Jazz On The Beach 79

Black Jazz Records and Deal Radio's new home

Last week I rediscovered Doug Carn’s Infant Eyes with its beautiful vocal by his then wife Jean Carne (she added the ‘e’ after the divorce) and played it on the show. The album it came from, also called Infant Eyes, was released by Black Jazz Records who were based in Oakland, California, and founded by pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory to promote young African American jazz musicians and singers. Black Jazz released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975 that are all terrific, and for this week’s playlist there are tracks from two more, Gene Russell’s On Green Dolphin Street from New Direction and Walter Bishop, Jr.’s 4th Circle performing the title track from Keeper Of My Soul.

On to new releases….there’s the title track from drummer (and Brighton jazz club proprietor) Tristan Banks’ excellent View From Above on Ubuntu, saxophonist Diego Rivera’s Soul Purpose and pianist David Ake’s Good Afternoon which are both on Posi-tone Records, a second cut from Billy Valentine and the Universal Truth on the reborn Flying Dutchman label with Curtis Mayfield’s We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue, more from Rickie Lee Jones’ new collection of standards Pieces Of Treasure on Modern/BMG and one more from Sultan Stevenson with Summer Was Our Holy Place from his debut Faithful One on Whirlwind which I recently reviewed for London Jazz News.

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Deal Radio's new studio

I’ve been presenting Jazz On The Beach on Deal Radio every Wednesday at 10.00pm since September 2021, and apart from 7 shows that were prerecorded due to holidays or emergencies, all have been broadcast live. So what you hear is exactly how it went down, mistakes and all. The same goes for Blues Beach.

Over the last few weeks Deal Radio’s studio has moved from deep within the Landmark Centre to a new location 200 yards south at 69a High Street. The new building is shared with Evolution Music (developer of the world’s first bioplastic LP record) who have an office in the back and music marketeers Roulette Records who run the vinyl and merch shop in the front. Drop by, it’s open 9am - 5.30pm Monday to Saturday. And if you’re passing between 10pm and midnight on a Wednesday evening, the studio is all lit up and clearly visible through the front window, so if you wave I’ll wave back. Just don’t ask me if I’m a dispatcher for a cab company as someone did last week.

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A few things you may like

• The Skinner Box? It was news to me too until I read this excellent piece by Ted Gioia.

  We're Living in a Scroll-and Swipe Doom Loop Culture

• Moor Mother’s We Got The Jazz summarises ‘the themes of jazz and the complexity of the genre within just one song.’

• Many thanks to Jill and Geoff Martin of The Town Kitchen for their exclusive Jazz On The Beach style award-winning Kentish Knocker™ filled with Cajun chicken, roast vegetables and sweet potato. They’re even personalised with an ‘A’ and are very delicious, there may even be a few available at Deal Market on Saturday if you’re there early enough.

• I covet an Alessi 9090/3 3-cup espresso coffee maker, but can’t justify buying yet more coffee brewing gear.

• If you missed the Jazz On The Beach ‘Best of 2022’ show which was broadcast at Christmas and featured the cream of young British jazz artists here it is again.

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Radio Times

Listen live to Jazz On The Beach every Wednesday from 10.00pm - midnight and Blues Beach every other Thursday from 6.00pm - 7.00pm via the internet on DealRadio.co.uk or the TuneIn Radio app. Or alternatively, just ask your smart device to ‘Play Deal Radio’.