POLICE

You can’t please all of the people, all of the time.

Certainly not when it comes to jazz….

I got an email the other day thanking me for the music I’d put together for the radio. Quite pleased that the chap who is doing the show is going to use a few of the tunes this week and some next. Believe it or not, we can’t get the FM reception required to listen to the show at home, so I’ll just take his word for it.

Now. When I was putting the tunes together I erred on the side of SAFE. Or at least I thought I had. I didn’t put anything too fiery and hard hitting on it. Though thinking back to what I said the other day, I should have given him old Pharaoh and “The Creator…” That would be a DJs dream that – 32 minutes – just pop that on and tootle off to the pub for a quick pint or two J Rather, I was thinking of late night listeners and loaded my selection with the likes of Lester Young, Ben Webster etc. But I did think I’d throw in one or two more “modern” offerings (don’t know what they’ll make of the Portico Quartet).

Anyway, it seems that what one jazz fan thinks is safe may not always be what another thinks. He’s come back and said that he doesn’t really rate one of the albums – “The Nine Mile Burn Sessions” by Brian Kellock and Julian Arguelles, which to my mind is a set of very mainstream piano and sax duo’s. Ah well there you go.

At least he didn’t get the police on to me. Jazz fans can be very, VERY picky it seems as this wee story from the Guardian makes clear http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/09/jazz-festival-larry-ochs-saxophone How weird is that? Though to be fair, I do get a bit upset myself if exposed to “non jazz” for any great length of time.

I’ve been to see a bands who deserved the police called out to them. Luckily I forget their name, but there was one Canadian band who supported Andy Sheppard once …. Bloody awful racket.