Listen for a mixture of new and old. For those of you who did not know Patrice Rushen is a jazz artist discover her jazz gredentials from this programme

1. Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio
2. Esperanza Spalding – Radio Song
3. Patrice Rushen – Haw Right Now
4. Joe Henderson – Relaxin’ at Camarillo
5. Sonny Rollins – Notes for Eddie.
6. Jimmy Heath – Heritage Hum
7. Azanyah – I Will Surely Come Again
8. Zara McFarlane – Chiaroscuro
9. Carmen Lundy – So Beautiful
10. Steve Lehman Trio – Alloy
11. Vijay Iyer Trio – Wildflower

Listen again should be working again now from this site. Hope you enjoy the show.

This show was in four phases. Firstly, there were the re-releases Azanyah, the Lloyd McNeill Quartet and Raphael ( the latter from from the Spritual Jazz Vol II. compilation). The Azanyah album on Jazzman Records is a treat. We shall play more. The next phase was contemporary with the Vijay Iyer Trio and Esperanza Spalding, whose record I like more every time I hear it. Latin Jazz came next with The Jazz on the Latin Side All Stars being my pick of the trio. Finally, Cosmic Jazz ended with great, classical jazz from Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard. Could you wish for more?

1. Azanyah – I Will Surely Come Again
2. Lloyd McNeill Quartet – Just 71% Moor
3. Raphael – Archangelo
4. Vijay Iyer Trio – Accelerando
5. Esperanza Spalding – Radio Song
6. The Jazz on the Latin Side All-Stars – Mujer Chicana
7. Tania Maria – Lost in Amazonia
8. Johnny Blas – Picadillo
9. Joe Henderson – Y Todavia La Quiero
10. Freddie Hubbard with Al Jarreau – Little Sunflower

The show tonight features tracks from Carmen Lundy and there will be some touches of Latin Jazz.

1. Carmen Lundy – (I Dream) In Living Color
2. Wayne Shorter – Armegeddon
3. Kenny Garrett – Welcome Earth Song
4. Bobby Matos & John Santos – Cachao
5. Johnny Blas – Picadillo
6. Pangaea – Langery
7. Carmen Lundy – Dance the Dance
8. Esperanza Spalding feat. Joe Lovano – I Can’t Help It
9. Kira Neris – Open Doors
10. Gregory Porter – On My Way to Harlem
11. Carmen Lundy – Where Love Surrounds Us
12. Carmen Lundy – Old Devil Moon
13. Freddie Hubbard  – Red Clay

This was  a solo show from Derek, who was still feeling the glow from the mesmerising intensity and inspirational playing of the Kenny Garrett Quartet at the Pizza Express Jazz Club on Saturday 24 March.  From the first moment the tough, driving force of drummer McClenty Hunter Jr. and Kenny Garrett’s mighty and seemimgly never-ending blowing on alto set the tone for an unforgettable performance. As the set went on, pianist Vernell Brown Jr. took some of the limelight and Corcoran Hall on bass was solid throughout. A near two and a half hour set of emotionally charged music was such a pleasant contrast to my last ‘jazz’ outing to see the Portico Quartet, who played for barely one and a quarter hours, and for me proved that repetitive beats from programmed drumming is no more interesting than any other repetitive noise – even though members of the audience seemingly aged aged from 17 to 70 nodded their heads intently.

There had to be selections from Kenny Garrett’s new CD Seeds from the Underground. If there has ever been a  better start to Cosmic Jazz than Welcome Earth Song I cannot remember it  and Wiggins (dedicated to Garrett’s high school band leader) was a highlight of his live performance. The record as a whole is highly recommended.

There was a track from the Robert Glasper Experiment CD  Black Radio but don’t listen to this expecting to hear a jazz record. There is jazz here, but there is also soul, R’n'B and hip hop. As the group name suggests, this is an experiment.

The Robert Glasper Experiment is appearing at the Norwich Playhouse on Sunday 13 May at 8pm. Tickets are £17, as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. For tickets call 01603 766400 or book online at: www.nnfestival.org.uk  The other jazz highlights at the Festival include the Nigel Kennedy Quintet on Tuesday 22 May; Zara McFarlane (whose first album Until Tomorrow has been much played on Cosmic Jazz) on Friday 25 May; and Jerry Dammers’ highly recommended Spatial AKA Orkestra on Saturday 26 May. The Festival also has a varied programme of classical music, theatre, circus and dance, words, ideas and images, visual arts and activities for families. Check the website above for details.

1. Kenny Garrett – Welcome Earth Song
2. Robert Glasper Experiment (feat Ledisi) – Gonna Be Alright
3. Jack de Johnette – Salsa for Lusito
4. Jack de Johnette – Third World Anthem
5. SOTU – Lucky Novak
6. Max Roach – Driva’Man
7. Frank Morgan – Wholey Earth
8. Patrice Rushen – Shout it Out
9. Dwight Trible – Algeriangles
10. Trio Libero – Slip Duty
11. Kenny Garrett – Wiggins
12. Kenny Clarke – Big Bang
13. David Sanchez – No Quiero Pedras En Mi Camino

CJ this week had exciting new music from drummer and pianist Jack DeJohnette from his new Sound Travels release which includes some impressive guests. The first track is a reworking of a DeJohnette composition which first surfaced on his excellent Parallel Realities album with Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock. Slightly older music was represented on a new jazz funk compilation from BGP Records with some surprising inclusions – like the Azar Lawrence track Novo Ano featured in this week’s show.

There was more too from the highly recommended Cosmic disc from vocal elder statesman Dwight Trible and a further track from Be Good, the rather disappointing sophomore release from next generation singer Gregory Porter. Sometimes the old guys can show the younger ones how to do it…

Also included in tonight’s show was one of Wayne Shorter’s most lasting compositions, the title track from the 1964 Blue Note album Speak No Evil, featuring the classic lineup of Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones.

1. Dwight Trible – Speak to Us of Love
2. Gregory Porter – Be Good (Lion’s Song)
3. Jack DeJohnette – Indigo Dreamscapes
4. Azar Lawrence – Novo Ano
5. Max Roach – Members, Don’t Git Weary
6. Lloyd McNeill Quartet – Washington Suite
7. Zara McFarlane – Feed the Spirit (The Children and the Warlock)
8. Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
9. Albert Ayler – Zion Hill (alternate take)
10. Sonny Rollins – Pictures in the Reflection of a Golden Horn
11. Dwight Trible – Its’s All About Love
12. Jack DeJohnette – Sonny Light
13. Steve Colson and the Unity Troupe – Lateen

It was good to see publicity  for Cosmic Jazz in the latest edition of Jazz UK and it has led to some interesting contacts including Steve Tromans who has informed us about his four-movement suite called Musickosmos (see YouTube clip below) .The last movement of the suite ‘Musickosmos’ written by Steve Tromans. The work as a whole is dedicated to Sun Ra and to Carl Sagan, and the last movement was prefaced by a reading of some of the text attached to the Voyager space probes, launched into the Cosmos in the 1970sand which now have left the solar system on their cosmic journey of hope and universal friendship. The text read was the following, from then US president, Jimmy Carter.

“This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations”.

Frank Ames has also made contact about his  Jazz Spectrum show on Holton Community Radio (www.HCR923.com) which is broadcast from 18:00 – 20:00 on Tuesday nights. There is probably by now a network of jazz shows on community radio across the country and it would be good to hear about them. Please get in touch via this blog if you know of any.