I thought that as we have all had an Easter break (even with some added sunshine), I would start this weeks gentle reminder of all things jazz local with my thoughts on a couple of CD's I listened to over the break.

First up very appropriately was a concert given by Gospel Singer Mahalia Jackson at New York's Lincoln Centre on Easter Day 1967. OK, its a niche market, not everyone's taste, but what a great singer she was. All the songs are full of deep felt emotion, whether they are about her assurance for the future (In My Home Over There), or her slow burning fervour of "Were You There?". One is amazed by her range and control. This is all the more surprising considering that she had had 2 years off, being unable to sing due to heart problems (which I can especially empathise with!). This concert was the first after that break. What a stress raiser, not exactly a small auditorium!! She was accompanied by Edward Robinson on piano, Charles Clency on organ and Jo Jones on drums. That first track does show a little of the uncertainty in her voice, but it soon disappears and the whole concert is full of that gospel swing now embedded in many modern jazz songs. The CD may still be around (my copy was published in 2001) and it was on Columbia Legacy 503018 2. See Blog for cover art.

The other CD is again in the mammoth auditorium category. And again of some vintage. Most jazz fans are aware of the Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert of 1938, which was privately recorded for his own benefit, discovered in a cupboard some years after and then released on LP then CD. But are any of you aware that the Paul Whiteman Orchestra was recorded at a concert in the same place and in the same year? Its available on a German label (Nostalgia Arts) as a 2 disk set. And like Mss Jackson's album it was a Christian holiday date! December 25th 1938!! Its a bit better recorded than the Goodman and was in fact the last in a series he had performed there called "Experiments in Modern Music". Not many tunes you would recognise from the swing era (after all, he pre dated it really), but the concert concludes with Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" ( an 8:45 min version of it in fact). Its possibly worth tracking down if you like finding out the beginnings of what we all take for granted (and even think of as old!), or chasing your library to get in for a loan. The CD Number is 303 3025.

OK, so what's around in the next few days for you to go out and listen to?

Thursday, The Clive Burton Quintet are at The Hedsor Social Club, 8.30 pm till 11 pm, £3 to get in, and we would be very please if you supported the raffle as well. The band have been in great form of late, and the team, plus its reserves, have been doing a fair bit of work recently, gaining the kind of recognition some of us have thought of as long overdue.

Sunday, Century Jazz are at The Fifield from 8pm. Good food, free entry, raffle funded.

Please don't forget the Concert for Cancer Research at Bourne End's Community Centre on Friday May 12th. Clive Burton Quintet, plus Simon Spillet, plus Richard Kellaway. Tickets from Crocks and Crystals or me £10 each.

There are a number of jazz links coming in to me these days, I will point you at one a little further away, but still local enough, for you to reach.

http://www.jazzeddie.f2s.com/

But in the meantime, that's it from me folks, see you at a gig near to me!

Geoff

http://jazzfromgeoff.blogspot.com/