Conspiracy Soviet Jazz Festival

In 2023, I'm guessing at the age of 75, ageless icon Iggy Pop blazed across the Montreux Jazz Festival stage. And sure, if you're expecting him to deliver an intimate, jazzy set heavy on his more eclectic albums (Apres, Preliminaires, Avenue B), you're gonna leave with a headache and perhaps some bruises if you were close to the stage.

John's history with the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival spans 52 years as a headlining artist and sometime guest performer. In 2022 he brought a masterclass in fusion to Stravinski Hall with his longtime band The 4th Dimension and award-winning special guest Jany McPherson sitting in on piano and vocals.

Though ever-busy as a live performer, Mose Allison rarely ventured into the recording studio during the late '70s and early '80s, making this fine concert set all the more valuable.

Started playing the double bass in 1974.

A chance to sit back and enjoy the “reunion era” Colosseum live on stage at the 2003 Viersen Jazz Festival performing tracks from then-new album Tomorrow’s Blues. Recorded during founder member Dick Heckstall-Smith’s  nal illness, world renowned saxophonist Barbara Thompson (Jubiaba, Paraphernalia) steps in. The result is a powerful performance from Barbara, Clem Clempson (guitar), Dave Greenslade (keyboards), Mark Clarke (bass), Chris Farlowe (vocals) and bandleader Jon Hiseman (drums). Alongside newer material including ‘I Could Tell You Tales’, the ensemble return to their Prog roots with a captivating rendition of ‘The Valentyne Suite’ and an epic ‘Lost Angeles’ (the latter  rst released on their 1970 album The Grass Is Greener). ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ gives full rein to Farlowe’s mastery of the blues as Colosseum reinterpret Ray Charles’ original with some note-bending licks from Clem and Barbara’s sultry sax underpinning the closing number. Interspersed with interview footage with Jon Hiseman in which he explores the band’s musical complexity and continuing popularity in light of their decision to reform in 1994, this beautifully packaged CD/DVD presentation is a must for all Colosseum fans. As Hiseman explains: “You have to feed this creature. If you don’t feed it, it dies. Also, you can’t make it do, what it doesn’t want to do.”