I’ve just received an advanced preview of the We Always Swing Jazz Series line-up for the upcoming season, its fifteenth.  It’s an astonishing list, with world-class talent and a whole bunch of shows that I can’t wait to see.  Once it’s been formally announced, I’ll write about it some more here.

I’ve heard more live jazz in Columbia, Missouri than I ever saw while I was living in London.  My wife occasionally staggers out of the gigs with a slightly peculiar expression on her face, but by and large she too has come to relish the excitement and satisfaction that can only come from witnessing spontaneous musical creativity at these extraordinary levels.  It’s an experience that simply cannot be replicated by listening to recorded music.  I am reminded of a wonderful quote from Gary Giddens: “Coleman Hawkins records are what we have in the absence of Coleman Hawkins.”  How true.