London Jazz Festival Sat 14th

The second day of the festival started at the Barbican with what will be most of this audiences lasting impression of this festival - a fantastic fun filled event that drew the audience into the performance so much so, that at the end performers and audience were one and the same.

Funk Off are such terrific ambassadors for jazz music performing their inimitable brand of jumping jazz backed up with a show that surely demanded a much bigger working space than this foyer afforded them - lets hope that next year they will be invited back and can perform at the south bank ballroom with all the seats taken out to allow for their exuberant style!

Across town at the Purcell Room Peter Brotzmann and his trio were preparing for a serious night of full volume improvisation - anyone left with any of their senses (or eardrums) intact afterwards must have been watching Herbie next door!

Supporting Brotzmann were Pete Wareham's Final Terror with Seb Rochford sitting in on drums. Pete is very upbeat about his music at the moment and was obviously quite excited about the new material that he was playing for the first time to this audience - guitarist Chris Sharkey is giving him a great new foil to play with and Ruth and Seb as his powerhouse makes this a massive line up for the future.

The main show at the QE Hall was Herbie Hancock playing with a new line up featuring Terence Blanchard, Lionel Loueke, James Jenus, Kendrick Scott and harmonica player Gregoire Maret (based in NY but originally from Switzerland).

Photographers were given the first 10 minutes in the show and Herbie spent 5 of those introducing the band - however the few minutes I did here were pretty good - Herbie returning again to headhunters era music for his opening song.

After what seemed a lifetime on the tube we made it up town to Pizza Express where the David Sanchez quartet featuring Jean Toussaint were playing to an absolutely rammed venue. Sanchez was in excellent form and the band as hot as the chili on the pizza's. In the crowd one of my favourite sax players of recent years Denys Baptiste who was enthusiastic about Sanchez's playing and his collaboration with pianist Toussaint. Shame there wasn't a place for Denys on this years bill - I remember him guesting in this very venue last year with Juliet Roberts in one of the warmest sensual shows on.