I’m very flattered to have been nominated in the organ category on the official ballot for the 75th annual Downbeat Readers’ Poll…very odd to have my name there alongside guys I’ve been listening to forever, such as Dr Lonnie Smith and Reuben Wilson…but, if I’m worthy of your support, please do visit the Downbeat website, click on the relevant banner at the top, and do the deed!

On the subject of the B3, another very kind review just in of the recent Decoy album featuring Joe McPhee, here at The Jazzman – please do check it out!

Just some reviews of recent recordings…a nice write-up here of the recent Decoy with Joe McPhee recording. There’s also a very kind one in this month’s Wire magazine – apologies – no text online that I can find!

Also, another very positive review of The Convergence Quartet’s Song/Dance on Clean Feed – please check it out!

Reviews beginning to come in for the new Convergence Quartet record on Clean Feed.

Here’s something from the BBC, whilst here’s something from Music and More. All the usual online sources carry copies, and I have a few myself, if anyone’s interested.

Just a final note – I’ve closed the comments on this news feed…there’s so much spam out there it’s incredible…Please do be in touch via email if you would like to comment on anything however!

This evening is the first date of a short Ensemble tour, following which we’ll be recording our second album. Very excited to be playing with this group again, and to check out the new material in some more depth.

The dates (all July – some more to come in September):
6th – Silk Hall, Radley College, Abingdon
7th – Voicebox, Derby
9th – The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle
10th – The Vortex, London
11th – Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading

For more details, click on the ‘live’ tab up above.

The line-up is: Orphy Robinson (6th and 10th); and for all dates: Otto Fischer (guitar); Hannah Marshall (’cello); Dominic Lash (bass); Javier Carmona (drums); and yours truly (piano). In addition, I’m really excited to have joining us the awesome Corey Mwamba on vibraphone on 7th and 9th.

Please do come along to check it out! And thanks as ever go to Jazz Services for their generous support.

For anyone interesting in flexing their French chops, as it were…I’m doing an interview, alongside Stephanie Knibbe, Kit Downes, Jonathan Bratoeff, and Robin Fincker, this evening on France Musique, who are broadcasting all day today from London in celebration of De Gaulle’s famous speech from London exactly 70 years ago…we are speaking as part of ‘la nouvelle vague du jazz anglais’! Not quite sure what kind of ground we’ll cover, but there will hopefully be music played too!

Two plugs for the coming week…

First, for anyone in the Republic of Ireland, I have the great pleasure of going over on Tuesday as the guest of the Stet Lab concert series. My first time in Ireland, so I’m really looking forward to it. Please do come along – it’s a fantastically run series, and really deserves the support!

Second, on Thursday evening, I’m at the Madejski Stadium Jazz Café in Reading, with Dominic Lash on bass and Richard Preston on drums, playing standards with the great Lol Coxhill. Again, if you’re in the area, please come along…as anyone who’s heard him do it will know, and anyone who’s heard him do anything else can imagine, it’s a real privilege to hear Lol play these tunes.

Here is the blurb:

Lol Coxhill Quartet, featuring Alexander Hawkins

8:00pm, Thursday 17 June 2010

£9.00 (£7.00 concessions)

Venue: The Jazz Café, Madejski Stadium, Shooters way, Reading RG2 0FL

www.thejazzcafe.co.uk

The Jazz Café offers a special menu for diners at each gig, with all starters under £5.00, all mains under £10.00, and a well-chosen list of reasonably priced wines. Reserving a table is strongly recommended for those who wish to dine.

Just a quick reminder…on Friday, my Ensemble will play a free concert in the Front Room of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, as part of the ‘Friday Tonic’ series. More information here - but please come along to check out the music…we’re all excited to be playing at such a nice venue, and it would be great to see people there!

Very pleased to say that the second offering from the Convergence Quartet is now out on Clean Feed. It’s a studio recording, made after 10 consecutive tour dates last year, so I think it sounds pretty good…it certainly represents an advance on the first record, and I’m definitely proud of it…more info here.

To launch it, we are meeting in Portugal, to play at the Coimbra International Jazz Festival…should be fun!

Speaking of fun, just back from three European gigs with Mulatu Astatke…Poland, Norway, and Italy. Here’s some footage from Italy…check out Byron Wallen’s spectacular solo on ‘Yekermo Sew’…difficult to tell from this recording, but the audience went crazy for this one!

A quick plug for a gig at Cafe Oto on Thursday night…I’m really excited to be playing with the great Sonny Simmons. Check out those two early 60s albums with Prince Lasha for two guys treading the middle ground between the Dolphy and Ornette conception of Bird…And anyone who composes a tune as killing as ‘Music Matador’ is automatically deserving of the epithet ‘great’. Please do come along…with Charlie Collins at the drums, and maestro John Edwards on bass!

Just news of a show for the Ensemble which has just been fixed at short notice for THIS SATURDAY, May 1st…

We play at Cafe Oto, and, being last minute, the tickets are especially reasonable: £4/5…a great way to limber up for a weekend of music, with Freedom Of The City kicking off the next day at the Conway Hall (trio of Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Noble, and Louis Moholo-Moholo, anyone?!!!)

The line-up is as usual, except without Orphy Robinson on this occasion, who is on the road with Nigel Kennedy, so unable to make the hit. Good excuse I guess! Plenty of new music, as we gear up for a tour/recording in July…so hope to see you there!