DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
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‘For us, it’s an endless journey’
Jazz virtuoso PAT THOMAS talks to Chris Searle about his never-ending pursuit of sonic invention with Black Top
STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
ANDY HEDGECOCK, MARIA DUARTE and ANGUS REID review Synthetic Sincerity, Our Hero, Balthazar, Heartstopper Forever, and A Year In London
The bard invites readers to a gig, raps for Clacton, and lays out the Burnham-Hurzeler conundrum
RON JACOBS recommends an important book that enhances the oppositional theories put forth by Fanon and, in doing so, remakes psychology itself
“HE NEVER stopped discovering, never played the same tune in exactly the same way twice,” pianist and electronics virtuoso Pat Thomas told me recently at a 120th birthday tribute to Duke Ellington.
The same could be said of Thomas himself who, though as free and experimental as any musician around, has roots deeply grounded in jazz tradition.
When you hear the duo Black Top live — Thomas playing in tandem with vibraphone and xylosynth pioneer Orphy Robinson — you marvel how far from the tradition the pair and their improvisations can move. Their explorations seem to orbit all musical genres.
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