In these interesting times, I have had moments of turning to my record player for solace to reflect on some of the fantastic jazz musicians who have appeared at Lakeside, sometimes on more than one occassion. I share with you some of my favourite jazz tracks by musicians who have struck a cord with me for their musical talents – Ian Perry, Box Office Manager, Lakeside's in-house jazz expert on a series of jazz discoveries.
This week's jazz playlist continues featuring musicians from the other side of the pond who have performed at Lakeside.
ROBERT GLASPER – BEATRICE
Robert Glasper has won three Grammy Awards all of which came in the years after his visit to Lakeside in 2011. Alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin also joined the trio for some of the gig. This track is taken from the earlier 2007 Blue Note album In My Element and features Vicente Archer (bass) and Damion Reid (drums). I chose this track for several reasons. Beatrice is a modern jazz classic, written by Sam Rivers, and is also the name of Lakeside’s Marketing and Digital Assistant, who asked me to put this playlist together. It also demonstrates Glasper's amazing abilities and dazzling technique. He has also produced several albums featuring hip-hop influences, collaborating with Mos Def, J Dilla and Bilal.
Further listening: In My Element (Blue Note 2007), Double Booked (Blue Note 2009), Black Radio (Blue Note 2012) also Joe Henderson’s beautiful rendition of Beatrice on The State of the Tenor (Blue Note 1986)
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE – THE WALLS OF LECHUGUILLA
Ambrose was the fast-rising star when he came to Lakeside in 2012. He’d studied with Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard and Wayne Shorter and has worked with Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Esperanza Spalding, Aaron Parks and Jason Moran. This track is taken from his Blue Note debut The Heart Emerges Glistening, the music of which featured at his Lakeside concert. The band consists of Ambrose on trumpet, Walter Smith III (tenor), Gerald Clayton (piano), Harish Raghavan (bass), and Justin Brown (drums). Having listened to the album again recently, I was struggling to choose the track for this playlist. Regret (no more) is outstanding but in the current climate I thought we ought to have something more upbeat.
Further listening: Origami Harvest (Blue Note 2018), Jack DeJohnette Sound Travels (Golden Beams 2012) Mary Halvorson Code Girl (Firehouse 12 2018) Brad Mehldau Finding Gabriel (Nonesuch 2019)
AARON PARKS – MELQUÍADES
Aaron was another young musician who was highly regarded in the US but only just starting to be noticed in the UK. He worked extensively with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, including recording the soundtrack to the Spike Lee film Inside Man. The trio he brought to Lakeside consisted of Ben Street (bass) and Billy Hart (drums). Billy Hart is a legend. He was part of Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi band and Miles Davis band in the 1970s as well as working with Wes Montgomery, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Archie Shepp, Oscar Peterson and anyone else you can think of… name a musician and Billy Hart has probably played with them. Aaron had recently recorded his solo album Arborescence when he bought this trio to Lakeside in 2015. It was to be another two years before he recorded Find the Way with this band, from which Melquíades is taken.
Further listening: Arborescence (ECM 2013) Find the Way (ECM 2017) James Farm City Folk (Nonesuch 2014)