BBC Jazz Awards - Fraud and Finn Peters

Great to hear that Fraud's new album is nominated for a BBC Jazz Award, even before it's properly in the shops, and Finn Peters' band is nominated for best band. Now please vote for them on this page for Fraud and this page for Finn. It's funny that Fraud's album isn't even in the shops yet. So all credit to the interest that this has brought.
Babel has had reasonable success in the BBC Awards over the years. Two years ago Huw Warren and Acoustic Ladyland won, but last year with three nominations for album of the year (Acoustic Ladyland, Polar Bear and Partisans) Jim Tomlinson and Stacey Kent won. So, I can't place too much hope on the winning itself. As long as the awards are won by reasonable people, then I have no complaint. We have yet to hear some of the other nominations. It would be good if there were a few more Babel artists there too.
I feel that, while the focus is rightly on the musician, the fact that they are brought to the attention of the public and judges is part of a partnership of the musician with record label and agent (with stress on the word "partnership"). The partnership is never perfect, unfortunately, but I try my best! I have a little sticker that I was given by Ivor Cutler in the bottom corner of my computer screen. It says it all. "Imperfection is an end. Perfection is only an aim."

I'm feeling excited

I'm excited that, after a break, there are new releases on the horizon. Led Bib over the next couple of weeks. Great young crowd at their pre-launch gig at the Vortex, with Tom Arthurs and Richard Fairhurst playing at Steinway Hall next week, and the Fraud album to come. I find it hard to understand why people think it exceptional that there are young audiences coming out to hear bands like these at the Vortex. "Ah, but London's different", they say to me. But is it really? There are potential younger jazz lovers all over the country. So why shouldn't it be possible, with patience and imagination to target them in Derby or Manchester?

Cuts in Arts Council grants

I had a meeting last week with someone doing market research for the Arts Council which is having an "arts debate". If they hadn't interviewed me, then there would have been no focus whatsoever on jazz. It doesn't even seem to feature on their radar. I think that grants to jazz total 0.5% of their grant giving even though jazz audiences are the same size as those for opera!
Meanwhile, a large focus of getting money (and that includes the Vortex) is Grants for the Arts. These have just been reduced dramatically by 35 % according to the Guardian. Surreptitiously done and all the money goes to the Olympics. These have been vital for many years to support tours and other one-off projects. For example we have applied for £30000 for a new piano and p.a. from that scheme. It's also clear that the touring circuit for jazz has virtually disappeared over the past few years. I think that we can now get rid of the word "virtually" for the future.

Are we in an era of the jazz BAND?

More and more the groups of musicians are showing their commitment to performance by being a band rather than a project with a band leader - so that a band such as Polar Bear has a nominal leader/composer (Seb Rochford), but the performances definitely have a group dynamic to them. It's certainly not the Seb Rochford Quintet, nor a short-term project commissioned for a festival or similar. Nor is it "Seb Rochford's Polar Bear". Of course, bands become associated with particular members, sometimes wrongly - how often is Acoustic Ladyland thought of as having Seb as leader and not Pete Wareham? - but there's more to it than being a leader with sidemen. That approach is of course still very important to jazz but even then too often allowed the sidemen to be submerged. For me the trail has been blazed by Partisans which has now reached its 10th anniversary, but I know that Phil Robson and Julian Siegel have battled against fuddy-duddy promoters who thought that it was past its "sell by"date because they have viewed it as a short-term project.
It's something that existed here with bands like Soft Machine. Partisans is a link to the new generation. Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland helped matters further, while now Babel has releases about to appear by Led Bib (with Mark Holub as leader) and Fraud (music and leadership by James Allsop and Tim Giles), both fearlessly and proudly to be bands. (Last night I heard Curios, which for some could be regarded as Tom Cawley's piano trio, but it has more than that with the interplay between Tom, Sam Burgess and Josh Blackmore as crucial in the interpretation of Tom's music.) Gwilym Simcock had a similar unanimity of purpose when he performed with Phil Donkin and Martin France at the Vortex a couple of weeks ago. It was billed as Gwilym Simcock, but in my view that underestimated what went on. I hope that he gives this line-up a name, which can then contrast with a Gwilym Simcock trio gig, which would consist of leader + X on bass + Y on drums. When band members are hand picked to give a particular edge to performance and the group develops and develops, then it's a good sign for the group to become a band with a specific name.
Another stimulus to this blog has been that I noticed on the Cheltenham Jazz Festival programme that they bill Fulborn Teversham as "Sebastian Rochford's Fulborn Teversham". WRONG. Pete Wareham and Nick Ramm have been vital members all along.

Blues at the Vortex - The Chess Sessions

Grandmaster Supports Vortex Chess Sessions!

Chess grandmaster Daniel King is giving his support to the Here Is The Blues! - Vortex Chess Sessions!

Here is The Blues is a duo consisting of Steve Morrison and Billy Jenkins. Billy was the mastermind behind the jazz meets football for the World Cup. (Check out the video.)

Mr King has been a professional chess player for over 20 years. In addition, he is a games consultant, television presenter, freelance journalist, and an award winning author of 14 books. He also has a reputation as a rather fine double bass player.

"Chess, jazz and blues have a lot in common", says King, "as both involve daring spontaneous manoeuvres over pre-determined complex and myriad theorems and structures."

Daniel will be in attendance on the opening afternoon (1st April) to informally wish the series well and listen to the gentle twang of 'Here Is The Blues!' - but if you ask him nicely he might advise on a hot move or two!

Then, on the final afternoon (29th April) he'll take on ten players simultaneously at 2pm before the music gets underway!

Find out more about Daniel at www.danielking.biz