Jazz On The Beach 134 & Blues Beach 50
More jazz and blues radio to tickle your auditory nerves
If you’ve been watching Sugar, the new Apple TV+ drama starring Colin Farrell as a private investigator in Los Angeles, you probably noticed that the wonderful opening theme music is Street Fighter Mas by tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington from the album Heaven and Earth (Young Turks, 2018) which also opens this week’s Jazz On The Beach. Listening to it over the dramatic title sequence instead of as part of a sprawling 5 LP set, it sounds completely revitalised and reminded me of the impact of hearing trumpeter Thomas Stanko’s Terminal 7 from Dark Eyes (ECM, 2009) on the first episode of Homeland 13 years ago. I’ve already played Prologue from Kamasi Washington’s new album Fearless Movement (Young, May 3rd) and will play more over the coming weeks.
And while we’re on a private eye/police procedural TV theme, there’s alto saxophonist Grace Kelly’s Blues for Harry Bosch from her album Trying To Figure It Out (Pazz Music, 2016). It’s the song Kelly performed on Michael Connolly’s Bosch (Amazon Prime, series 2/episode 2) in a scene filmed at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood.
Incidentally, the cover shot for Kelly’s Trying To Figure It Out looks suspiciously like it could have been taken underneath Deal Pier here on the Kent coast, just like Lee Morgan’s Live at The Lighthouse. But when you come and visit Deal (and you should), our pier is well worth a visit for its excellent café, spectacular views along the coast from Oldstairs Bay to Dumpton Gap, and on a clear day, Calais just across the English Channel.
Back to the show, and from the London jazz scene there’s new music from Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective with their single Ajala (Partisan Records, April 24th) as they announce that they will become the first UK Jazz act to headline London’s OVO Arena in Wembley on 15 November (capacity 12,500). That’s a mighty audience for a jazz gig. And there’s some modern jazz fusion from keyboardist and vocalist INSXGHT whose single Trapped Soul comes from the upcoming A Night With INSXGHT (jazz re:freshed, June 7th).
Also this week….Love, a second track by saxophonist and multi instrumentalist Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few from the deeply spiritual The Almighty (Division 81, April 26th), featuring vocalist and fellow Chicagoan Dee Alexander, drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode, pianist Julian Davis Reid and Jeremiah Hunt. There’s pianist Fred Hersch with a terrific solo version of Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise from Silent Listening (ECM, April 19th), a favourite song of mine and the ninth version featured on the show so far.
The jazz rock fusion milestone this week is the storming Mr Spock from The New Tony Williams Lifetime’s album Believe It (Columbia, 1975). It’s written by guitarist Allan Holdsworth and features a fine keyboard solo from Alan Pasqua before Holdsworth comes in with an incredible solo of his own. Williams is as sensational as ever (drums beautifully recorded by Bruce Botnick) and his groove with bassist Tony Newton (formerly a protégé of Motown’s James Jamerson) rocks like crazy.
There’s an interesting reissue from Scottish saxophonist Phil Bancroft with Boip Avoiding from the album Headlong (Myriad Streams, May 31st) that was originally released by Caber Records in 2004. Alongside Bancroft is The Bad Plus’ double bassist Reid Anderson, guitarist Mike Walker and drummer Thomas Strønen.
As always, we’re still hard boppin’ with Horace Silver and Sonny Rollins, there’s funky soul jazz from Lou Donaldson and Brother Jack McDuff, and we have Miles Davis’ magnificent All Blues.
Here’s the complete Jazz On The Beach playlist, just click the link below to listen:
It’s Blues Beach this week (it’s a biweekly thing) and the playlist is packed full of great tracks for the 50th show. There’s Elvin Bishop from his days on promoter Bill Graham’s Fillmore Records with So Fine, Buddy Guy’s major career turnaround on Silvertone with Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues and Tracy Nelson’s sensational There Is Always One More Time from last year.
Also, Ike Turner aka Lover Boy reworking Guitar Slim’s The Things That I Used To Do as The Way You Used To Treat Me, a pre-Grace Slick-era Jefferson Airplane with vocalist Signe Toley Anderson wailing on Memphis Minnie’s Chauffeur Blues, the Boogie Ramblers who became Louisiana’s Cookie And The Cupcakes with Cindy Lou, John Fahey’s version of Skip James’ Special Rider Blues, Black Ace’s Fore Day Creep and more as you can see from the playlist below - just click the link to listen:
Listen Live
You can listen live to Jazz On The Beach every Wednesday evening from 10.00pm - midnight* and to Blues Beach every other Thursday from 6.00pm - 7.00pm* on DealRadio.co.uk or via the TuneIn Radio app. (*UK time)
Or you can ask your smart device to ‘Play Deal Radio’.
Both shows are broadcast live from the Deal Radio Studio at 69a High Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6EH, a stone’s throw from the beach.
Jazz On the Beach and Blues Beach radio shows are sponsored by our good friends at Wellingtons with two fine locations: Welly’s Coffeehouse and Bar, 6 Park Avenue, Deal and Wellingtons Coffeehouse and Bistro, 9 High Street, Dover.
If you’ve just visiting (thank you!) or forgot why you subscribed, here’s a reminder of what this newsletter is trying to achieve:
Distribute the playlists and playback links for my two radio shows avoiding social media platforms
Make those shows more enjoyable by offering background on the music played
Share music and whatever knowledge I have
Appreciate and grow the listener community
You can get back to me through Substack or via Substack Chat’s direct message feature or even good old fashioned email at jazzonthebeach@icloud.com
Thank you Adam!!
As ever, wonderful play list and write up. The first track Street Fighter Mas hooked my 11 year old (he knows it well) so he just bubbled along nicely to every other track!