After just three years, the Love Supreme Festival seems to have established itself as a firm fixture on the jazz (and blues and soul) calendar. This year’s edition, again in the beautiful East Sussex countryside at Glynde Place, offered veterans Chaka Khan and (Sir) Van Morrison as main stage headliners, with the likes of Neneh … Continue reading
Latest Entries
‘Kinky’ and funky acts add to jazz festival line-ups
The founder of legendary rock band The Kinks, and the DJs of Funky Sensation are among the names that have been added to the line-ups at two of the summer’s big jazz festivals. Continue reading
Cardiff / Design / Victoriana / Wales
Exploring pictures from the past
Faversham! Bicycle! False teeth! No, it’s not a strange word game, but some of the searches I randomly carried out at a major arts-meets-tech launch in Cardiff this week (March 31, 2015). The Illustration Archive is the world’s largest searchable archive of book illustrations, making more than a million old images from books freely available … Continue reading
Whatever this is, I want more – Zeeteah serves up tasty Juice
“Whatever this is, I want more” is the catchy refrain from the opening track on the superb debut studio album from Zeeteah Massiah. And I agree. Juice will leave you wanting more. What is this? Well, it’s jazz, but it’s totally accessible, with hints of blues, soul, R&B, even reggae, without lapsing into pop. Many … Continue reading
Tributes worth hearing – the Brecon Jazz line-up is announced
‘Tribute’ acts don’t often cause much excitement, or top the bill at a serious festival. But what if the tributes are performed by multi-Grammy winner Dr John and Britain’s own Jazz FM award-winning Neil Cowley? Continue reading
‘Sizzle and Swing’ combines the mouth-watering with the toe-tapping
There seems a natural connection between music and food, doesn’t there? At their best, both are creative and satisfying – and essential for a happy existence. Music is, after all, the food of love. And now jazz star Erin Dickins has combined her love of the musical and culinary arts to produce Sizzle and Swing … Continue reading
Chaka Khan and Van the Man – big-name veterans top the Love Supreme bill
It’s understandable that Jazz FM has been blowing its own trumpet this week. Landing two big-name veterans to top the bill at the annual Love Supreme Festival is worth trumpeting. American jazz-funk and soul star Chaka Khan will headline on the Saturday (July 4) and Northern Ireland’s rock-blues-jazz-pop maestro Van Morrison is the man on … Continue reading
Film / Theatre / Victoriana / Writing
J.M.Barrie and (my ancestor) H.H.Weltch
J.M.Barrie is best known for creating Peter Pan and for working with other giants of British culture, such as H.G.Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. He is less well known for writing The Little Minister and working with my ancestor, H.H. Weltch (left). Continue reading
Jazz / Lyrics / Music / Songwriting / Wales
‘Brecon rocks out here on the chain gang’
Brecon Jazz Festival has just celebrated its 30th anniversary in style, with ticket sales up 20% and a high number of sell-out gigs. Even the weather – the tail end of Hurricane Bertha dumped a lake-full of rain on the mid-Wales town on the final day – couldn’t dampen spirits. Continue reading
Fantasy / Film / Science fiction / Television
Why I’m not going ape for this summer blockbuster
The latest chapter of the rebooted Planet of the Apes series has been hailed as the ultimate summer blockbuster of 2014 – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes boasts lots of action, expensive CGI and even a 3D version. Continue reading
PieceOf Pink Pie 