There’s something about guitarists, especially when playing electric guitars. It’s arrogance, but they may or may not be conscious of this. For me, it’s probably got to do with the positioning of the electric guitar and the way the hands move. I don’t know. Of course, it’s also your typical rockstar-pose. For this reason I have issues with men playing electric guitars. This did not, however, stop me from going to see John Mayer at the Royal Albert Hall yesterday. (more…)

I have been clocking-up quite a few gigs in the past weeks. One I blogged about a few days ago. There were also three other gigs, all involving jazz in one way or another. Here’s a round-up of my jazz-filled fortnight. (more…)

I love Jamie Cullum. I have been following his career since he first signed with Universal all those many moons ago. I have seen so many of his gigs that I have lost count, but I guestimated the number is nearing my current age, which is 28. I’ve seen him play in small clubs, at massive festivals and everything in between. I have never, however, seen him do a dance set with his brother Ben. Well, until last night. (more…)

As a music obsessee, I do like iTunes. Oh the instant gratification. They are also cool enough to organise a free festival at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA). It’s an invite only thing and you can win tickets for it. I was lucky enough to attend two gigs: Terra Naomi/Scott Matthews and Raul Midon/Beverly Knight. (more…)

Ronnie Scott’s is probably one of the swankiest and most over-priced jazz clubs in the country. It used to be a bit tatty, but they did it up a while back and now it looks like a glorified lapdance club. It’s too shiny to be a jazz club. Any time you expect poles to come out of the ceiling!

Anyway, despite this and the extorionate entry fees, they do do some damn good jazz. In June a new project kicked off, led by Gerard Presencer, Head of Jazz at the Royal Academy of Music, I believe. He leads a bigband, made up of the finest the UK scene has to offer. It includes the legendary Pete King on alto-sax and Tom Richards on tenor. Tom is a sort-of-friend and has a bright future ahead of him and if anyone finds his Selmer that got nicked after this gig, please return it to him.

So, yes, onto the gig. (more…)

A lot can be said about Rufus Wainwright. He’s about one of the campest gays ever. He’s a drama queen. He makes loads of mistakes during gigs. Yet, he’s brilliant and he is the musical love of my life. I have seen him play at Paradiso in Amsterdam a couple of times, which have been great experiences. (more…)