Skip to main content

Take away more than just great pizza from Pizza Express Live

Pizza Express became part of my musical heritage when I discovered Kettner's* in London's Soho and then in other venues that began offering music alongside the food. It's now renowned for its high class jazz performers and earlier this year it launched PX Records to share some of these outstanding performances still further.


Pizza Express Live launched PX Records on 14 April 2023 and its opening artist roster is extraordinary.

Scott Hamilton Quartet: recorded, mixed and mastered by UK sax player Dave O'Higgins, this is a brilliant collection of tracks performed live by sax legend Scott Hamilton. He's joined by John Pearce (piano), Dave Green (bass) and Steve Brown (drums). This is almost like listening to shows recorded in New York's finest jazz spots and marks the 40th anniversary of Hamilton's first appearance at PizzaExpress Jazz Club.

Native Dancer: This amazing London-based band includes some of the hottest musicians from the UK scene: Frida Touray (vocals), Josh Arcoleo (sax), Sam Crowe (piano/keyboards), Jonathan Harvey (bass) and Dan See (drums). With hip hop and R&B influences, this is definitely music from the heart of London and it's well worth a listen.

Mamas Gun: Needing no introduction, this is a great chance to listen to a fabulous band recorded live on stage. With an introduction from radio producer and DJ Deb Grant, this includes some of the band's finest tracks, including the brilliant 'Friends to Lovers'.

There is bound to be more from PX Records: I'm currently listening to Matt Johnson's recording, which I'll be reviewing in depth for KindOfJazz.com.

You can catch excellent live jazz (and maybe pick up some CDs or vinyl to maintain the jazz magic in your ears) at Dean Street, Covent Garden, Holborn or the Kings Road.


* Kettner's enticed me into Soho frequently during the 1980s where it was slightly glamorous but still offering great food. Now owned by the much grander Soho House chain, Kettner's was a place to hang out with other musicians and often alongside a friend playing the grand piano. Once a favourite haunt of Oscar Wilde, it has always had a certain cachet - I haven't been back since it was reopened by its new owners.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maria Schneider: Live at The Barbican

Tonight’s performance in the main hall at London’s Barbican Centre confirmed Maria Schneider ’s position as one of the finest composers of our generation. Working with the sublime Oslo Jazz Ensemble (formerly Denada), Schneider presented a selection of tunes from her ‘Data Lords’ double album from 2020 and the result was simply extraordinary. Photo credit @Hilary Seabrook With a host of Grammy awards and a Pulitzer Prize nomination for Data Lords , Schneider has proved her right to stand on the Barbican stage in front of one of the finest ensembles in the world. Her music allows every member to shine, individually and collectively. Sax players who double on clarinet, bass clarinet, flute and alto flute, trumpets and flugelhorns, an accordion and multiple percussion pieces wielded by the drummer collectively provide a range of timbres, textures and dynamics that thrilled this audience. The Data Lords  compositions celebrate everything that is wonderful about nature, as well as all ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Big Wade - 'Piano Man' out now

Big Wade and Black Swan Theory collectively blends funk, soul, jazz and everything that fills the cracks between those genres: his new album -  Piano Man - on all major streaming platforms ahead of the Piano Man Tour 2024 , which has dates across the US. Piano Man  brings a selection of original and covers, including a stunning version of Autumn Leaves , which reinvents the song as the funky, electronic Autumn . Big Wade's voice takes the song's melody and improvises around and around, with backing vocals and a deliberately sparse arrangement underpinning the song. Similarly, on Children of the Ghetto , the lead and backing vocals blend in with the soulful musicians of Black Swan Theory. Electronics are used with dexterity, often expanding the vocal lines, as in the ethereal and ghostly opening of Don't Let Me Go . However, the tools never dominate - simply adding depth and layers to the funk. Never more than when Big Wade enters a new world in Interludes , including vocals...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Darius Brubeck Quartet: Live at Jazz Cafe Posk

My first visit to Jazz Cafe Posk in London's Hammersmith coincided with the 60th anniversary of Posk - The Polish Social and Cultural Association - and the first performance in the club by pianist and composer Darius Brubeck. Photo credit @ Hilary Seabrook Darius was 10 when he joined his father on a historic tour of Poland. The Dave Brubeck Quartet toured Poland from 6 to 18 March 1958, just three years after the communist regime's ban on jazz was lifted. Without a doubt, this was the biggest jazz event in post-war Poland, with the archetypal and hugely successful outfit of Dave Brubeck (piano), Paul Desmond (alto sax), Eugene Wright (bass) and Joe Morello (drums). Sixty years later, in  2018, Darius took his own quartet - the same one he brought to Posk in May 2024 - to Poland for a significant tour, recorded and released as the Live in Poland album. Several of the tracks from this album were in the set at Posk and this quartet displayed in depth the benefits of playing to...
Post a Comment
Read more