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Our good friend and seasoned pro photographer Howard Denner took these shots of A Dune Jazz Christmas at rehearsals and the event itself. Those who made it through the snow to Kings Place had a great evening, and if you came along we hope you all got home without too much difficulty. Thanks again Howard for documenting such a special night.

 Many thanks to Adrian for this review of Abram's gig in Poole last night. And for more of Adrian's writing, here's his blog.

Abram Wilson Quartet at the Lighthouse, Poole, 16.11.2020

 Abram Wilson, trumpet; Peter Edwards, piano; Yuri Galkin, double bass; Saleem Raman, drums

I was once told that a music concert can’t be too short.  I have always been able to see the wisdom in this point of view.  Listening to music, and I mean listening attentively and critically, is a tiring business.  It’s no coincidence that when CDs came out most albums stayed at around the old vinyl duration of forty to forty-five minutes.  I believe that this is the optimum amount of time that the average listener can maintain the level of concentration needed to really get the most out recorded music before listening fatigue sets in.  Such fatigue is slower to set in when attending a live performance, and yet most gigs do not last more than about an hour-and-a-half or two hours and usually include an interval for the audience to rest their auditory nerve.  The Abram WilsonQuartet's performance at The Lighthouse, Poole was no exception to this general rule.  But - and this is a big but - the gig was in fact way too short!  I could have sat there well into the night to hear this excellent quartet perform their fine mixture of jazz and blues with an aplomb and humour (yes, humour) that is sometimes lacking in an art-form that can, occasionally, be taken too seriously by all concerned.  That is not to suggest that Mr Wilson’s quartet do not take what they are doing seriously, but rather that their enjoyment is contagious.  Add to this Abram’s penchant for providing anecdotes concerning the origins of his numbers, which are often rooted in his childhood experiences, and even the most judgmental of audiences cannot but warm to him and his music.

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