Probably Gordon Allen, though I don't remember him having a rotten haircut last time I saw him (2006)....!
Sounds like you're catching a lot of great music, despite some ups&downs.
Yep that's him
On paper it is average but you always find ways to get some greaat stuff but overall the big festival makes it a little harder each year. To give you an idea of what are we (fans fighting against, i've learned that they had the possibility of bringing Herbie Hancock, Potter, Holland and Cofor a gig june the 22nd and the organisation voted against it.
Anyway a top five of the jazz gigs attended in the last two months would go like this.
1 Matana Roberts sextet
2 Corkestra
3 Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Paul Lytton
4 Renaud Garcia-Fons trio
5 Fujii-Tamura
Other good shows that i had not the time to talk about; Steven Bernstein great music and Laurel & Hardy at the same time, it can't go wrong. Also almost against my will i enjoyed Stacey Kent, i'm sucker for cute anglophone girls who speak french with a sexy english accent, plus she sang a Gainsbourg song
Among those i had high hopes that did not materialized.
1 Gonzalo Rubalcaba The arrangements seemed so complicated that they forgot to make music pleasing for the ears
The rest of it was good without being all memorable.
Not jazz at all but Betty Lavette is a heck of a performer