Just a final prompt…please do book your tickets for the Ensemble at the Vortex on Wednesday…As I’ve mentioned it’s a significant night for us – the last time this particular line-up of the band will be playing for a while…so we’d love to see you out and about!

Just some notice that I’m on this evening’s Jazz on 3. The programme is centered around Louis Moholo-Moholo, and the Purcell Room gig we played at the London Jazz Festival in November last year in celebration of his 70th birthday.

First up is the great ‘No Gossip’ duo of Louis and Keith Tippett…then the Unit (Ntshuks Bonga, Jason Yarde, John Edwards, Francine Luce, myself), augmented by Henry Lowther to become ‘Seven For Seventy’…playing with Louis is one of the greatest musical privileges and pleasures there is, and I can say that he was sounding fantastic as ever that night, so do check it out. Also, the interview with Louis we did in the foyer of the QEH before the show is reason enough to listen: it’s quite something. As ever, it’ll all be available for the rest of the week on ‘Listen Again’.

And so a little advanced warning about two exciting new albums appearing this year…more details very soon!

The second album of the Ensemble will be out in the late Spring. This features, as did the first, Javier Carmona on drums, Otto Fischer on guitar, yours truly on piano and Hammond B3 organ, Dominic Lash on double bass, Hannah Marshall on ‘cello, and Orphy Robinson on steel pan and marimba. It was recorded  in two days at Pinewood Studios after a tour last July, so it captures the band in really good nick (in my humble opinion). Additionally, we are joined on one track by Kit Downes on organ.

Speaking of whom, Kit and I went into the studio shortly before Christmas, with Shabaka Hutchings, Mark Sanders, and Calum Gourlay. Watch this space for more – it should be appearing towards the end of the year, and is a fairly unique sounding creature!

So…just a taster…more information, as I say, coming soon!

Next week, the current line-up of the Ensemble will be playing our last line-up for a while, due to Javier relocating to Barcelona, and Dom to New York. (Our loss is their gain!) So, it would be great to see you for a send off at the Vortex, where we are playing the first night of the Evan Parker-curated mini-festival, ‘Might I Suggest?’ Some unheard material too…

Tickets are available here.

More info about the band is over at the ‘Projects’ page (over towards the top right of this screen).

…and, just in anticipation of the new album, I still have (some) copies of the first, ‘No Now is So’, available…please do email or use the ‘Contact’ page if interested…or better still, come to the gig next Wednesday and pick up a copy in person!

…in my previous post when I claimed that the email gremlins had been cleaned up…

HOWEVER(!) – I think things ARE now sorted…so just a final plea – if I haven’t replied to an email to which you were expecting a reply, I’m really sorry – please do resend, and I will deal with it. Should, for whatever reason, my ‘[at] alexanderhawkins [dot] com’ addresses continue to be problematic, as ever, I’m reachable at ‘alexhawkins16 [at] yahoo [dot] com’.

Please do keep eyes peeled…the gig calendar will be updated in the next couple of days, with some exciting things already lined up for 2011!

As some may have noticed, I’m afraid I’ve had some website/email difficulties over the last few days. All sorted now – but please – many apologies if you have tried to email me over the last few days, but not received a reply – it’s possible I simply didn’t get the email. At any rate – apologies for the inconvenience, and please do re-send any emails to which you were expecting a reply if you didn’t get one!

A plug – tomorrow is the Mopomoso Christmas party at the Vortex…I’m hoping to make it there through the snow(!), so do come along…amongst other things, I hope to be playing with Terry Day as he makes his return to the traps!

Next week, very exciting…weather-permitting(!), a recording session with Kit Downes, and two gigs in Istanbul with Mulatu Astatke. Things were sounding fantastic on last week’s tour in Europe with Mulatu, so this should be a good’un…

I’m really pleased to announce that I’ve been chosen to participate in this year’s ‘Take Five‘ – a professional development scheme produced by Serious for 8 young creative musicians, and funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, the PRS for Music Foundation, Arts Council England, and the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund.

Some good friends and amazing musicians have participated in previous editions of the scheme – guys like Corey Mwamba, Tom Arthurs, Shabaka Hutchings, Kit Downes and more – so it’ll be an exciting year. The other seven musicians involved are fellow pianists Ivo Neame (also a great alto player) and Laura Rossi, saxophonists Ben Cottrell, Trish Clowes, Adam Waldmann and Christophe de Bezenac, and my partner in Mulatu Astatke’s rhythm section, the fantastic drummer Tom Skinner. It’ll be a privilege to be part of it all.

Doubtless there’ll be more news over the coming months, but in the short term, if you’re in the vicinity of the Southbank Centre on 18th November, do come along to the official launch, say hello, and check out some great music from participants from previous years – duos of Matthew Bourne and Seaming To; Corey and Dave Kane; and Fraser Fifield and Graeme Stephen…and as if that wasn’t enough, you can catch Soweto Kinch in the QEH, or Geri Allen supported by Tom Cawley in the Purcell Room on the same night too!

And more of this between now and then, but the next night (November 19th), I’ll be playing at the Purcell room with the legendary Louis Moholo-Moholo, celebrating maestro’s 70th birthday in the company of the Unit: Jason Yarde and Ntshuks Bonga on saxophones; Henry Lowther on trumpet; Francine Luce on vocals; and John Edwards and myself alongside Bra Louis in the rhythm section. The first half is the incredible ‘No Gossip’ duo of Louis with Keith Tippett (no pressure on the keyboard chair in the second half, then).

That’s the left hook. The right cross is the next night at the Vortex (November 20th), where Decoy (myself, Steve Noble, and John Edwards) will be playing on a hammond organ triple bill, alongside the fantastic bands MA and Big Cat. Should be fun…

Another very complimentary review of Oto (Decoy and Joe McPhee) is up at the ever-excellent Point of Departure. Advance warning, then, that Decoy will be returning in an exciting-looking triple bill at the Vortex for the London Jazz Festival! And there’s still time, if you like the organist, to register a vote in the Downbeat Reader’s Poll…you know, get me into double figures…:)

Much more importantly, on Sunday evening, we’ll all be at Cafe Oto paying tribute to the late, great Harry  Beckett. A wonderful cast of musicians, so it should be a nice occasion. I’m kicking things off early (we start at around 6), playing in duo with a long-time co-conspirator of Harry’s, bassist Nick Stephens. I never had the privilege of working with Harry in a small group, although did share the stage with hm a few times as part of the London Improvisers Orchestra. The recorded evidence speaks for itself – he was a master trumpeter. But what I can add is that he was an unfailingly friendly and supportive character whenever we met, and talk to other musicians my age and you’ll hear the same: always encouraging. But please come down to support, and remember Harry.

Just a quick note to say that the Ensemble will be played on Radio 3’s Jazz on 3 this evening (so it will be up on iPlayer for the week after the show)…it’s their ‘missing bits’ programme, where they play takes from sessions they’ve liked over the course of the year which didn’t make it onto the original broadcasts. I think we’re on last – and it’s a take of Sun Ra’s ‘Love in Outer Space’…please enjoy! It was a hugely fun session, and a little bit different – the only time we’ve ever incorporated electronics into the sound, with Orphy dropping some Sun Ra style bloops and blurts from his processed steel pan!

Also, a few more reviews are in of the new Decoy and Joe McPhee recording. Clifford Allen wrote a really great piece here at All About Jazz. Of course I’m very happy he enjoyed it so much, but I like the review because I really feel we ‘hear’ this music the same way. In particular, where he mentions Ike Quebec and Milt Hinton – as chance would have it, this is *exactly* what went through my mind on the gig when Joe and John went into that passage..! Anyway, please check it out, because Clifford is a great writer.

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!