Jazz on the Beach 231 & Blues Beach 97: Thad Jones, Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble, Nicole McCabe, Gábor Szabó, Ron Carter, Mark Murphy, Sam Barsh, Shunzu Ohno
What's happening on this week's shows
It’s probably no surprise to many of you that a regular Jazz on the Beach favourite is the Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó. Here’s his live version of Spellbinder from More Sorcery (Impulse!, 1967), recorded at that year’s Monterey Jazz Festival with guitarist Jimmy Stewart, double bassist Lajos ‘Louis’ Kabok, drummer Bill Goodwin and percussionist Hal Gordon. As much as I love the studio version on Spellbinder (Impulse! 1966), this has a magic of its own, helped immeasurably by the two guitarists’ interplay.
On to the new releases, and another play for drummer Peter Erskine, whose beautifully recorded trio album Peregrine with pianist Alan Pasqua and double bassist Scott Colley was finally released last week (Hard Wag Records, 10th April). Here’s the driving and all too short Leaving L.A., featuring guest tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard, from the film Sacramento, directed and written by Erskine’s son-in-law Michael Angarano and starring his daughter Maya Erskine.
There’s the Leeds-based Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble’s Kármán Cantata from The Kármán Line (ATA Records, 1st May). It’s one of seven tracks recorded by ATA crew The Lewis Line with guest flautist and saxophonist Chip Wickham during the sessions for the album Doo - Ha! (ATA, 2025), but were considered a little deeper than that album’s soul jazz approach. The Kármán Line is an apt title, as it refers to the boundary between the earth’s atmosphere and outer space. The lineup is Wickham playing flute with Lewis Line members including drummer Sam Hobbs, ATA label owner and bassist Neil Innes, conguero Sam Bell harpist Alice Roberts and pianist John Ellis.
Here’s a live studio performance from ATA’s studio.
Kármán Cantata’s repeating two chord pattern sits nicely on the same playlist with tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders’ thrilling live version of The Creator Has a Master Plan from Love is Here - The Complete Paris 1975 ORTF Recordings (Transcendence Sounds, 2025). It was recorded at Maison de la Radio’s Studio 104 in Paris with pianist Danny Mixon also playing pipe organ, double bassist Calvin Hill and drummer Greg Bandy.
A second track too for keyboard player and producer Sam Barsh with The Earl of Essex County from Straight08 (La Reserve, 19th June), an improvised piece with trumpeter Keyon Harrold, drummer Mark Guiliana and Barsh’s customised Roland TR-808s. I played their take on Freddie Hubbard’s Little Sunflower recently, and this this may be even better.
And more from trumpeter Shunzo Ohno’s remarkable Live at Joe’s Pub (Pulsebeats Records, 17th April), with pianist Clifford Carter, guitarist Quinton Zoto, bassist Jeremiah Edwards, drummer Thierry Arpino and the sensational Lotus Chamber Music Collective led by his daughter Sasha Ono.
There’s the alto saxophonist Nicole McCabe’s Air Sign from Color Theory (Birdwatcher Records, February), with pianist Yvonne Rogers, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill, double bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and drummer Eliza Salem. I was a little late with this, and it’s sensational.
It’s been too long since I last played vocalist Mark Murphy’s Get Out of Town from the EP A Beautiful Friendship: Remembering Shirley Horn (Gearbox Records, 2013), with pianist Alex Minasian, double bassist Curtis Lundy, drummer Steve Williams and trumpeter Till Brönner. This was the 80-year old singer’s final recording and it’s wonderful.
Speaking of Gearbox Records, the Jazz Kissa events at their King’s Cross mastering studio more often than not included April in Paris by trumpeter Thad Jones from The Magnificent Thad Jones (Blue Note, 1956), with tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell, pianist Barry Harris, double bassist Percy Heath and drummer Max Roach. I’ve always wondered who that was in the polka dot skirt hidden behind the artist in Francis Wolff’s cover photo.
Three more great Blue Notes for the hard boppers, starting with the alto saxophonist Jackie McLean and Hip Strut from New Soil (Blue Note, 1959), with trumpeter Donald Byrd, pianist Walter Davis Jr, double bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Pete LaRoca.
There’s pianist Horace Silver’s beautiful Lonely Woman from Song for My Father (Blue Note, 1965), with double bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Roy Brooks. And also, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley’s Me ‘n You from No Room for Squares (Blue Note, 1964), with trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Andrew Hill, double bassist John Ore and drummer Philly Joe Jones.
And finally… following on from George Benson’s version of So What last week, here’s double bassist Ron Carter with a very different interpretation from his album Spanish Blue (CTI, 1975), featuring some spectacular flute from Hubert Laws, electric pianist Roland Hanna, drummer Billy Cobham and percussionist Ralph MacDonald. A truly wonderful track from an album that deserves to be better known. Each week, as I put this show together, I’m reminded that it’s never too late to discover something new.
To listen to this week’s Jazz on the Beach, click below:
Or listen back on Mixcloud:
Jazz on the Beach #231 15th April 2026
Peter Erskine - Leaving L.A.
Thad Jones - April in Paris
Nicole McCabe - Air Sign
Mark Murphy - Get Out of Town
Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble - Kármán Cantata
Sam Barsh - The Earl of Essex County
Jackie McLean - Hip Strut
Horace Silver - Lonely Woman
Gábor Szabó - Spellbinder
Shunzo Ohno - Vision
Instant Alter and Emilio Modeste - There Is Another
Pharoah Sanders - The Creator Has a Master Plan
Ron Carter - So What
Jesse Davis - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
Hank Mobley - Me ‘n You
Blues Beach
Blues Beach is back this week (a reminder that it’s bi-weekly) with a playlist that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do. It’s quite a mix, from Robert Johnson’s Kind Hearted Woman Blues and Johnny Shines’ Rambling to the Rolling Stones’ version of Robert Johnson’s Stop Breaking Down and the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s finest Red House from the UK version of Are You Experienced?. Plus Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, North Mississippi Allstars, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James and more.
To listen to this week’s Blues Beach, click below:
Or listen back on Mixcloud:
Blues Beach #97 16th April 2026
Hound Dog Taylor & the HouseRockers - Give Me Back My Wig
Greg Koch - The Stumble
Eddy ‘The Chief’ Clearwater - Help Yourself
North Mississippi Allstars - Pray for Peace
Rolling Stones - Stop Breaking Down
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Red House
Muddy Waters - The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll, Pt. 2
Lightnin’ Hopkins - Wonder What Is Wrong With Me
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Night Owl Blues
Robert Johnson - Kind Hearted Woman Blues
Elmore James - Standing at the Crossroads
Johnny Shines - Rambling
John Lee Hooker - Shake It Baby
Buster Brown - Fannie Mae
J. Geils Band - Cruisin’ for a Love
Roy Buchanan - Pete’s Blue
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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).