Many a veteran jazz musician has been awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of a lifetime dedicated to the art. Few, however, after decades...

Schapiro 17 is an ensemble led by composer/arranger Jon Schapiro, conceived in 2012, whose previous release New Shoes: Kind Of Blue At 60, a fresh take on the Miles Davis classic album, received a very favourable review from Gordon Jack in August last year. Its follow up, Human Qualities, is a totally different proposition, containing seven of the composer’s originals and Ewan MacColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. The Basie-like introduction to Count Me Out is a total blind, as this is soon discarded to introduce a thoroughly modern Rob Middleton saxophone solo punctuated by blasts from the horns, before entering a period of languor replaced by a passage of call and response. This is nicely balanced by the genuine rhythms of Tango, dominated by the baritone of Matt Hong. Hmmm has a shuffle beat around boppish tendencies, with some of its best moments coming from the exchanges between trumpet and saxophone – this contrasts nicely with the imaginative arrangement of the popular MacColl piece, which is carried along by a nice and...

As he took the alto solo Johnny Hodges's eyes swept the auditorium like beams from a lighthouse. The audience didn't know he was counting. "Eleven,"...

As a child Barney Bigard had at first resisted his family's attempts to point him to a career in music, choosing on his own...

The cost of Brexit to British musicians is highlighted in a survey carried out by the Musicians’ Union and the Incorporated Society of Musicians. Published on Monday, the survey indicates that only 43% of musicians are still planning to work in the EU in the future, 42% would consider relocating to the EU in order to continue working, and 21% are considering a change of career. The problems arise, says MU chief Horace Trubridge, from the UK government’s failure, when negotiating the Trade and Cooperation Agreement at the end of 2020, to protect performers from a sheaf of bureaucracy reintroduced...