Alan’s Quintet played a fundraising gig for the Archive on Saturday 22 October at Loughton. A packed house of discerning jazz aficionados enjoyed a nice mix of jazz standards and a selection of Alan’s excellent original writings. Henry Lowther sounded like he had just arrived from the West Coast with the coolest trumpet sound. Frank Harrison’s lightness of touch both during his solos and filling-in behind the front line were a sheer delight. Simon Thorpe and Matt Fishwick provided a solid basis for the quintet as well as highly imaginative and enjoyable solos.

And yes, a great time was had by all.

Black Icons is an initiative by the award-winning charity Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD) and is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in collaboration with the Black Cultural Archives. The project sees iconic Black figures such as entertainer Rita Cann, boxer Len Johnson and broadcaster Una Marson brought to life, empowering Black youth and inspiring young people from all backgrounds with their shared heritage.

This stunning fabric was inspired by the story of Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson, band leader and dancer, killed in an air-raid in London in 1941.

This unique project encouraged those involved to conduct hands-on archive research with original source material. Volunteers heard lectures from respected historians to inform their work. The young volunteers explored London’s rich archives at the BFI, the British Library and the National Jazz Archive, before designing and creating textiles inspired by traditional East African Kanga cloth, to celebrate their chosen Black Icons. These cloths were then modelled by the young people themselves, providing the images for the final magazine.

Read more about the project here.

The book captures striking and atmospheric black and white and colour photos of musicians taken at more than 60 venues in London and across the UK between 1971 and 2016. It includes photos of UK and visiting American and European musicians both onstage and informally. Several musicians are featured at different stages of their careers, from exuberant youth to successful maturity.

Brian includes affectionate notes about his regular visits to Ronnie Scott’s and other venues, and shares insights into his life as a jazz photographer, capturing the moment. There are notes for the camera enthusiast, and a detailed index of musicians.

Courtney Pine at Love Supreme, 2014

‘Brian O’Connor’s Images of Jazz’ is published by Riverside Publishing Solutions, in association with the National Jazz Archive. The book is A4 hardback, 132 pages printed in colour throughout, ISBN 978-1-5272-0057-9. The book is priced at £25 plus £4.95 post and packing (UK), but the price for orders placed before 24 December 2016 is £20 plus p&p.

For more information and to order, contact Brian O’Connor: [email protected].

London Jazz News published a preview/ interview with Brian here.

He will discuss the late-1950s emergence of the Modernist style among youthful connoisseurs of advanced American jazz and how it fostered a favourable climate for signature British artists of the 1960s. Themes include:

● Modernist faces: hard bop and clean design
● Jazz painting? Modernist Hockney?
● Painting sensations: Pauline Boty/Bridget Riley
● Hippy hippy shake: sculpture through the counterculture
● The great lost look c.1969: beyond cultural studies

The lectures, named in honour of the philanthropist and collector of British art, Paul Mellon (1907-99), were inaugurated in 1994.The lectures are biennial, given by a distinguished historian of British art.

Read more.