Jazz on the Beach 243: Sadao Watanabe, Jackson Mathod, Wayne Shorter, The Jazz Epistles, Miles Davis, FATHERS, Franklin Kiermyer, Ron Affif, Georgie Fame, Randy Weston & Cecil Payne
'Our love was like a bright July...'
One of my favourite jazz guitar players is the New York-based Ron Affif. I’ve played his version of If I Were a Bell on the show a number of times and am always amazed by his astonishing technique and musicality. This week, it’s the no less wonderful Alone Together, also from Ringside (Pablo, 1997), recorded before a live audience at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, with double bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Colin Bailey.
Affif’s father, Charlie Affif, was a middleweight boxer once ranked at number eight in the world, who would hang out with Miles Davis. So here’s a live version of Miles’ If I Were a Bell, recorded during his first Japanese tour at Shinjuku Kõsei Nenkin Hall in 1964 and released on Miles in Tokyo (CBS/Sony Japan, 1969). It’s almost the second great quintet, with Sam Rivers on tenor saxophone before Wayne Shorter’s arrival.
Although I love Miles’ version of Footprints on Miles Smiles, my favourite is the Wayne Shorter original from Adam’s Apple (Blue Note, 1967), recorded eight months before Miles’ but released eight months after. Just a coincidence or an awareness of the miraculous?
Sticking with the mystic number eight, there’s The Leak, a snazzy organ trio groove by FATHERS, from their eponymous eight track album (Blue Note, 10th July). The story goes that producer Kenny Beats invited keyboard player Kiefer (Shackleford), bassist CARRTOONS (Ben Carr) and drummer Nate Smith to help test out his new studio, and 48 hours later they had the tracks for an album.
There’s something new from the Japanese jazz kyoshō, alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, with the title track from his quartet set But Beautiful (Victor Japan, 20th May). He may have turned 93 in April, but his tone and phrasing are still sublime.
I always think of John Coltrane’s The Inch Worm from Coltrane (Impulse!, 1962), in a similar bag to his iconic My Favourite Things from the year before. Coltrane plays soprano on both, and the only personnel change is double bassist Jimmy Garrison in for Steve Davis.
There’s more jazz royalty with The Jazz Epistles’ Dollar’s Moods from Jazz Epistle, Verse 1 (Continental Records, 1960), the first jazz album recorded by a Black South African band featuring trumpeter Hugh Masekela, trombonist Jonas Gwangwa, alto saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, pianist Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim), double bassist Johnny Gertze and drummer Makaya Ntshako.
I like what trumpeter Jackson Mathod is doing, recording live in a basement under a pub in South London with guitarist Leif Maine, bassist Daniele Gulino and drummer Jaega Mckenna-Gordon. Here’s the powerful Axel Road, evoking the spirit of what a Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix collaboration might have sounded like.
And from the other side of the pond I’m enjoying New York based producer and keyboard player Nick Marks’ Oui Chef! from the five track EP Happy Place (Marks Brothers, 3rd July), mixing piano and synths with real instruments to create a witty cinematic and orchestral jazz groove.
Drummer, vocalist and bandleader Franklin Kiermyer returns with Scatter The Atoms That Remain (Gearbox Records, 12th September), also the name of his current band. One Is Love is the first taste and it’s a ferocious spiritual blast featuring tenor saxophonist Isaiah Collier, pianist Davis Whitfield and bassist Otto Gardner with vocalist Melanie Charles and the Temitope Momorebe Gospel Singers. Atoms are duly scattered!
At Ben Sidran’s recent show at Ronnie Scott’s, I shared a table with the writer and drummer Uli Twelker, who has just sent me his Georgie Fame biography, There’s Nothing Else to Do - Life and Music, which I’m looking forward to diving into. I asked Uli to suggest a Fame track to play, and he suggested Drip Drop, from In Hoagland (Bald Eagle Records, 1981), which also features the great Annie Ross. I’d never heard it before and although some of the arrangement hasn’t aged well, the vocal performances are just terrific.
We’re hard boppin’ with trumpeter Johnny Coles’ Heavy Legs from Little Johnny C (Blue Note, 1964), and with more of a soul jazz edge, with alto saxophonist George Braith’s Nut City from Extension (Blue Note, 1967), recorded three years earlier. Coles’ sidemen are saxophonists Joe Henderson and Leo Wright, pianist Duke Pearson, double bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Pete La Roca, while Braith plays with organist Billy Gardner, guitarist Grant Green and drummer Clarence Johnston.
And finally, one can almost taste the atmosphere on the Randy Weston Trio & Cecil Payne’s Jazz à la Bohemia (Riverside, 1957), recorded at the Greenwich Village club the previous October. Here’s Hold ‘Em Joe with baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne and pianist Randy Weston, double bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik and drummer Al Dreares.
Bohemia was recorded by Ray Fowler, who engineered many great albums for Riverside, including Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Music, Blue Mitchell’s Blue Moods and Wes Montgomery’s Portrait of Wes. He also recorded many of the label’s sound effect records including Sports Cars in Stereo and On the Drag Strip. I always knew jazz and cars had something going together.
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Jazz on the Beach #243 15th July 2026
Wayne Shorter - Footprints
Randy Weston Trio & Cecil Payne - Hold ‘Em Joe
FATHERS - The Leak
Sadao Watanabe - But Beautiful
John Coltrane Quartet - The Inch Worm
Miles Davis - If I Were a Bell
Jackson Mathod - Axel Road
George Braith - Nut City
Ron Affif Trio - Alone Together
Georgie Fame - Drip Drop
Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein & Bill Stewart - They Say It’s Wonderful
The Jazz Epistles - Dollar’s Moods
Stan Getz & Cal Tjader - Ginza Samba
Nick Marks - Oui Chef!
Franklin Kiermyer - One Is Love
Johnny Coles - Heavy Legs
Steely Dan - Peg
Jim Hall - Rock Skippin’
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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).
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