
Get Here
Nils Landgren
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.
Award-winning Nils Landgren is a fine Swedish trombone player. He is often called 'The Man with the Red Horn' - obviously because he plays a red trombone. You can read more about him and his music here. He also sings and this performance of Get Here with drummer Wolfgang Haffner's Dreamband is is rightly described by YouTube viewers as 'beautiful' and 'sublime' - it is ideal for stopping and relaxing for this month's break.
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You can reach me by railway
You can reach me by trailway
You can reach me on an airplane
You can reach me with your mind
You can reach me by caravan
Cross the desert like an Arab man
I don't care how you get here
Just get here if you can
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American-Canadian singer / songwriter Brenda Russell wrote the song 'while staying at a penthouse in Stockholm : the tune came to her as she viewed some hot air balloons floating over the city, a sight Russell recalls set her "really tripping on how many ways you can get to a person" (the eventual song's lyrics include the line: "You can make it in a big balloon but you'd better make it soon") ...... the song was still in the singer's mind when she woke up the next day: "I don't read or write music [so] it's extraordinary if a song is still in my head that I haven't jotted down or recorded. So if it's still in my head overnight, I think that's something extra special, it's like somebody trying to tell me something."
What Will There Be?
Hey, c’mon everyone, and wear your new clothes. You’ll know everyone, and they'll all know you – and wear that rabbit’s foot to keep away the hoo-doo! When the preaching begins, bend down low to drive away your sin. Oh, when you get that religion, you’ll just want to shout and sing, and when you hear the bells, then all join in the chorus.
The answer is HERE
Ezra Collective
An Extraordinary Journey
by Howard Lawes*
The evening of the 18th April saw a gig at the Colour Factory in Hackney Wick, London. On the face of it this is nothing unusual, but this gig was an emotional and joyous celebration of the10th anniversary of the release of a debut recording, Chapter 7, by a remarkable band called Ezra Collective.
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The journey started when the Koleoso brothers, Femi on drums and TJ on bass participated in the services at their local Jubilee Church in north London where music was an important and integral part of worship. Music was also part of their education at both primary and secondary schools. Femi’s talent for drumming was obvious, and he received further tuition from Tim Giles while at Enfield Grammar School. His early influences included the Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, the Jamaican singer, Bob Marley and the American gospel singer Kirk Franklin.
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While still at school Femi joined the youth music charity, Kinetico Bloco and the talent development organisation, Tomorrow’s Warriors . Both these organisations have been hugely supportive of Femi Koleoso and the other members of Ezra Collective and Femi paid tribute to them and others with a speech at the Colour Factory gig.
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The PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading charitable funder of new music and talent development published a case study celebrating their own 25th anniversary that highlights both the awards that Ezra Collective have won and the various organisations and funding that has helped them on their journey (here).
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Ezra Collective started life with Femi Koleoso (drums) and TJ Koleoso (electric bass), together with James Mollison (tenor saxophone), Joe Armon-Jones (keyboards) and Dylan Jones (trumpet). Jones has since been replaced by Ife Ogunjobi. The members of Ezra Collective met at the Tomorrow’s Warriors jazz programme run by Gary Crosby and Janine Irons. Their name is a reference to the Biblical prophet Ezra and his practice of studying the works of those who came before him, which translates very well into jazz, an artform in which its practitioners have always shown great respect for their predecessors.
In 2012 Ezra Collective won a competition to support trumpeter Terence Blanchard at Ronnie Scott’s legendary jazz club, then, In 2013, after winning the prize for Best Jazz Ensemble at the Music for Youth National Festival, they made their Royal Albert Hall debut at the Music for Youth School Proms in November playing 'Shade of Scarlet' by Femi Koleoso.
By 2014 the band were supporting Jazz Jamaica at the Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival and later the same year they featured in a Tomorrow’s Warriors Showcase at the Watermill Jazz Club and played a set at the Queen Elizabeth Hall during the London Jazz Festival. Another organisation that has played a large part in Ezra Collective’s success is Jazz Refreshed and in 2015 the band featured in their Jazz ReFest festival at London’s Southbank Centre. It seemed like suddenly, young people in London were into jazz and alongside Ezra Collective other artists from Tomorrow’s Warriors like Nérija, Binker and Moses, Zara McFarlane, Camilla George, Shabaka Hutchings were clamouring for attention.
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In 2016 Ezra Collective debuted at the Love Supreme Festival which is considered by many as a breakthrough moment in their career, then in 2017 they were nominated for 'Newcomers of the Year' at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards but lost out to Nérija. However, their new album, Juan Pablo: The Philosopher (2017) won 'Best Jazz Album' at Giles Petersen’s Worldwide Awards. In an interview with Thomas Rees published in Jazzwise magazine (June 2018) Femi Koleoso talked about the album challenging perceptions, age and experience versus youth and innovation.
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Here they are playing The Philosopher from the album live in Utrecht with Femi Koleoso (drums); TJ Koleoso (bass); Joe Armon Jones (keys); Dylan Jones (trumpet) and James Mollison (saxophone): The Philosopher
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In 2018 Gilles Petersen produced a landmark compilation album called We Out Here (2018), directed by Shabaka Hutchings, which showcased the wealth of young talent blending jazz with Afrobeat, grime and hip-hop and fuelling a vibrant London jazz scene. Apart from Ezra Collective the album featured Maisha, Moses Boyd, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Triforce, Joe Armon-Jones and Kokoroko. The success of the album spawned Petersen’s first UK festival in 2019 using the same name - 'We Out Here'. With funding from the PRS Foundation Fund, Jazz ReFreshed featured Ezra Collective in their Outernational Showcase at the 2018 SWSX Conference in Austin, Texas, and in 2019 they paid a return visit. At the Jazz FM Awards the band were worthy winners of both the Best Jazz Act and Best Live Experience awards.
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Early 2019 saw Ezra Collective in New York for the Winter Jazz Fest. The 'British Jazz Introducing' showcase, part funded by BBC Music and the PRS Foundation, was hosted by Gilles Petersen. The Collective released their first full album called You Can't Steal My Joy in 2019. It was described by Ammar Kalia in the Guardian as “a joyous listen, which will only be enhanced on their forthcoming tour, and a confident assertion of Ezra Collective breaking out of the once-restrictive jazz enclave”. This prediction was amply justified by Ezra Collective’s performance on the West Holts Stage at the Glastonbury Festival that was hosting jazz for the first time. Despite their busy lives, members of Ezra Collective continued to support friends from Tomorrow’s Warriors with Joe Armon-Jones appearing with Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble and Femi Koleoso drumming with pianist Sarah Tandy’s band and featuring on her album Infection In The Sentence (2019). Sarah Tandy, who is a classically trained pianist later paid tribute to Femi for teaching her about rhythm and dance.
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Here is Ezra Collective at Glastonbury in 2019:
*Saxophonist Howard Lawes is National Jazz advisor for U3A Jazz Groups and a freelance writer who contributes each month to Sandy Brown Jazz What's New magazine.
Two Ears, Three Eyes
Brian O'Connor LRPS from Images of Jazz took this picture of UK Vocalist Louise Messenger at Croydon's Clocktower Cafe Jazz Club in May. On this occasion Louise was appearing with Laurence Corn (guitar) and Simon Read (bass). Brian says: "The Trio performed an entertaining couple of hours of songs from the Great American Songbook, plus a couple of Louise's own songs in the same vein. Laurence Corn was very good and expressive. Louise is also very enjoyable, with good audience interaction and knowledge of the songs she is performing."
The cafe features free live jazz every Thursday lunchtime between 12.15 and 2.15pm.
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Originally from Australia, Louise has become a prominent figure in the UK swing scene. Based in London, she regularly performs at festivals throughout Europe as well as in China, Singapore, Australia and New Orleans. Louise draws inspiration from jazz legends like Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'Day and the Boswell Sisters. Her performances are a unique mix of classic standards and lesser known gems from the Great American Songbook and her passion for storytelling through music is clear, whether delivering smokey ballads or upbeat swing tunes.
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Louise's website is here.​
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Here is a video of Louise singing Easy Does It with her Swingtet last year.
Insight
Alex Wilson and Omar Ríos Meléndez
The Art Of Deep Connection
A series in which musicians give us insight into the background of one of their recordings
Photo credit: Art Lewy Photography
A piano. An acoustic guitar. Two virtuosos. Ten instrumentals. The Art of Deep Connection is the debut album from the acoustic duo of pianist, producer and composer, Alex Wilson, and the London-based Nicaraguan master guitarist and composer, Omar Ríos Meléndez.
"Our music encourages people to be open about their emotions," says the Zurich-based Wilson, a Swiss/British national and Latin jazz piano legend whose career includes nine studio releases and production credits for over 25 recordings. "We are two men who are sitting down and connecting deeply in the studio and onstage, and having a dialogue with the listener, the audience, in the process. These are crazy, overwhelming times. This album is our ‘grano de arena’, our little grain of sand, to help counter that. To try and say, 'Let's have some open and honest communication with each other in music and beyond.'”
"I wanted to keep to the originals but include arrangements that allow for improvisation and take you to another mood'," says thirty-something Ríos Meléndez, 23 years Wilson's junior, who has toured the world and - since arriving in the UK six years ago - released two studio albums under his own name. "I love the way jazz and flamenco allow for new interpretations, and that we can mix them with the 6/8 rhythms of Nicaraguan music, of son nica," he says, referencing the musical genre often associated with the marimba, the so-called 'African piano', and Nicaragua's national instrument.
The duo's version of Luis Enrique's Yo No Sé Mañana - a salsa classic produced by revered American pianist/arranger Sergio George - finds the smash hit slowed down and sprinkled with jewel-like solos. "Sergio George is one of my heroes," says Wilson. "The way he plays and thinks about music and music production has been so formative. I fit like a glove into the first bar or two of the original before we branch off with our own extended arrangement."
The Jazz Quiz
C'est Si Bon
For our quiz this month, courtesy of Google Translate, we have changed the titles of fifteen jazz tunes from English to French. How many can you work out?
The June Jazz Quiz is​
Jazz Remembered
The Dancing Slipper
Nottingham
How do you capture an image of a jazz club when it was above a row of shops that have changed several times over the years, where the outside does not tell us about the inside and when there does not appear to be a clear picture taken of the exterior of 14 Central Avenue, West Bridgeford, Nottingham at that time in the 1950s/1960s?
The picture above is of the Dancing Slipper building as it was in 2007. It was then the West End Restaurant and Cabaret, above a confectioner’s shop. In October 2009, the Nottingham Evening Post said: ‘Next Thursday we have the opportunity to hear jazz again at this venue, now known as the West End Cabaret Club, when the Nottingham Rhythm Club holds its annual jazz dinner, with music provided by the Antique Six Jazz Band, which will play for diners, dancers and listeners.’Even the picture above has changed - now in 2025/26 the shop at that address is a Bird's bakery shop. 'Street View' online gets you as close as you can to an image of the current building, but that doesn't tell us much about the famous Dancing Slipper jazz club.
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Tony Milliner and Sandy Brown at the Dancing Slipper
Photograph courtesy of Johnny Johnstone
Drummer Les Shaw helps draw a picture: "To the best of my memory, the entrance was on the ground floor followed by a narrowish staircase, then a small room with a ticket office window. The main long room had the stage on the left and the long bar opposite on the right." Johnny Johnstone also mentions a 'dressing room': This was a room where all the electrics were, and could not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called a dressing room!"
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Derek Tomlinson remembers: "I remember Saturday nights at the 'Dancing Slipper' in the early '60s seeing such as Terry Lightfoot, Ken Colyer and the Dutch Swing College. The one thing that sticks in my mind is going outside for a breather and seeing the garage door down below thumping to the rhythm of the dancers above."
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​Samantha Statham wrote: “I am an artist and I am currently writing an "unsent letter" to my father. As I am writing it memories are coming back to me. His mother use to own the Dancing Slipper when I was a kid in the early '70s. I remember being there and sitting with my back against the huge speakers on the side of the stage feeling every beat throughout my whole body. My grandmother was called Ivy Brooks, when she died she left the Dancing Slipper to her toy boy husband and not my father. I just had a quick ‘Google' to see if there was any information about it and found your article. Some of my paintings are of jazz musicians as it became a part of me. When I connected the memory of the speaker and the feeling of the music moving through my every cell I suddenly realised that it stayed with me hence my paintings and fascination for old time Jazz and how it soothes the soul.”
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Mention of Ivy Brooks led to Les Shaw recalling: "I noticed mention of the owner. It was a woman called Ivy Brooks who ran a dance school there. My best pal said the only way we could be successful with girls was to learn to dance. I had been taking drum lessons from the age of 13. I asked Ivy how the dance sequences worked: 4 bars or multiples thereof? and after two lessons she declared that “I’d never learn to dance as I had no sense of rhythm“! I turned pro when I was 18 ! "
Many people remember Bill Kinell who ran the Dancing Slipper for a number of years, and Allan Gilmore who recorded most of the bands who played there. Bandleader Ralph Laing wrote: "‘The dancing Slipper in Nottingham was one of the principal Midlands venues for touring bands. Run by an enthusiastic, one-armed promoter called Bill Kinnell, known to us all affectionately as 'Foo', (you have to say the names together to see why! - Ed). The Slipper was a permanent fixture throughout the entire trad revival, and only finally closed in the early 1970s. The sound system at the Slipper was provided by an electronics enthusiast called Allan Gilmour. He was a delightful man with a large moustache and he adored jazz. With the permission of the bands (and I never heard of one refusing) he recorded every session at the Slipper from the early 1960s onwards. Covering every band which ever played the club circuit, this treasure trove of over 1000 hours of well-balanced material was kept private for 35 years. Sadly Allen died recently and LAKE has entered into an arrangement with the estate to issue the best of the library’. [LAKE records have since stopped issuing new recordings, so not all of Allan Gilmour's recordings are available - Ed]
This picture of Bill Kinell is taken from Google Images. The original is in the Notts Music Archive website (here) where you can read more about Bill. If anyone has other pictures of Bill, please let us know.
Our correspondents have their own memories of Bill Kinell:
Alan Field recalled: "'Bill Kinnell ('Foo' to admirers and detractors alike) was the dominant influence in the Nottingham jazz scene throughout the sixties and the Dancing Slipper, his principal venue, the setting for a night that almost fifty years on, still seems like a dream for me and hundreds of local fans. Bill had a reputation for being a hard man to part with a shilling, largely attributed by minor musicians and hangers-on who considered their status too lofty to have to pay to get in to a gig. But despite the impossibility of covering the cost at the door, Bill booked the entire line up of the biggest US mainstream package to tour the UK at that time. Earl Hines : Buck Clayton : Coleman Hawkins. For hours the tiny stage was swamped by a 'Who's Who' of jazz giants, with the usually frowning Foo, moist-eyed and swinging an empty coat sleeve alongside. Crammed against the bar, drummer Les Shaw and I tried to make room for the enormous Joe Turner. "Get you a drink Joe?" the awe-stricken Les asked. "Break the money Honey and keep on traveling" beamed Joe. You couldn't write it could you.."
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Ivor James: "Wow - what memories! I knew "Lefty" Kinnell. He once went on stage at Derby Jazz Club (The Corporation Hotel) to be met by a chorus of jazz fans chanting "'Kinell, 'Kinell"! He took it in good part though! In those days I used to play guitar and banjo with the house band at Derby Jazz Club, more particularly after they moved to The Duke Of York on Burton Road. Then a change of job and shift work prevented me, and I'm afraid that after I left Derby in 1969, I got out of touch with the jazz scene."​
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Derek Tomlinson: "I heard a story that Bill Kinnell had a record shop in a Nottingham arcade off Parliament St. He had a false arm and used to take out a spare and chew it if anyone came into his shop to buy anything other then jazz records. True? No idea. Happy Days!"
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David Green: "Mention of Bill Kinnell brought back some memories. He was one of our Chilwell neighbours in the 1940s, and although having the use of only one arm, competently ran the greengrocer’s shop on Chilwell High Road, just round the corner from where we lived. As lads we often ran to the shop when we saw the potato lorry making a delivery and it was amazing to see Bill single-handedly carry full sacks into the shop and later weigh out and bag them for customers. Many years later I met up with him on the Jazz scene, not having realised we had a common interest."
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Debby Klein: "I checked out your website with great interest, when trawling for something about Bill Kinnell to refresh my memories. Bill was, bizarrely, my godfather. But this can be explained as I am the daughter of Mick and Betty Gill, so I have many childhood memories of the Dancing Slipper and 'me dad going blowing'. We lived in West Bridgford as some will remember, in the 1950s as I was growing up. I well recall the 'Great Ben Webster incident' - there was a little sticker on our phone in the hall for many years, which proclaimed 'Ben Webster spoke on this phone' although I believe that what he said was rather slurred and along the lines of 'Sorry man, too much'. I remember Johnny Johnstone, one of your correspondents, indeed I have a photo of him at our house in Eltham Road. I also remember many other 'blowers' like Bruce Turner, Ray Crane, etc. They all used to visit us, and/or sleep on our front room floor."
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Forum
Fitzroy Coleman and Lauderic Caton
Alan Bond writes: "Still picking up Sandy Brown Jazz magazine and enjoying it every month, it is one of the highlights indeed. For some strange reason I woke up this morning with two names running round in my head and they are Fitzroy Coleman (pictured right) and Lauderic Caton, both Jamaican, and unsung heroes who passed through my consciousness many times over the years. Both are no longer with us but their legacies remain and their immortality is ensured by their inclusion in Tom Lord's 'TJD' on line. They are two among a fairly large contingent of Jamaican musicians who made a mark on the U.K. music scene all those years ago and their talent was recognised by no less a man than Humphrey Lyttelton, with whom they, and others, recorded back in the 1950s."
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[I will share more about Fitzroy and Lauderic for a future edition of What's New. Please let us know if anyone remembers them - Ed]
Riverside Jazz Band Cambridge
John Cooter-Baker has sent us this film (here) made by the U3A Cambridge Moviemakers group. John says: "This is the story of the Cambridge Riverside Jazz Band, formed in 1957 at the height of the British trad jazz boom and still going strong, with obvious changes in personnel - all credit to Tony Teale who has kept the band going in the 21st century. The story is told by current band members and some of their fans, between shots of the band playing live in 2025. The musicians and their loyal followers recall the vibrant live jazz scene of sixty years ago, but now the band faces an uncertain future as the audience for their style of music dwindles. The film is here and John can be contacted here.
Humphrey Lyttelton Snake Blues?
Mike Whitaker asked: "I'm actually after a bit of help. I'm putting together a presentation about Humphrey Lyttelton. Now, probably a couple of years ago (or more) in your Video Jukebox feature, there was a black and white clip of 100 Oxford St in the early '50s, a load of young people enjoying themselves, and a band playing Snake Rag. I thought that the band was Humph's. I've tried inputting all permutations of those words/phrases into YouTube but cannot find it. I could well have misremembered some or all of the details about that clip, but if you can help, I'll be eternally grateful!"
[Mike was talking about this video 'London Jazz Club In The 50s' - Ed]
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.​
Sonny Rollins
Born in New York City in 1930, American saxophonist Sonny Rollins was one of the most influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he recorded more than sixty albums as a leader and his 1956 album Saxophone Colossus was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress. A number of his compositions have become jazz standards and he was the last survivor of the 57 jazz musicians depicted in the 1958 photograph 'A Great Day In Harlem'. Sonny Rollins passed through the Departure Lounge on the 25th May 2026. Obituaries: Wikipedia : The Independent : The Guardian :
Geoffrey Smith
Born in Michigan in 1943, Geoffrey will be particularly remembered as a British-based radio presenter, author and jazz percussionist. He was the regular presenter of the BBC3 radio Jazz Record Requests programme for over 20 years and also presented other programmes on the network. He passed through the Departure Lounge on the 2nd April 2026. Obituaries: Wikipedia : The Telegraph : The Times :
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
You will find our Recent Releases page HERE where you can scroll down and see our featured releases. Included this month are:
UK
America
Europe and Elsewhere
Linus Eppinger & Sam Braysher - A Sinner Kissed An Angel
Ant Law & Alex Hitchcock - House Of Light
Biréli Lagrène - Elegant People
Carsten Dahl, Reuben Rogers, Gregory Hutchinson - Into The Storm