Jazz Meets Dancehall – Great Review!

Posted by on Sep 2, 2022

Our event ‘Jazz Meets Dancehall’ on August 6th was a really roller-coaster!  Just two days earlier Claude Deppa had phoned with the dreaded news that he had Covid.  What’s to be done? After a frantic day of ringing round we were extremely fortunate that none other than Byron Wallen was free and ready to step into the breach! ‘Free’, yes, but teaching on a summer-school in Cardiff right up to the end of Friday.  Heroically he trained it up to London just in time to connect with our other guest Annie Whitehead and make it to the venue on time! It was worth it anyway because Byron took to the programme beautifully and the whole thing went really well.  You can see how well from the following review in the Leamington Courier by their esteemed veteran music critic Clive Peacock. Thanks to In The Moment for helping to organise and Warwick Town Council for financial...

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Alan Wakeman – a tribute to himself

Posted by on Mar 14, 2022

Alan Wakeman – a tribute to himself

Alan Wakeman is so unassuming that one can lose sight of what a creative presence he is and has been for many years on the British jazz scene. Fortunately other people have contrived to bring him into the spotlight where he richly deserves to be.  In this ‘tribute to himself’,  his groundbreaking recordings for BBC Jazz Workshop (1969) and Jazz In Britain (1979) are the focus.  They were re-issued in 2020 on Gearbox Records and have won a fistful of encomiums, not least featuring in the Critics’ Polls of New York City Jazz Record and Jazzwise magazines. Chaturanga Suite Now Alan has assembled a high-powered band to take this music out on the road.  The band comprises some of the original performers and others of the calibre required to do the music justice.  Henry Lowther (trumpet) and Art Themen (saxophone), John Horler (piano) and Paul Nieman (trombone) are the veterans.  Asif Sirkis (drums), Arnie Somogyi (bass), Peter Whyman (clarinet) and Miguel Gorodi (trumpet) complete the ensemble, billed as Alan Wakeman’s Octet. Dates so far include Ronnie Scott’s (May 8th), Exeter Phoenix (May 10th), Birmingham Jazz Festival (May 13th) and Dorking Watermill (May 17th). We at Interplay wish Alan the very best for the tour and are booking our seats right now to experience this unique and very British jazz live in person....

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Looking Forward to Live Music?

Posted by on Jul 20, 2020

Looking Forward to Live Music?

Are you looking forward to live music again? Who isn’t! Please take this very short survey to help us plan for returning to live music. It will take less than 5 minutes, and there’s a free prize draw too… https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PBMQQBV

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New video – ‘Pearly Light’.

Posted by on Oct 8, 2019

New video – ‘Pearly Light’.

Our new video – ‘Pearly Light’ – is now up to watch! It’s been a while since we videoed ourselves. This track is a lucky combination of some super shots by photographer Mark Ludbrook (@sportsshots) and some live recording, both caught while we were at Chesterfield Jazz Club in March 2019....

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Harping On About Alina…

Posted by on May 10, 2019

Harping On About Alina…

Pardon me for harping on about Alina (Bzhezhinska) and Tony (Kofi), but our concert with them on Sunday 5th May was too good to let it simply disappear into ‘past events’. We knew Tony of course – Neil and I had both worked with him before. Alina and the harp as an instrument were much less familiar, although preceded by her fulsome reputation. We listened to her music, went to see her perform, and dusted off our Alice Coltrane CDs. Tony and Alina kindly agreed to play some Interplay tunes as well as bringing their own material. I proposed numbers that might suit a Coltrane-inspired programme. ‘Gratitude’, ‘Spanish Step’, ‘Slow Flame’ and ‘Rising on Thermals’ all made the cut with McCoy Tyner’s ‘Contemplation’, leaving me with the delightful task of re-arranging them for the expanded line-up. We rehearsed the new charts and studied Alina’s parts, some of which were a few notes with one-line instructions. They would depend entirely on our finding the right feel on the night. On the afternoon before the gig we worked through the whole programme – and were delighted to find there was a natural sympathy between us. Alina was clear about what she wanted and we were happy to provide it. Tony’s virtuosity in the front line seemed to throw Alan and Richard’s abilities into sharper relief, not leave them in the shade. Before the concert Alina, prompted by Matthew Wright from In The Moment, talked engagingly and humorously about her musical development and growing engagement with jazz. It is integral to In The Moment’s approach to offer insights into the music alongside its performance, and the audience enjoyed Alina’s openness and honesty. Then came the concert. Alina and Tony set out their stall with the opening sequence; ‘Wisdom Eye’ and ‘Blue Nile’ by Alice Coltrane, and Alina’s tenderly hopeful tune ‘Spero’. We supported them in our characteristic way, with Dave’s percussion in particular laying out textures and colours differing from their usual arrangements, and to which Tony and Alina readily responded. Several Interplay tunes followed, memorable for me especially for Tony’s storming solo on ‘Gratitude’, before the first set culminated with a moody and muscular ‘Dahomey Dance’. A different vibe opened the second set: Dorothy Ashby’s bright Soul-Jazz anthem ‘Action Line’, featuring electric bass and Alan’s flute. Alina then gave an ethereal aura to ‘Rising On Thermals’, sensitively accompanied by Neil with...

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Norma Winstone with Interplay for JazzDay ’17!

Posted by on Feb 5, 2017

Norma Winstone with Interplay for JazzDay ’17!

Interplay’s guest for international Jazz day this year is none other than the great British jazz singer Norma Winstone! Norma’s career spans a good five decades, since she emerged with the explosion of original British jazz in the 1960s. Her celebrated partnership with pianist John Taylor and trumpeter Kenned Wheeler produced some of the most elevated jazz of its time. Since then Norma continues to work in Britain and abroad making new music with many different artists and gathering awards. It is therefore really exciting that Norma will be in Leamington on May 1st to join Interplay. Songs by Adrian Litvinoff will feature in the programme as well as carefully selected standards and instrumentals. The event, an In The Moment promotion, will take place as last year in The Restaurant, Jephson Gardens. For further information and tickets please go to https://interplayjazz.co.uk/event/international-jazz-day-concert/...

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