I had a great trip to the UK last week – it was long overdue to get back and visit family and friends! While I was there, I played a very fun gig with the “Quarter To Four” band at Grimsby Jazz. Named for the time at which this last minute replacement group was finalised before our last gig almost three years ago, we were invited to play again when the organisers at Grimsby Jazz heard I was coming over. It’s a fun sextet comprising some good friends of mine who also happen to be tremendous players!

I recorded the gig, for my own reference, and thought you might enjoy hearing a song from it – either because you weren’t there or were and (hopefully) enjoyed it! Here’s “Alone Together” by Dietz & Schwartz.

The musicians are:

Pat McCarthy – guitar
Piero Tucci – piano
Ken Marley – double bass
John Perry – drums
Bryan Davis – trumpet

The sixth member of the group is Tony Burkill on tenor sax, who chose not to play on this tune. I’ll upload one that he is featured on another time!

I was reminded, the other day, of this hilarious video featuring Mnozil Brass in an excerpt from their current “Magic Moments” show. If you’re not familiar with the group, it’s well worth spending some time checking them out on YouTube. Then go and see them live. It is a show not to be missed!

I’ve mentioned this in passing before, but I wanted to remind anybody looking in about the excellent BrassMusician.com and its forums. The site is run by a fine trumpet player called Jon Gorrie, originally from New Zealand and now residing in Sweden. The main site is an online magazine about all things relating to brass instruments. The forums have been particularly interesting for me, and I’m proud to be a regular contributor over there. If you have any questions or concerns about playing, or anything to do with your instrument, please stop by. There are a lot of smart and helpful people there.

Earlier today I ran across the following great video of the Harry Connick Jr band on YouTube. It looks like it’s from the “Swinging Out Live” concert video from the early ’90s, although it’s not a chart I remember – I think I only saw that concert on an edited version on British TV.

The song is “Something’s Gotta Give”. It’s a great arrangement and the band is cooking. In particular, Roger Ingram is at his spectacular best on Lead Trumpet. This may be one of the best video examples I’ve seen of him!

I’ve heard of the Mel Lewis radio interviews, conducted in the late 1980s, before but had never had a chance to listen to them. They are one of those resources that used to do the rounds among other drummers, often on increasingly poorly copied cassette tapes! Yesterday, I was made aware that they have been made available to listen to online. Check them out at the Percussive Arts Society‘s website.