Russell – long term friend of CJ and studio guest this week – was in conversation with a local Polish woman recently. She told him there was no jazz in Poland. Oh dear! If that is the image of someone of Polish heritage, no wonder many jazz enthusiasts know little about the music. In case you wondered, I canconfirm that there is a thriving jazz scene in Poland. What is more, following the Cosmic Jazz link (see right) to Steve’s Jazzsounds will being you to a UK treasure trove which sells CDs of East European as well as Scandinavian jazz. Tonight’s CJ was another chance to listen to catch up with some of the best new jazz being produced in Eastern Europe. It may seem obvious to most jazz followers, but it needs saying again; top class jazz is not only produced in the US and the UK.
The programme also had further tributes to the late Donald Byrd, the heavy trio sound of Sean Hutchinson’s Still Life (also to be found at Steve’s Jazzsounds), and two West African tunes that pay their respects to jazz. Finally, the show ended with a return to the sounds of Sleep Walker, a long-established CJ favourite.
- Working Week – Inner City Blues
- Donald Byrd – Kofi
- Donald Byrd – Flight Time
- Tadeusz Borcsyk – 5/4
- Sean Hutchinson’s Still Life – Juno
- Fredrik Kronkvist Sextet – Close Race
- Fredrick Kronkvist Quartet – Straight to the Point
- New Bones (feat. Thomas Kudyk) – It’s Not Easy
- Le Sun-Ra & His Arkestra – A Call For All Demons
- Konkoma – Lie Lie
- Orchestra Dakar Band – Baylien di Yelwane
- Sleep Walker – Resurrection