Jazz on the Beach 203: Kenny Barron, Bill Laurance, Nigel Price, Billy Higgins, Jacob Chung, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest
Jazz radio, new releases, hard bop
Any new release by the pianist and composer Kenny Barron should be considered a significant one, and last year’s Beyond This Place was surely one of the finest of the year. On this week’s playlist, Barron once again revisits his Song for Abdullah on the upcoming Songbook (Artwork Records, 14th November), an album of 13 original compositions with lyrics by long-time collaborator Janice Jarrett, sung by artists including Ann Hampton Calloway, Kurt Elling and Tyreek McDole. The vocalist on this tribute to the great South African piano master Abdullah Ibrahim is Cécile McLorin Salvant, with double bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake.
Among the other new releases is the prog-leaning Anima Rising from the astonishing 22 year old saxophonist Emma Rawicz’s upcoming Inkyra (ACT, 31st October). She’s playing tenor here with flautist Gareth Lockrane, guitarist David Preston, pianist Scottie Thompson, electric bassist Kevin Glasgow and drummer Jamie Murray.
Guitarist Nigel Price leads his organ trio of Hammond master Ross Stanley and drummer Joel Barford on Backatcha, a homage to mid ‘60s Cookbook-era George Benson from their new album It’s On! (Nervy Nigel Records, 17th October). Price has never sounded better, and plays a gorgeous signature Fibonacci guitar (as does Martin Taylor), take a look here.
There’s the beautiful Sera from pianist Bill Laurance’s new album Lumen (ACT, 26th September), recorded solo in a South London church at 3am in the morning. His erstwhile bandmate Michael League and Snarky Puppy go in the opposite direction on the vast sounding Waves Upon Waves from Somni (Ground UP Music, 21st November), with the full band (now boasting four drummers) joined by the Dutch 50-plus piece Metropole Orkest under conductor Jules Buckley. Here’s the video:
Also on the playlist is the Matti Klein Soul Trio’s melancholy End of Sight from Soul Trio Bouncin’ in Bubbleverse (Shuffle Shack Records, 26th September), with Klein playing his trademark Wurlitzer piano and Rhodes Bass, Lars Zander on bass clarinet and drummer André Seidel.
There’s a second cut from the previously unreleased Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Strasbourg ‘82 (Gearbox Records, 11th October), with double bassist Charles Fambrough’s composition Little Man. The rest of the lineup are pianist Johnny O’Neal, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, tenor saxophonist Billy Pierce and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who has just taken over the gig from Wynton Marsalis. It’s beautifully mastered as always by Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox and sounds great.
I played the sensational young Canadian tenor player Jacob Chung’s title track from last year’s The Sage not so long ago, and somehow missed the release of his recent album Live at Frankie’s Jazz Club (Cellar Music/La Reserve, July). Here’s his blistering version of Duke Pearson’s Jeannine recorded at the Vancouver venue with pianist Tyler Henderson, double bassist Caleb Tobochman and drummer Hank Allen Barfield.
Here’s Jacob on Live from Emmett’s Place recently:
Scoring high on the ‘60s hip-o-meter is the Chico Hamilton Quartet’s hard boppin’ For Mods Only from The Dealer (Impulse! 1966). Written by Archie Shepp who sits in on piano, drummer Hamilton leads Larry Coryell in full blues guitar mode, alto saxophonist Arnie Lawrence and double bassist Richard Davis.
It’s been far too long since I played John Coltrane’s incredible version of Mongo Santamaria’s Afro-Blue from Live at Birdland (Impulse!, 1964), with Coltrane on soprano, pianist McCoy Tyner, double bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. Another favourite overdue a place on the playlist is drummer Billy Higgins’ Dance of the Clones from Mr Billy Higgins (Riza, 1985), featuring Gary Bias on soprano saxophone, pianist William Henderson and double bassist Tony Dumas.
With the summer fast disappearing amid some hefty local downpours, there’s singer Cyrille Aimée & Friends’ exuberant September in the Rain from Live at Smalls (SmallsLive, 2010), with tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, pianist Spike Wilner, double bassist Phillip Kuehn and drummer Joseph Saylor. Her recent album 4:24 (self, June) recorded live at Birdland is excellent too.
And finally, it was the saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins’ 95th birthday last Sunday. To mark it, here’s The Eternal Triangle with fellow tenor Sonny Stitt and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie from Sonny Side Up (Verve, 1959), also featuring pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant and drummer Charlie Persip. A reminder, if one was needed, of the sheer power and beauty of the man and his music.
To listen to this week’s Jazz on the Beach on Mixcloud, just click below:
Jazz On The Beach #203 - 10th September 2025
Chico Hamilton Quartet - For Mods Only
Jacob Chung - Jeannine
Emma Rawicz - Anima Rising
Kenny Barron & Cecile McLorin Salvant - Song for Abdullah
Nigel Price Organ Trio - Backatcha
Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest - Waves Upon Waves
Cyrille Aimée & Friends - September in the Rain
Matti Klein Soul Trio - End of Sight
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Little Man
Billy Higgins - Dance of the Clones
John Coltrane - Afro-Blue
Bill Laurance - Sera
Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins & Sonny Stitt - The Eternal Triangle
Chip Wickham - Outside
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