Jazz notes (From York Press)

Jazz notes

2:49pm Friday 19th March 2010 in

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WHILE usual reporter Ron Burnett remains on a jazz expedition to Ghana, I have pulled together some jazz events for the next week.

Firstly, Frank Hudson tells me of a nice event for tomorrow at Jazz In The Spa, Boston Spa High Street, at 8.30pm. This week’s guest will be The James Evans Rocket Four. James is an alumni of Leeds College of Music and he will be appearing with Tom Kincaid on piano, Jake Gill on guitar/banjo and Al King on drums. York’s regular jazz spots continue to host a range of local talent: Sunday, 8.30pm: The Phoenix, George Street – Ian Chalk Sunday, 6pm to 9pm: The Coach House Hotel, Marygate – Aly Laurence, piano Tuesday, 7pm: The Coach House Hotel, Marygate – Keiran White, piano Thursday, 9pm: The Old White Swan, Goodramgate – Bejazzled with Mike Riley Thursday, 8.30pm: The Phoenix, George Street – Jules and the Gang.

Three of my favourite recordings of Great American Songbook standards were made by Linda Ronstadt with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. What’s New, 1983, Lush Life, 1985 and For Sentimental Reasons, 1986 were a daring departure for Ronstadt at the time. She is listed under many genres, ranging from Rock to Operetta. But her clear distinctive voice which ranges from the gentle coquette to the power of a diva triumphs throughout. Ronstadt puts these standards first, and her singing style second, making many of these recordings, for me, the definitive version. If you don’t own them already, hunt them down. They are available online in various packages, and some tracks are downloadable to your iPod. There are some tantalising low-fi snips of this period of Ronstadt’s career on YouTube. Try Someone To Watch Over Me; if you like these you will be spellbound by good quality versions.

If you like a good read while you are listening to your jazz recordings, consider The Oxford Companion To Jazz, edited by Bill Kirchner. At £20 for 852 pages, it does not sit lightly on the lap but contains 60 essays from men (and a couple of women) covering the roots of jazz, through the swing era and bebop, links with classical music, jazz in Europe, and features about the main instruments in jazz. If you have a jazz lover in your household and you need more peace and quiet, buy him this and direct him to the other room.

Further to last week’s listening-to-live-music rant, the following eaves-dropping was reported in a Gillygate hi-fi shop… First hi-fi addict: “My hi-fi system is so detailed that I can hear the jingling of the coins in the conductor’s pocket as he conducts from the podium.”

Second hi-fi addict: “My hi-fi system is even better than that. Mine is so detailed that I can tell it adds up to four pounds 35 pence.”