Birds is Chico Chica’s third album and we have to say, we are inordinately proud of it.
Here is a sample:
Continue reading “Birds – Chico Chica’s Third Album”
Next show: Brasserie Zedel, London, 3rd- 7th July 2017
Birds is Chico Chica’s third album and we have to say, we are inordinately proud of it.
Here is a sample:
Continue reading “Birds – Chico Chica’s Third Album”
This blog is essentially a chronicle of all things Chico Chica. Admittedly, I lapse into silence but when something as important as an album launch comes along, well I have no choice but to post.
There are times when professional jazz musicians come close to despair at the difficulty of making a living. Every year the music colleges unleash (I was going to say churn out) another generation of hungry, talented, heal-snapping individuals. To make matters worse, musicians don’t retire and on many occasions their last breath is into a horn.
But thankfully, there are musicians who challenge this negative view and who turn the defiance of economic logic into an elaborate art form. One such is Dave Hammer whose seventeen piece Big Band, Hot Orange, I saw at The Hideaway in Streatham, London (Sunday 8th January 2017).
The Hideaway, for a non-motoring denizen of West London like me, is a pain to get to. Since they closed down the coffee shop which fronted the venue, it has become even more hidden away than ever. But it’s well worth a visit. Everything about the design and layout is just right for this kind of music and it is popular – on this occasion it was almost full.
Hammer has managed to assemble the cream of London jazz talent by giving the musicians the chance to play music they love. The show got off to a rousing start with my favourite Charles Mingus tune, Fables of Faubus and carried on with a dazzling variety of styles including arrangements of One Note Samba, ‘Round Midnight and The Chicken.
To say some performers were outstanding would suggest others were out stood. And I would lazily choose those musicians whom I know and have worked with. So instead I leave you with a hearty recommendation.