LIVE REVIEW: The 2021 EFG London Jazz Festival in short reviews BYLONDONJAZZ

Several Ubuntu artists were top picks of the feastival.

Paul Booth’s HOOP at the Spicejazz: The festival finale at SpiceJazz Soho was a scorcher! This high-calibre septet, HOOP (Ubuntu Records) was led by saxophonist, Paul Booth – the line-up speaking for itself: trumpeter Tom Walsh; trombonist Nicol Thomson; guitarist Chris Allard, keyboardist Ross Stanley plus the unbeatable rhythm team of bassist Laurence Cottle and drummer Ian Thomas, purveyed good humour, inspired blowing and tightest of arrangements. (Paul Pace – Music Manager, Spicejazz)

Quentin Collins Sextet (minus Quentin due to illness) at SpiceJazz Soho: Monday night at Spice Jazz, Soho was one of those rare gigs that will stay with me for a long time. A roll call of London’s finest led by Tony Kofi and Leo Richardson (with Deschanel Gordon, Larry Bartley and Winston Clifford), the band played a last-minute show, re-configured at short notice into a tribute to Cannonball, Coltrane & Monk, as if their lives depended on every note. Blindingly energetic and full of joy – I’m still buzzing! (Tara Minton)

LIVE REVIEW: Bansangu Orchestra at the Spice of Life (EFG LJF 2021)

LondonJazz New’s Sebastian Scotney writes, “this band plays it from the heart and with the defiant swagger it needs. Glorious.”

For the full review, please click on the image, above.

Ubuntu Music Announces Collaboration with Paul Booth: 'Secret Sessions'

Secret Sessions Presents

Fragile Eagle

UBU0054 / 14th February 2020

Digital Streaming & Download Formats

Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce its collaboration with sax titan Paul Booth on a new project series, Secret Sessions. The first album in the series, ‘Fragile Eagle’, will be released in digital formats on Friday, 14th February.

Paul Booth is a highly accomplished tenor sax player, well known for his work with many contemporary artists, including Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, The Eagles and Santana.

Paul has curated a new project, ‘Secret Sessions’, which is an outlet for new music that is created, played and ultimately recorded by grouping like-minded artists and friends together. It works like this…Paul carefully selects a range of highly talented musicians who turn up to the recording studio, only knowing the instrumentation of the music but not knowing who they will be recording with. The result is a dynamic cocktail of spontaneous, exciting and highly rewarding music.

As Paul explains it, “Back in January 2019, a time of year when I tend to reflect on the previous year and how I would like to make changes in the new year, it dawned on me that the balance of making music for music’s sake against being paid to play music wasn’t where I’d like it to be. This is naturally the normal way for most musicians and I’m fine with that dynamic, for the most part. However, I wanted to make more of an effort to play new music with the vast array of outstanding talent I have been privileged to work with and become friends with over the last 25 years. So many times as side men we say, ‘hey man, we should get together and play sometime’ and then, it never happens for a variety of ‘life’ reasons.

Trevor Mires, Steve Fishwick, Paul Booth

“I decided for my own personal development as a musician and composer that I needed to do something about this, so I went ahead a booked a day in a local studio first then went ahead and sent out an email to a long list pitching this idea: 

I’m really into making more music this year with my all-time favourite UK based musicians around….you lot!!! The idea is to explore playing more improvised music and document this with a recording. We then decide what do with it later and whose name it goes out under, etc.’

Steve Fishwick, Paul Booth

“I also added that I was willing to invest in each of the sessions by paying the studio costs upfront until we know what we have and how we want to move forward. As I mentioned already, this was a chance for me to play with and learn from these master musicians, shedding their music, practicing in the lead up to the session and also getting to write for the specific musicians involved. 

Oli Hayhurst, Dave Ingamells

“The response was staggering and proved just how passionate everyone is about making new music. The humorous fact is I could have created a big band for that very first session but sadly I had to cut things down to something more manageable, this being the project’s maiden voyage. I sifted through the people available and picked a six-piece utilising trumpet/trombone/tenor sax/piano/acoustic bass/drums. It dawned on me that, on booking the individuals, it could be fun to keep them in the dark about who they were going to be recording with on the day…and ‘Secret Sessions’ was born. The only information they had was instrumentation, to aid them in their arrangements and what time and where they needed to be. The result is our first creation, ‘Fragile Eagle’, and we are absolutely delighted with the debut. 

Tom Cawley

“On a personal note I feel privileged and thankful that Martin Hummel (Ubuntu) and Paul Pace (Spice of Life) jumped onboard this project with such fire and enthusiasm. This means a lot to each of these sessions as there is an outlet not only for our recorded music but also to play live.”

Paul Booth

‘Fragile Eagle’ is the first release in the ‘Secret Sessions’ series and was recorded in 2019. The band consists of:

Steve Fishwick - trumpet/flugelhorn 

Trevor Mires - trombone/bass trumpet 

Paul Booth - tenor sax

Tom Cawley - piano 

Oli Hayhurst - bass

Dave Ingamells - drums 

‘Fragile Eagle’ will be available in digital streaming and download formats as of Friday, 14th February.

The band will be performing a limited number of live performances, beginning with London’s Spice of Life on Wednesday, 19th February.

Paul Pace, Promoter of Spice of Life, shared his thoughts, saying, “Experiencing an exceptional musician such as Paul at close quarters in an intimate space and within a high-calibre ensemble has for me been one of the most invigorating musical experiences of the past 15 or so years. For this ongoing project, Paul has gathered a collective of top musicians who happen to be close friends and in happy collaboration with the now well-established jazz/world music label Ubuntu, bring something quite fresh and exciting to the scene via the ‘Secret Sessions’ series. It will certainly be the real deal – come and be part of this soul-enriching journey!"

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, sums up the project by saying, “The Secret Sessions project series encapsulates what great jazz is all about. First class musicians, brought together in a studio to let it rip with energy and flair. There’s no place to hide on the recording, which brought out the best in their playing. Paul Booth did a brilliant job with making this happen. Spice of life’s Paul Pace kindly granted the project an ongoing platform to share the live music. We expect many more successful sessions to come.”

Paul Pace, Martin Hummel

For further information, please contact:

Ubuntu Music (record label):            Martin Hummel (martin@weareubuntumusic.com)

Spice of Life: Tickets for 19th February: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/495255#tickets

Leo Richardson Scores Big with The Arts Desk

Sebastian Scotney applauds the tenor sax man’s music in London Jazz Festival.

Another young-ish tenor saxophonist left a very strong impression with his gig on Wednesday at the Spice of Life club in Soho. Leo Richardson’s 2017 album The Chase, with a guest appearance from that daredevil of a previous generation Alan Skidmore, made it into several 2017 best-of lists. Richardson has just recorded another album, which includes another two-tenor roast, this time with Alex Garnett. Richardson’s quartet is also interesting for the sheer range of appealing characters and personalities in it, from the quirkily humorous Rick Simpson to the virtuosically insouciant Tim Thornton to the constantly provoking Chris Draper.

Around the LJF World in +10 Days —Gonzo Journalism from a Diehard Jazz Fan

Preface: This pastiche is decidedly biased, as it is written by someone in the business—as a manager, record label owner, agent and talent spotter—whose love for jazz exceeds all in his life, other than his love for his family. I’ve chosen to highlight my relationships with each artist/band, along with a sound bite performance rating, to protect the innocent. Otherwise, I’ll simply take the 5th Amendment.

Bassist Daniel Casimir, Drummer Jake Long

jake Long, Daniel Casimir, Camilla George, Cameron Daniel

Camilla George

Camilla George, Daniel Casimir, Cameron Daniel

Camilla George

Camilla George, Cameron Daniel

Gary Crosby, Steve Williamson

Jake long, Daniel Casimir, Camilla George, Cameron Daniel

Jake Long, Camilla George, Cameron Daniel

Friday, 17th November

Camilla George Quartet

Spice of Life (Sold Out)

Given the amount of time I spent here this week, I think I deserve a few shares in the place. Camilla and her reconfigured quartet (Cameron Daniel/guitar, Daniel Casimir/bass, Jake Long/drums) gave the absolutely packed crowd everything they wanted, and more. Delivering a mixed repertoire of new material and songs from her latest album, the Afro-Caribbean beats and vibes put the audience in a writhing trance.

Relationship: Yes

Performance: Tantalizing

Around the LJF World in +10 Days —Gonzo Journalism from a Diehard Jazz Fan

Preface: This pastiche is decidedly biased, as it is written by someone in the business—as a manager, record label owner, agent and talent spotter—whose love for jazz exceeds all in his life, other than his love for his family. I’ve chosen to highlight my relationships with each artist/band, along with a sound bite performance rating, to protect the innocent. Otherwise, I’ll simply take the 5th Amendment.

Matt Roberts conducts his BigISH Band

Martin Hummel, George Millard

James Copus, Martin Hummel

Matt Roberts, Martin Hummel

James Copus lets it rip

Martin Hummel with the legendary Alex Garnett

Martin Hummel, Josh Arcoleo

Leo Richardson roars on bari

Monday, 13th November

Matt Roberts BigISH Band (Sold Out)

Spice of Life

Taking in Matt’s monologue alone is worth more than the price of admission. As a tribute to Wayne Shorter, this group consisted of some of the best musicians on the scene, with the likes of Leo Richardson/Bari, Josh Arcoleo/tenor, Alex Garnett/alto, George Millard/saxes, Conor Chaplin/bass, Dave Hamblett/drums and, the man who stole the show, James Copus/trumpet. Thoroughly entertaining. Why don’t these guys play live more often?!?

Relationship: Yes

Performance: Muscular