Belgium is a crossroads country, with its capital Brussels not only the European Union's heart, but a national mid-point between Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north and the rest of French-speaking Wallonia.
Now in its 13th year, Jan Bang and Erik Honoré's PUNKT festival continues its path finder mission to melt genre boundaries with the 'leveller' of a live remix, performed by nearly every artist involved.
“He’s not just a roaring, swinging jazz saxophonist, he’s actually got the prog credentials as well!” shouts John Etheridge introducing bandmate and reeds player Theo Travis, who has played with Gong and King Crimson, to an audience eager to experience, or re-live, the legend.
Now in its seventh year, Sofia's A to JazZ Festival is both a surprise and a rarity.
It was fitting, perhaps, that Clement Regert's (above) groove jazz outfit Wild Card should have arrived at Ronnie's upstairs bar on one of the hottest nights of the year.
The Oval Tavern in Croydon might not be the first place you'd look for new jazz talent, but that's where emerging trio SEN3 were playing their latest gig.
Harry South has been an overlooked figure in British jazz, yet this pianist, composer and arranger not only played with some of the major musicians of his time – including Tubby Hayes, Dick Morrissey and Joe Harriott – but was held in such high esteem generally that when Georgie Fame decided to record his 1965/6 album Sound Venture, Harry was the arranger and big band leader that the young vocalist wanted.
Four figures take to the stage of The Concorde in Brighton, masked and robed like Kendo warriors – the leader slings a mighty matt-black bass over his shoulder and the band smash unhesitatingly into the mutated cop-chase funk of 'Cooper's World'.
After Frank Williams left South Africa in 1978 he made his name in the UK in the 1980s playing with fellow South African jazz exiles in Chris McGregor's legendary Brotherhood of Breath and, later, Dudu Pukwana's Zila.
The music of Kate and Mike Westbrook defies categorisation.
