Casey Benjamin has died at the age of 45

Awful to hear of the death of Robert Glasper Experiment saxophonist Casey Benjamin at just 45. New Yorker Benjamin studied at the Harlem School of the Arts and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and later the New School where he met Glasper. Benjamin was in the first iteration of the Experiment with Glasper, bassist Derrick Hodge and Chris 'Daddy' Dave on drums. We are playing Double Booked on which he is on in memory. Benjamin also worked with Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and Beyoncé and was a musical director for DJ Logic. I heard Benjamin play a few times with Glasper, notably at the Roundhouse during the iTunes festival Blue Note night - read a review of that excellent 2012 gig held in the famous Chalk Farm venue here. In Cork a few years earlier he definitely stole the show. Reviewing the Cork (2010) gig for Jazzwise I wrote at the time that ''Casey Benjamin was the star turn of the show as the flamboyantly coiffured saxman sang strongly using a Vocoder for effect projecting some customised songs chief of which was ‘All Matter’, the choice ballad from Double Booked''. Benjamin will be much missed by fans, peers and colleagues everywhere. Anyone who heard him play knew what a stirring sound he conjured. He knew how to move people. SG

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Crazy name, crazy guys - not 'alf. Gnar Gnar Rad 'appens - 'arry keep this 'un/chunder your 'at.

Issued as one of the latest in top Euromag Jazz Thing's long running Next Generation series, don't be too perturbed about the, frankly, fairly ludicrous band name. First things first: bassist and composer Moritz Koser (b. 1992) provides most of the tunes. He's an excellent writer. There's a cover of John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet's 'Venice' reached through a version by Cannonball Adderley, apparently - Kind of Blue genius of the alto saxophone Cannonball joined up with KoB pianist Bill Evans and the rest of MJQ sans Lewis to interpret the piece on 1962 Riverside album, Know What I Mean?

At the risk given how somehow sartorially pristine all this is of remembering some of the lyrics of Alexei Sayle classic Stepney travelling sales geezer skit 'Ullo John Got a New Motor', actually it's too delicious a thought not to - 'Ere John do you like the suit here, eh eh it's a lovely suit, innit - the unlikely key instrument as it turns out in the suave soundworld of Gnar Gnar Rad is trombone - big hand for the J. J.-like Max Strauch. Instrumentation is double bass, trombone, saxophone and drums - the saxist is David Sanwald and drummer in the Connie Kay mould happens to be one Jonas Stiegler. The €1m question to ask about Mo'Ko' und seine freunde of what proves to be a very decent album recorded as live (no overdubs) - the caveat about travelling down a relatively rocky old road dispensed with - would we take the trouble to hear these German jazzers play a club somewhere after against the odds stumbling across Gnar Gnar Rad? God, yeah. Schlager, mercifully - geezer: perish the thought - it ain't.

Casey Benjamin has died at the age of 45

Gnar Gnar Rad, Gnar Gnar Rad, Double Moon ****