Nice in mid July. It’s hot, crowded beaches are packed and prices are hiked even in the local supermarket. But if you’re a jazz fan, it’s the time to come, with two long running festivals – Nice Jazz Festival and just along the Côte d’Azur, in Juan les Pins, Jazz à Juan.
Colin May falls under the spell of Scott Matthews at a Record Store Day gig at Truck Store
Peyman Heydarian is a maestro of the santur, a hammered dulcimer of Persian / Iranian origin.
This was an unusual multi-media event as the music, specially composed by Romanian virtuoso violinist Alexander Balanescu for two very different films by Gillian Lacey, was actually played live as they were shown. Balanescu's quartet seemed very at home playing in front of the screen and with using electronica and played superbly throughout an evening that had a strong emotional charge.
Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara are winners of a coveted Radio 3 World Music Award. Their CD Soul Science is a union between Gambian Juldeh Camara's West African singing and playing of the one-string fiddle, the riti, and Adams, an English rock guitarist who uses African rhythms and plays in Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant's band. Juldeh (pictured) talked about his background and meeting Adams ahead of playing in Oxford tomorrow.
