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Jazz has always taken popular tunes as a starting point.  Some of the most famous jazz originals like Ornithology are new tunes on old chords sometimes called contrafacts. In this episode Nick and Simon discuss the subject of modern songs done in a jazz way.

Jazz versions of Beatles tunes playlist here 

Rock Swings here

Herbie Hancock The New Standard here

When Love Breaks down Dominic Howles Septet here

Post Modern Jukebo...

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Watch Terry Pollard with Terry Gibbs here

Terry Pollard (August 15, 1931 – December 16, 2009) was an American jazz pianist and vibraphonist active in the Detroit jazz scene of the 1940s and 1950s. She has been described as a "major player who was inexplicably overlooked." 

listen to Terry Pollard on Apple Music here  or Spotify here

Listen to a Detroit Legend on Apple Music here or Spotify here

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You can't steal a gift a book review You Can't Steal a Gift. Frederick Eugene John Lees (February 8, 1928 – April 22, 2010) was a Canadian music critic, biographer, lyricist, and journalist. Lees worked as a newspaper journalist in his native Canada before moving to the United States, where he was a music critic and lyricist. His lyrics for Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Corcovado" (released as "...

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Christian Jacob 

Jacob was born in Metz, Lorraine on 8 May 1958. A pianist by age four, he was immersed in studying the French classics. Something of a child prodigy, Jacob had perfect pitch and natural talent. He did not discover jazz until age 10, but when he did, its improvised nature appealed to him immediately. Early influences were Dave Brubeckand Oscar Peterson. As a teen, Jacob studied under Pierre Sancan at th...

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This is a follow on to episode 44. We go a bit further into the beat poets reading their poetry with live jazz backing.  We talk about City Lights and Steve Allen and more.

A couple of Corrections

Howl was first performed  by Ginsberg who read a draft of "Howl" at the Six Gallery reading in San Francisco in 1955.  Fellow poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti of City Lights Books, who attended the perf...

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We intended for this to be just one episode but felt that we had a lot more to say and ended up with enough for 2 five minute episode the next will follow in March 1st 2025.

this is the introduction to a blog on the beats on our website links below

The Beat movement was a literary movement which emerged in the United States in the post war-era. ‘Beat’ was slang for ‘down and out or poor and exhausted...

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In this episode we chat about Christmas with the George Shearing Quintet  album. I t was recorded with George Shearings new quintet

1. Vibraphone – Don Thompson
2. Guitar – Reg Schwager
3. Piano – George Shearing
4. Bass – Neil Swainson
5. Drums – Dennis Mackrel

A mixture of classic Jazz tunes,  many of which we looked at in detail in our 2020 Christmas special, and traditional carols. including a John Rutter carol who also helpe...

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Episode 40 of Series 2 to the 50 plus episodes from series 1 and our long form series on Sonny Clark and Kenny Drew. 

Busking a tune what does that men? Sometimes when you hear a jazz band some of the players are playing a tune for the first time by ear with a few pointers from the person calling the tune.

Simon and Nick discuss the concept

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Nick and Simon present one of their jazz book reviews.

Kind of Blue : Miles Davis and the making  of a masterpiece.

 Ashley Kahn Granta 2001 is an in-depth look at the legendary album its creation and its legacy.  Ashley Kahn has written much about jazz and his books on A Love Supreme and Impulse Records : the house that Trane built [ Simon got that title slightly wrong in the podcast]

in D...