Jazz Journal - Jazz Journal

Jimmy Gourley, Un Américain À Paris

Book Reviews Graham Colombé -

Jimmy Gourley (1926-2008) spent most of his career as a jazz guitarist in France, after moving there from the USA in 1951. This charming book is written by his French wife, with the aid of her memories and numerous retained letters and press cuttings. It benefits from a seven-page introduction by Alain Gerber, who quotes pianist Henri Renaud’s words about the significance of Gourley’s influence on French jazz: "He helped us to discover what four years of war had...

Reviewed: Samuel Blaser | Paul Cornish | Sean Imboden/SILE

Reviews Andy Hamilton -

Samuel Blaser: 18 Monologues Élastiques (Blaser Music BM018CD) Albert Mangelsdorf's Tromboneliness, George Lewis' Solo Trombone Record, Paul Rutherford's The Gentle Harm Of The Bourgeoise –...

Orange Jazz Days, Utrecht

Live Reviews Pascal Dorban -

“Orange is the colour of insanity,” Van Gogh once wrote. Could that still be true today - especially considering a certain well-known man with...

Have Horn, Will Travel

Book Reviews Nic Jones -

If the idea of a "journeying" musician has substance then the man known professionally as Junior Cook embodies it as easily as Brew Moore,...

Count Me In… 10/25

Count me in... Nigel Jarrett -

Unlike rock and pop music - I think those two labels cover the gamut - jazz is not everywhere. It is so not-everywhere that...

News in brief...

Köln 75 is a new film dramatising the creation of Keith Jarrett’s famed Köln Concert (ECM). A YouTube trailer gives some insight into its style and content.

Among the attractions at Ronnie Scott’s club in London in October are 70s-inspired Boston jazz-funk band Lettuce, Espen Eriksen Trio w. Andy Sheppard, the Vincent Herring Soul Jazz Septet, and Bob James.

The 2025 EFG London Jazz Festival runs 14-23 November 2025 and includes Kurt Elling & The Yellowjackets Celebrate Weather Report, Bill Frisell Trio, and Nigel Kennedy.

A refurbished Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s will open in February 2026 and offer “the finest jazz and jazz-adjacent acts”. There no news yet of whether its Cuban nights, an involvement stretching back to the club’s founder, will be reinstated.

In South Wales? Take the Coaltrains

Live Reviews Jazz Journal -

It's not St Pancras International. It doesn’t have the dramatic Victorian architecture of Liverpool Lime Street, the hustle and bustle of Birmingham New Street,...

Review: Scarborough Jazz Festival 2025

Live Reviews Brian Payne -

The 22nd Scarborough Jazz Festival took place from 26 to 28 September. It was compèred as usual by the ever humorous Alan Barnes. Jamil Sheriff’s...

Reviewed: David Bixler | Anne Efternøler and Lige Børn | Isabelle Olivier

Reviews Matty Bannond -

David Bixler: Incognito Ergo Sum (davidbixler.com) The second release from saxophonist David Bixler’s trio aims to celebrate anonymity and strip away stylistic borders - if...

The dance is ended (but the memory lingers on)

Features Randy L. Smith -

Seeing the Count Basie Orchestra live was one of the great thrills early in my lifelong obsession with jazz. I did not realise it...

Wall2Wall festival 2025, Wales

Live Reviews Nigel Jarrett -

An American couple in the audience at this year's Wall2Wall festival at Black Mountain Jazz reminded me of the famous Miles Kington quip about...

European Jazz Conference, Bari, Italy

Live Reviews Pascal Dorban -

On the Adriatic coast, facing the not-too-distant shores of Montenegro, the city of Bari in Apulia has long been a meeting point of cultures....

Reviewed: Tom Lyne | Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko & Volker Goetze | Adrian Cox Trio

Reviews Brian Payne -

Tom Lyne: Well Mixed Blue (LisaLeo Records 001) Canadian double bassist Tom Lyne has lived in Scotland for the last 27 years. He’s been the...

Down For The Count at Cadogan Hall, London

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

Cognisant that I was about to attend yet another gig by Down For The Count, just about the best big band currently working, I...

The Easy Rollers at PizzaExpress Live, Holborn

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

When I stepped from High Holborn into the Pizza Express, I was only slightly bemused...

UK Sinatra society closes with a flourish

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

In a little over a decade of writing for JJ, I've never have I done...

JJ archive for September : a selection

JJ 09/85: Charles Lloyd Quartet – A Night In Copenhagen

From the JJ archive Jazz Journal -

Forty years ago Michael Tucker found saxophonist Lloyd still in the hippie 1960s groove but pointed out the level and breadth of much of his work

JJ 09/95: North Sea Jazz Festival, reviewed

From the JJ archive Jazz Journal -

Thirty years ago Stan Woolley and Willem Hoos gave insights into the Hague's jazz festival, still catching the tail-end of modern mainstream, with performers including Oscar Peterson, Johnny Griffin and Joe Henderson

JJ 09/65: Ravi Shankar – India’s Master Musician

From the JJ archive Jazz Journal -

Sixty years ago The Honourable Gerald Lascelles was more than surprised to find music from the 'curry belt' on JJ's review list but noted that the improvisations were far advanced from those heard in jazz

JJ 09/75: Neil Ardley, Ian Carr, Mike Gibbs, Stan Tracey – Will Power

From the JJ archive Jazz Journal -

Fifty years ago Barry McRae applauded some music featuring Norma Winstone and John Taylor - maybe not all-out jazz - written to mark Shakespeare's tercentenary

Reviews

All reviews

Jimmy Gourley, Un Américain À Paris

Book Reviews Graham Colombé -

Reviewed: Samuel Blaser | Paul Cornish | Sean Imboden/SILE

Reviews Andy Hamilton -

Samuel Blaser: 18 Monologues Élastiques (Blaser Music BM018CD) Albert Mangelsdorf's Tromboneliness, George Lewis' Solo Trombone Record, Paul Rutherford's The Gentle Harm Of The Bourgeoise – trombonists have made some classic solo records. Here's another to add to their number. Swiss trombonist-composer Samuel Blaser first released 18 Monologues Élastiques in 2020. These 18 originals were recorded in 2013 in Berlin, and pay tribute to "Dix-neuf Poemes...

Orange Jazz Days, Utrecht

Live Reviews Pascal Dorban -

Have Horn, Will Travel

Book Reviews Nic Jones -

In South Wales? Take the Coaltrains

Live Reviews Jazz Journal -

Review: Scarborough Jazz Festival 2025

Live Reviews Brian Payne -

Reviewed: David Bixler | Anne Efternøler and Lige Børn | Isabelle Olivier

Reviews Matty Bannond -

Wall2Wall festival 2025, Wales

Live Reviews Nigel Jarrett -

European Jazz Conference, Bari, Italy

Live Reviews Pascal Dorban -

Reviewed: Tom Lyne | Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko & Volker Goetze | Adrian Cox Trio

Reviews Brian Payne -

Down For The Count at Cadogan Hall, London

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

The Easy Rollers at PizzaExpress Live, Holborn

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

UK Sinatra society closes with a flourish

Live Reviews Leon Nock -

Reviewed: Danny Widdicombe & Trichotomy | Song Yi Jeon Nonet

Reviews Barry Witherden -

New releases

All new releases

New releases August-September 2025, S-Z

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in July-August 2025, including Pharoah Sanders, Horace Silver, John Taylor, Mark Turner and McCoy Tyner // Editor's pick: Horace Silver

New releases August-September 2025, N-R

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in July-August 2025, including Oscar Peterson, Pat Petrillo, John Pizzarelli, Max Roach and Ruby Rushton // Editor's pick: Pat Petrillo

New releases August-September 2025, L-M

Records offered for review to Jazz Journal in July-August 2025, including Wadada Leo Smith & Sylvie Courvoisier, Julie London, John McLaughlin, Charles Mingus and Wolfgang Muthspiel // Editor's pick: Sean Mason

New releases August-September 2025, F-K

New releases August-September 2025, C-E

New releases August-September 2025, A-B

New releases June-July 2025, U-Z

New releases June-July 2025, S-T

New releases June-July 2025, P-R

New releases June-July 2025, L-O

New releases June-July 2025, H-K

New releases June-July 2025, F-G

News

News archive

Julia Yagunova: from Shanghai’s JZ Club to London

News Jazz Journal -

Russian-born pianist Julia Yagunova has built an international career that reflects the global spirit of today’s jazz. From her studies in the United States to her years as a resident performer in China, and later her teaching in New...

Scarborough Jazz Festival approaches

News Mark Gilbert -

The 22nd Scarborough Jazz Festival takes place 26-28 September, bringing artists including James Taylor, Alan Barnes, Emma Rawicz, Simon Spillett and Joe Stilgoe to the North Yorkshire coastal town. Now in its second year with Mark Gordon as director (following...

Curate me a riff, baby

News Mark Gilbert -

Nigel Price’s 46-date tour secured, thanks to Coldplay and friends

News Mark Gilbert -

Siena Jazz International Academy opens admissions for 2025-2026

News Jazz Journal -

Edward Burra, leading painter and JJ enthusiast

News Simon Adams -

Jim Mullen, Allison Neale, Gabrielle Stravelli and more for Battersea jazz festival

News Mark Gilbert -

German Jazz Prize performances reflect the fraught political scene

News Matty Bannond -

Village People play Sicilia Jazz Festival

News Mark Gilbert -

Shai Maestro drummer Ofri Nehemya makes leader debut

News Mark Gilbert -

Swanage jazz festival: ‘the largest and purest’ on England’s south coast

News Mark Gilbert -

Jools Holland, YolanDa Brown and Elaine Delmar bring jazz to Battersea Park

News Mark Gilbert -

Miles Davis painting adorns Sir Niels’ new Copenhagen jazz diner

News Mark Gilbert -

Diana Ross headlines North Sea Jazz Festival

News Mark Gilbert -

Politics

More politics

German Jazz Prize performances reflect the fraught political scene

News Matty Bannond -

Musicians from across Germany and around the globe flocked to Cologne for the German Jazz Prize on 13 June - and that’s no surprise. All 76 nominees got €4,000, while winners in 22 categories departed E-Werk’s brick-and-steel interior with...

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”

Book Reviews Brian Payne -

James Baldwin (1924-1987) is considered by many to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Born into poverty in Harlem, New York, he became an activist and broke new ground with his exploration of racial...

Brassroots Democracy: Maroon Ecologies And The Jazz Commons

Book Reviews Andy Hamilton -

Media ‘masking’ female under-representation in Grammys as research finds ‘pressing need’ for more women in jazz

News Mark Gilbert -

UK tries to reconcile copyright demands with AI growth agenda

News Mark Gilbert -

Queer jazz takes up residency in Dalston

News Mark Gilbert -

Jazzahead says outstanding music is increasingly to be found beyond jazz

News Mark Gilbert -

Martin Speake resigns over race politics and sues Trinity Laban

News Mark Gilbert -

Playing The Changes: Jazz At An African University And On The Road

Book Reviews Andy Hamilton -

Peers and MPs venture beyond Taylor and the Gallaghers

News Mark Gilbert -

Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water – The Gospel of James Baldwin

Audio Reviews Simon Adams -

JJ 09/74: Jazz – emergence as an international art form

From the JJ archive Jazz Journal -

American Drummers 1959-88

Book Reviews Matthew Wright -

Talking The Groove – Jazz Words From The Morning Star

Book Reviews Nigel Jarrett -

Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five – In The Garden

Audio Reviews Nic Jones -

Cassie Kinoshi: ‘Jazz is black American music’

Features Trevor Hodgett -

Crossing Bar Lines – The Politics And Practices Of Black Musical Space

Book Reviews Derek Ansell -

Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science: Waiting Game

Audio Reviews Simon Adams -

Features

All features

The dance is ended (but the memory lingers on)

Randy L. Smith -

Seeing the Count Basie Orchestra live was one of the great thrills early in my lifelong obsession with jazz. I did not realise it at the time, but the...