Jazz on the Beach 202 & Blues Beach 82: Hiroshima Suzuki, Eddie Daniels, Azymuth, Artie Zaitz, Lonnie Liston Smith, Elvin Jones, lvdf, The Nightcaps, Bobby Rush
Silk Roads and Chicken Heads
One of my favourite tracks from this week’s radio show is the astonishing jazz fusion of Silk Road by pianist Hiromasa Suzuki from the album Rock Joint Cither – Silk Road (RCA Japan, 1973). Alongside his trio rhythm section of double bassist Inaba Kunimitsu and drummer Sekine Hideo, the personnel features sitar player Uehara Yoko, saxophonist Muraoka Takeru, trumpeter Suzuki Takehisa, trombonist Nakazawa Tadataka, flautist Eto Yukio, and French horn player Kurosawa Katsuyoshi. The arrangement is breathtaking and the playing exhilarating.
Also featured is saxophonist Wayne Shorter’s wonderful The Big Push from The Soothsayer (Blue Note, 1979), recorded in 1965 right after Speak No Evil but not released until 14 years later. Shorter plays tenor with the sensational lineup of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, alto saxophonist James Spaulding, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams.
Another big track that really pushes the boundaries is drummer Elvin Jones’ New Breed from Live at the Lighthouse (Blue Note, 1973), featuring tenor and soprano saxophonists Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman, and double bassist Gene Perla. I was fortunate to see Elvin Jones several times in the ‘80s and ‘90s, though I would have loved to hear this particular lineup live.
Among the new releases is trumpeter Peter Horsfall’s short but perfectly formed title track from Electric Relaxation (Banger Factory, 26th September), with pianist Joe Webb, double bassist Will Sach and drummer Sam Jesson, with Horsfall also experimenting with electronics.
Another highlight is saxophonist and clarinetist Eddie Daniels’ gorgeous Trevessia from To Milton With Love (Resonance, 29th August), a recreation of the great singer and guitarist Milton Nascimento’s second studio album, Courage (CTI, 1969). Daniels plays tenor with guitarist Anthony Wilson, pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Ray Brinker. Strings are by the Lyris String Quartet with arrangements by Kuno Schmid and Josh Nelson.
I’m really enjoying Jorge’s Vision by lvdf, who are saxophonist Alex Hitchcock, pianist Maria Chiara Argiró, double bassist Michelangelo Scandroglio and drummer Myele Manzanza. The song is a nod to the Cuban trumpeter Jorge Vistel and is the second track I’ve played so far from their five-track eponymous EP (Bridge the Gap, 15th August).
We also have a second track from Gary Bartz & NTU with Curtis Mayfield’s The Makings of You from Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control (OYO Records, 26th September). Bartz sings and plays alto with pianist Barney McAll, drummer and producer Kassa Overall, harpist Brandee Younger, guitarists Juewett Bostick and Spaceman Patterson, and bassist Dominique Sanders.
Also this week, pianist Lonnie Liston Smith’s In Search of Truth from his exquisite debut Astral Travelling (Flying Dutchman, 1973), with soprano saxophonist George Barron, guitarist Joe Beck, bassist Cecil McBee, drummer David Lee Jr, percussionists James Mtume and Sonny Morgan, with tabla and tamboura by Badal Roy and Gheeta Vashti.
From Brazil’s jazz funk masters Azymuth comes the gentle Morning (Part 1 & 2) from the album Butterfly (Far Out Recordings, 2008), with keyboardist Jose Roberto Bertrami, bassist Alex Malheiros and drummer Ivan Conti with guitarist Alex Clue, percussionists Robertino Silva and son Tiago and Fernando Morses playing ARP strings. This is a more relaxed reworking of their classic Manha (Morning in Brazilian Portuguese) from their debut album in 1975.
I’ve always associated pianist Horace Silver’s breezy Summer in Central Park with a film soundtrack that exists only in my imagination, as it sets such a vivid scene. It comes from his In Pursuit of the 27th Man (Blue Note, 1973), recorded with vibraphonist David Friedman, electric bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Mickey Roker.
As I mentioned last week, I went to Ronnie Scott’s on Saturday to hear saxophonist Binker Golding perform new and unreleased repertoire. My friend Henry Lascelles and I were completely blown away - this was deep blues steeped in Mississippi mud, King Curtis and the big toned Texas tenors meets John Coltrane, with sensational vocals from Marcus Bonfanti. Who knew Binker could write such terrific lyrics? The band was astonishing, with Binker playing tenor throughout, pianist Sarah Tandy, harmonica player Philip Achille, guitarist Billy Adamson, double bassist Daniel Casimir and drummer Zoe Pascal. As soon as any advance music appears, I’ll be playing it.
And finally, while at Ronnie’s I caught up with guitarist Artie Zaitz, so I thought I’d play his Our Miss Brooks from last year’s deeply swinging The Regulator (Banger Factory Records, 2024), featuring Hammond organist Ross Stanley, drummer Steve Brown and conguero David Pattman. Artie’s a fine organist too, and his guitar playing is every bit as sharp as his sense of style.
To listen to this week’s Jazz on the Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
Jazz On The Beach #202 - 3rd September 2025
Wayne Shorter - The Big Push
Leon Parker - Close Your Eyes
lvdf - Jorge’s Vision
Peter Horsfall - Electric Relaxation
Eddie Daniels - Trevessia
Doug Carn, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Windfall
Hiromasa Suzuki - Silk Road
Azymuth - Morning (Part 1 & 2)
John Coltrane - Time Was
Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - In Search of Truth
Horace Silver - Summer in Central Park
Gary Bartz & NTU - The Makings of You
Elvin Jones - New Breed
Tony Campise - The Mother Song
Artie Zaitz - Our Miss Brooks
Branford Marsalis Quartet - Spartacus
Cornell Dupree - Blue Nocturne
The Rising Sun Band - Mr and Mrs Funk
Blues Beach
Welcome to the latest edition of Blues Beach. If you like ZZ Top’s Thunderbird from their Fandango album, this 1961 version by Dallas band The Nightcaps was where they first heard it. There’s Bobby Rush’s 1971 hit Chicken Heads, a new single from Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram with Voodoo Charm and Dossie Terry’s Twenty-Four Years, the flip of Didn’t Satisfy You from 1952.
From the San Francisco psychedelic late ‘60s and early ‘70s there’s Grateful Dead’s version of Jimmy Reed’s Big Boss Man, Jefferson Airplane offshoot Hot Tuna’s take on Blind Boy Fuller’s Keep On Truckin’, Steve Miller Band’s Going to Mexico and Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Co. singing the hell out of her own Turtle Blues with producer John Simon at the piano.
Plus, Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington revisiting his 1988 Steal Away 30 years later, Al Kooper and Shuggie Otis’ One Room Country Shack which some of you may remember from the 1970 CBS Fill Your Head With Rock double album sampler, and The Rolling Stones’ Ventilator Blues from Exile on Main Street. Plus Albert Collins, Maria Muldaur and more besides. Hit play and enjoy.
To listen to this week’s Blues Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
Blues Beach #82 - 4th September 2025
The Nightcaps - Thunderbird
Albert Collins - Honey Hush! (Talking Woman Blues)
Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington - Steal Away
Bobby Rush - Chicken Heads
Maria Muldaur - Shout You Cats
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram - Voodoo Charm
Al Kooper & Shuggie Otis - One Room Country Shack
The Rolling Stones - Ventilator Blues
Steve Miller Band - Going to Mexico
The Holy Modal Rounders - Blues in the Bottle
Hot Tuna - Keep on Truckin'
Grateful Dead - Big Boss Man
Alabama Mike - Stuff I’ve Been Through
Little Milton - If Walls Could Talk
Dossie Terry - Twenty-Four Years
Big Brother & the Holding Co - Turtle Blues
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Jazz On The Beach broadcasts every Wednesday evening from 10:00 PM to midnight (UK time), repeating on Monday morning from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM (UK time).
Blues Beach broadcasts every other Thursday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (UK time).