Sing and you'll be fed: Cool crooner James Hudson is back with 10 tracks ingeniously arranged and faithful largely to a 1950s sound - the title track goes back further and is an effortlessly swinging version of the Artie Shaw, Arthur Quenzer, Paul …
Published: 30 Mar 2024.Updated: 29 days.
Sing and you'll be fed: Cool crooner James Hudson is back with 10 tracks ingeniously arranged and faithful largely to a 1950s sound - the title track goes back further and is an effortlessly swinging version of the Artie Shaw, Arthur Quenzer, Paul Madison classic 'Moonray' first issued in 1939 and covered down the years by Shaw himself with Helen Forrest and by Ella Fitzgerald, Dakota Staton and Claire Martin among many others.
If you are into singers like Anthony Strong or Alexander Stewart you will be right at home with Hudson's approach and his terrific treatment of the standard has a fine, vibes, horns and rhythm section arrangement by saxist Tom Smith.
Recorded at Livingston in north London - a studio famed for a raft of World Circuit label recordings and where Björk's Debut was recorded in the early-1990s - Hudson is with Smith, the increasingly ubiquitous trumpeter Tom Walsh, pianist Joe Hill, vibist Ralph Wyld channelling Margie Hyams a bit, bassist Jack Tustin, guitarist Nick Fitch and drummer Luke Tomlinson clip-clopping away on the title track to effect.
Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' is among the familiar tracks. But hold on. When was the last time that you came across a cover of 1930s song Rodgers and Hart's cheerful 'Sing For Your Supper'? OK top Scottish jazz singer Carol Kidd covered the song in the 1980s. And there have been a few versions since. We turn to Mel Tormé's 1956 version most - the Velvet Fog with the Marty Paich Dek-Tette - ''Dine with wine of choice, if romance is in your voice'' as the lyrics have it. Hudson's stands up to reasonable comparison more than well. The jazz singer is playing Pizza Express Jazz Club, London on 3 June
Van Morrison Culloden Hotel, Holywood, County Down Easter Monday 1 April in the afternoon.
Leon Greening Trio with Nigel Price Watermill, Dorking Tuesday 2 Apr
Mark Lockheart + the Spin Trio Summertown Wine Bar, Oxford Tues 2 Apr
Eddie Gripper Trio
2022's Man in the Hot Seat in focus at the Barbican proved persuasive - tracks each less than four minutes long that luxuriated in a coherent spy noir type film feel, think John Barry on The Ipcress File as one jumping off point, and you are immediately in the world of this very fine record.
Lushly orchestrated with strings, recorded at Abbey Road, and peppered through with the enduringly compelling Hammond B3 soul jazz touches of James Taylor. Andrew McKinney was on bass guitar, Mark Cox, guitar, Pat Illingworth, drums. For breakaway Hammond (but the album isn't simply about that) go for 'The Gravedigger' and disinter Dave Bishop's storming baritone sax part into the bargain. 'Don't Mess With the Champ' is the best arranged track and features flautist Gareth Lockrane and certainly romps like a mutha. UK jazz trombone legend Mark Nightingale was among the soloists on the title track. The album also included a new version of 1990s favourite 'The Money Spyder.'
Xenopoulos & Edis Quartet album Feels Like Home - the Hovis-esque 'Going Home' swinger drawn from it meaning there's a Dvořák-like New World Symphony motivic quality in the main sax theme of the tune before the Xenopoulos improvisation, Hovis cos we are thinking inevitably about its use in the famous Alan Parker directed TV ad - is out in late-April. Pride of Chester-Le-Street Paul appears in Guildford with Xenopoulos, drummer Joel Barford who is also on the record, good on Live at Peggy's Skylight recently and Guildford Jazz chair Marianne Windham of Small Blue on double bass.
Paula Rae Gibson, Matthew Bourne + Alex Bonney Vortex, London Fri 5 Apr
Launching Loving in Real Time released on the same day the whispery, noir-ish, avant-garde singer Paula Rae Gibson in duo with avant Memorymoog synth innovator pianist and improviser Matthew Bourne collaborating in response to PRG's No More Tiptoes released just over 15 years ago has come up with some of her best work. That seems clear. Bourne is more of a natural collaborating pianist with PRG than Kit Downes in more recent years proved - but the dark nocturnes of their work together on Emotion Machine certainly provoked a spectral gleam and purrs of approval from some nevertheless.
Matthew Bourne
But 'Black Hole' from the singer's past work is the classic and remains so - in those earlier days the Londoner was probably influenced by Kate Bush and Goldfrapp more than she is now - after all she worked with Goldfrapp's Will Gregory on that powerful song. And yet the spark of originality that PRG habitually instils is deepened once more with longstanding doyen of the Leeds free-jazz and electronic/improv/punk-jazz scene, Bourne.
Turning to Loving In Real Time, the droney 'Whatever This Is' is a highlight of several. As for Bourne on 'Kisses Down His Back' the power of his classic solo 2021 album Désinances albeit approaching him from a different context but recalling his sense of cadence and flow from that work springs to mind. Long term fans of Bourne will also think back to his acclaimed Bourne/Davis/Kane days and their magnum opus Lost Something. Bourne's cello contribution on 'More Could Be Less' acts more like a bassist's role and like a brake as does his use of harmonium in that latter regard on 'Ride the Light,' a surprising outcome and so stimulating in a number of ways.
Doncaster jazz scene legend UK jazz trombone icon Dennis Rollins is best known for his work with Courtney Pine and with Maceo Parker. Here the scorchingly compelling Fred Wesley influenced player is with fellow trombonist Trevor Mires, keyboardist Anders Olinder, guitarist Johnny Heyes, bassist Tiago Coimbra and Davide Giovannini.
Distinguished Loose Tubes and Balloon Man tenor saxophonist Iain Ballamy in Brum with pianist Rebecca Nash, bassist Henrik Jensen from the Frome scene and drummer Jeremy Stacey. Ballamy is an influence on Trish Clowes among other players and was known early in his career for his close work with Django Bates. On Silent Wish release What's New with Ian Shaw and Jamie Safir in recent years Iain's sound was in peak nick. The title song 'What's New' goes back to Bob Crosby who recorded it with his orchestra in the 1930s. Built on the art of song itself rather than a period in time, something that every great instrumentalist like Ballamy, George Coleman, David Murray, Sonny Rollins and Benny Golson know only too well is at the heart of jazz improvisation and interpretation whether a voice is involved or not.
Drummer Tristan Banks' View From Above last year was blessed with some fine woodwind textures and gritty sax playing from the great Paul Booth. The unit grooved best of all on 'Polycephaly' when the Winwoodian Booth journeys the extra mile in terms of elasticity and fervour achieved by reaching for soprano sax. Banks on 'Cidade' even enters an Alex Acuña type space which was extremely stimulating.
Digby Fairweather, Julian Marc Stringle, Karen Sharp, Mark Nightingale, Nick Dawson, Dave Green, George Double The Jazz Centre, Southend Sat 6 Apr in the afternoon
Gentle and reflective for the most part Home issued last year proved a striking debut from a talented trio led by Cardiff based pianist Eddie Gripper, a former student of Huw Warren's, recorded in Wales in June the previous year. The double bassist is Ursula Harrison, the drummer Isaac Zuckerman and Home has 7 originals - the album dedicated to Gripper's late grandparents. Bill Evans is clearly a strong influence but not on all the pieces. And you get a sense of the pianist's own playing personality and writing style grounded in the sort of fine trios we have become accustomed to in the last 20 years including Gwilym Simcock's. Stand out pieces are 'Castle' and 'Mum's Best Friend' given their more heightened sense of drama and the skill of these compositions particularly are easiest to grasp and admire.
