The Real R&B playlist 31 August 2009

On August Bank Holiday Monday the Jazz Connection slot on Radio Cardiff was filled by a one-off special called The Real R&B. Hope you enjoyed the show if you heard it - here's the playlist:

Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working
Junior Parker - Feeling Good
James Brown - Night Train
Rolling Stones - Route 66
The High Numbers - I'm the Face
Zoot Money - The Uncle Willie
Ruth Brown - 5-10-15 Hours
Richard Berry - Louie Louie
Alan Price's Rhythm & Blues Combo - Boom Boom
Jimi Hendrix - Hoochie Coochie Man
Fleetwood Mac - Shake Your Money Maker
Howling Wolf - The Killing Floor
Otis Rush - Homework
Bo Diddley - You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover
The Hi-Fis - I Keep Forgetting
The Plebs - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Georgie Fame - Get On The Right Track Baby
Tommy Tucker - Hi Heel Sneakers
Tom Jones - Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Manfred Mann - Got My Mojo Working

The Jazz Connection returns next Monday night at 8pm on Radio Cardiff - tune in on 98.7 FM or listen live online at www.radiocardiff.org

Pembrokeshire Jazz 'n' Blues 2009

Michael Janisch and Asaf Sirkis are among the attractions of the 6th Pembrokeshire Jazz 'n' Blues Festival taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 27 to 31.

Most of the events are taking place in Fishguard, with some gigs in Goodwick, Mathry and Newport.

Many of the gig are free of charge, and a range of percussion and vocal workshops are also on offer.

See www.aberjazz.com for full details.

Jazz Connection playlist 24 August 2009

Here's what I played on the Jazz Connection on Monday 24 August on Radio Cardiff 98.7 FM - most of the tunes are by bands playing at next month's Pontypool Jazz Festival:

Sirius B – High 'n' Dry
Heavy Quartet – Skaface
Keith Little Band – Basin Street Blues
Bluesy Susie – Ramblin' on my Mind
3 Square – Canteloupe Island
Mike Markey & Nick Jones - Filthy Rich
Root Doctors – Assume the Position of Love
Dominic Norcross Quartet – A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
Laura Collins – Battersea Park
Ray Thompson & Jim Barber - Moon River
Wonderbrass – La Vie en Rose
The Amigos – Music for a Found Harmonium

Next week's show will be a Bank Holiday Monday special called the Real R'n'B - tune in at 8pm on 98.7 FM or live online at www.radiocardiff.org

Pontypool Jazz Festival - Sept 4 to 6

The cream of stars from the Welsh jazz scene will be on show for the Pontypool Jazz Festival from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 September.

Formerly known as Jazz in the Park, the event will now take place indoors, mainly at the Active Living Centre with a couple of gigs at the Comrades Club.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan will officially open the event on the Friday night with an opening concert by the Root Doctors at the Comrades Club.

The Amigos, Keith Little, Sirius B, Wonderbrass, Jim Barber and Bluesy Susie are among the attractions on Saturday and Sunday.

There'll also be a number of workshops allowing visitors to get involved.

The festival is being moved indoors to save costs and as a precaution following the heavy rain and flooding which forced the cancellation of last year's event.

Tickets for the opening concert cost £5, and admission to all concerts on Saturday and Sunday is by a stroller wristband costing £5 per day.

See www.pontypooljazzinthepark.org.uk or contact the Congress Theatre box office on 01633 868239.

There'll be a special festival preview edition of the Jazz Connection on Radio Cardiff this coming Monday 24 August at 8pm featuring tracks by many of the artists appearing.

Tune in on 98.7 FM or watch and listen live online at www.radiocardiff.org

Musicians invited to join Never Ending Song

Jazz FM and Pizza Express are inviting musicians to take part in a never ending song to be performed non-stop, 24 hours a day for a week across Britain.

The tune will evolve as it's shaped by collaborations with local talent from London, Brighton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh.

The Cardiff leg of the event takes place at the High Street branch of Pizza Express on Wednesday 9 September from 5 till 7pm and 8 till 10pm.

See www.neverendingsong.co.uk for details of how to get involved.

Jazz Connection playlist 17 August 2009

Here's what I played on the Jazz Connection on Monday 17 August on Radio Cardiff 98.7:

Matt Bianco – Hifi Bossanova
Polly and the Billets Doux – Charmed
John Surman – Kickback
The Impellers – Fire
Lee Jones – Halfway House
Moreno – David
Gwyn Evans & Doctor Jazz – Sospan Fach
Muddy Waters/Otis Spann/Chris Barber – Hoochie Coochie Man
Shirley Bassey – Blues in the Night
She'koyokh – Wedding Song
Gwyneth Herbert – My Mini and Me
Peter Cincotti – St Louis Blues
The Dead Victorians – Who's Sorry Now?
Peggy Lee - Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay

The Jazz Connection goes out on Radio Cardiff every Monday 8 till 9pm - tune in on 98.7 FM or watch and listen live online at www.radiocardiff.org

Jazz Connection playlist 10 August 2009

The Jazz Connection on Monday 10 August on Radio Cardiff 98.7 FM will be another chance to hear a special show featuring some of my favourite acts on the Welsh jazz scene. Here's the playlist:

The Numbers Racket - Swingin' Like a Wrecking Ball
Jones O'Connor Group - Pumpkin
Jim Barber Trio - Tachycardia
The Amigos - Russian Lullaby
Paula Gardiner Trio - Riding on the Back of the Salmon
Laura Collins - Mohawk
Burum - Alawon (The Songs of Welsh Folk)
Keith Little Band - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
Gareth Roberts Quintet - Going Nowhere Fast
Dave Stapleton Quintet - Aquamarine
Top Shelf Jazz - Nagasaki

Tune in on 98.7 FM from 8 till 9pm or listen live online at www.radiocardiff.org

More listeners for Jazz FM

The relaunched Jazz FM continues to grow, with an average weekly audience of 482,000 between April and June, according to official listening figures from Rajar.

This compares to 408,000 in the first three months of 2009, the first figures since the station returned to the airwaves in autumn 2008.

The station can be heard via www.jazzfm.com, Sky Digital channel 0202, Freesat channel 730 and on DAB in selected areas including London and the South East, Cardiff and south Wales, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Manchester and the North West, and Glasgow.

Brecon Jazz has to "sober up to survive"

The director of the Brecon Jazz Festival has declared an end to the drinking culture at the event, saying it has to sober up to survive.

Interviewed by the Western Mail, Peter Florence said: "We are not running an open bar, we are running a jazz festival."

"As part of that we wanted to get rid of the stroller ticket system and a lot of the jazz in the street which, while nice, created a lot of public disorder."

The event, now run by Mr Florence's Hay Festival organisation, runs from this Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August.

Read the full story at www.walesonline.co.uk

Jazz Connection Brecon playlist 3 Aug 2009

Here's what I played on my second Jazz Connection Brecon festival preview show on Radio Cardiff 98.7:

Courtney Pine - Afropean
Manu Dibango – Soul Makossa
Azhaar Saffar and Sirius B – High 'n' Dry
Empirical – Things Are Getting Better
Anouar Brahem – Nuba
The Amigos – Antara (Live at Brecon)
Alec Dankworth – Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez
Erik Truffaz – Dubophone
Gareth Williams Power Trio – Seven Leaves
Abdullah Ibrahim – Whoza Mtwana
Dennis Rollins Badbone & Co – Love The One You're With
Wonderbrass - Dunkin' with Rich T

See www.breconjazz.org for details of the festival taking place this Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August - note that some concert venues and times may have changed as they're no longer using the Captain's Walk.

Brecon Jazz goes indoors

Organisers of this weekend's Brecon Jazz Festival have relocated all gigs scheduled to take place outdoors in the Captain's Walk to Theatr Brycheniog.

Stan Tracey, Alec Dankworth, Dennis Rollins and Wonderbrass are among the artists affected by the move, which also involves relocating some other acts from the theatre's main auditorium to its studio.

Sound quality and concern about the weather are believed to be the main reasons for abandoning plans for a marquee in the Captain's Walk, which means that all of the ticketed concerts at this year's festival will now take place indoors.

Bad weather was one of the factors which resulted in a financial loss at last year's Brecon Jazz Festival, leading to the demise of the company which organised the event and their replacement by the Hay Festival organisation.

None of this year's concerts has been cancelled, but I'd recommend you visit the website at www.breconjazz.org in case of changes to times or venues.

Cardiff venue on blue plaque shortlist

Dempseys in Cardiff - formerly the Four Bars Inn - has been included on the shortlist for a public vote on venues deserving of a blue plaque for their role in British jazz history.

The (Kind of) Blue Plaque scheme has been launched by organisers of the Brecon Jazz Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the seminal album by Miles Davis.

The Four Bars Inn, now Dempseys, opposite Cardiff Castle was originally launched as a jazz venue in 1987 by the late Jed Williams and the Welsh Jazz Society.

As well as playing a key role in nurturing Welsh jazz talent, the venue has played host to stars including Dewey Redman, Monty Alexander, Tal Farlow and Lowell Fulson.

The shortlist of twelve chosen from over a hundred nominations features seven London sites including the Hippodrome, scene of the UK's first ever jazz gig in 1919, and venues in Bristol, Manchester, Oxford, and Hampshire.

You can vote for your favourite venue at www.breconjazz.org from now until Thursday, with the winner of the inaurgural blue plaque to be announced on the opening day of the Brecon Jazz Festival this Friday.