For Those I Love
September Recordings

Nitty Gritty Ditties
Leo records

Ray Russell Sextet featuring Harry Beckett
Jazz In Britain

Violinist Nicola Benedetti recently spoke out with unexpected heat against contemporary pop. The charge was that today’s chart artists all seem intensely self-absorbed and miserable. It bears mentioning that not a few classical players might be similarly charged, but to her point: hasn’t pop music always had a strain of miserabilism, and isn’t the point of popular music – whether it’s the blues, reggae, highlife, fado, or any other form – that it balances hard luck stories with simple, hedonistic delight?