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Jazz Articles about Alan Barnes
Noa Levy & Paul Edis Trio: Portrait In Evans
by Neil Duggan
Vocals and lyrics are often added to tracks that their composers intended as instrumentals. When those instrumentals form part of the legacy of pianist Bill Evans, the potential for something to go wrong is considerable. Fortunately, nearly everything goes right for singer Noa Levy and the Paul Edis Trio, as their shared devotion to Evans' music sparkles throughout Portrait In Evans. For many listeners, Evans' melodies and touch are so deeply ingrained that anything new may feel odd ...
Continue ReadingSara Oschlag: Yeah!
by Neil Duggan
Sara Oschlag cannot be accused of being overly prolific. The Danish-born, UK-based artist last released an album in 2013. Since then she has been focusing her time on building a reputation as one of the UK's leading jazz vocalists and amassing over 12 million followers on YouTube. In addition, she has performed as a featured vocalist with Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, appeared at the Love Supreme Festival and sung at numerous events across Europe. Having honed her craft and built ...
Continue ReadingAlan Barnes & David Newton: 'Tis Autumn
by Neil Duggan
You may have heard of the 10,000-hour rule, perhaps from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, where he describes how it takes around 10,000 hours of intensive practice to master complex skills like playing the saxophone or the piano. That amounts to around 20 hours a week for a decade. Imagine, then, the calibre of performance that saxophonist Alan Barnes and pianist David Newton have attained. Having met as teens studying at Leeds College of Music in the 1970s, they have been ...
Continue ReadingStrictly Smokin' Big Band: Strictly Smokin' & Friends
by Neil Duggan
They can be stuffy and old-fashioned. That is the view that many, especially the younger demographic, have about big bands. Making serious headway into changing those perceptions is Michael Lamb. He is the main composer, arranger and trumpeter for the Strictly Smokin' Big Band. He set up the band in 2003 and they have steadily developed to be the top big band in the North East of England and one of the most exciting in the UK. What ...
Continue ReadingAlan Barnes All Stars: The Marbella Jazz Suite
by Jack Bowers
All Stars they're labeled, and All Stars they are. Saxophonist Alan Barnes leads eight of Great Britain's most accomplished post bop musicians through their paces on the Marbella Jazz Suite, a series of scenic sketches drawn by Barnes to honor the Spanish city where he and the band performed at the Marbella Jazz Festival in May, 2004.
Believe it or not, every song on the album--even “Freddie Green --alludes to some aspect of the city of Marbella, the festival, or ...
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