Advertisement
Radio

Radio with Robin Ince – how I learned to stop worrying and love jazz

Jez Nelson’s show Somethin’ Else and BBC Radio 4 documentary The Jazz Ambassadors of the Cold War tell Robin Ince it’s finally time he got his jazz hat on

I want to like jazz. I am 48, surely it is time for a jazz hat to cover my bald patch? Being a teenager in the 1980s, jazz imagery was everywhere. You didn’t have to listen to Miles Davis, just have large monochrome posters of him.

I like watching jazz, especially free jazz. There’s something thrilling about a cacophony that seems to follow no rules. It also returns you to that teenage thrill of playing music and having people wince “What’s that awful noise?”

In the early 1990s, there was a burst of new independent radio stations offering more specialised musical output. Most then found “market pressure” meant that they had to get more commercial. The late-night insomniac DJ might play something more arcane. Like many digital stations listened to via laptop, you can thumbs up or thumbs down each song. The Dizzy Gillespie Sextet performance of The Champ, live from Montreux, got my thumbs-up. It is useful that I have no idea what is fashionable or credible, so my mind isn’t too laden by pre-conceived notions of what to like, though Wayne’s World did warn me about Kenny G.

I have found myself increasingly wooed towards the galactic mysticism of Sun Ra and his Arkestra after listening to Jez Nelson’s show Somethin’ Else which played a wonderful cover of Sun Ra’s Where Pathways Meet by Friendly Galaxy No. 1, though I’m not sure Jazz FM’s website is without its glitches as after listening to the beautifully incessant cosmic soundtrack I was informed it was a hardcore punk band from south Florida. Much as I would love to think that the punks had a jazz epiphany on the road to Fort Lauderdale, it doesn’t seem so.

The contradiction of having African American ambassadors for a liberal nation when they actually lived in a segregated society made the concerts seem increasingly ironic

Searching for jazz on the BBC, I found an intriguing documentary, The Jazz Ambassadors of the Cold War on Radio 4, presented by composer and pianist Julian Joseph. Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were among the great jazz musicians sent to the oil-producing countries Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia to show that the “free world” produced the best music and therefore was a better ally.

Could US jazz beat Russian ballet? Jazz was deemed uniquely American, a pinnacle of modernism. When playing in Karachi, Gillespie realised ticket prices were too high and said, “I am not going to play until you let the ragamuffin children in.” As these tours continued, the contradiction of having African Americans ambassadors for a liberal nation when they actually lived in a segregated society made the concerts seem increasingly ironic. Where the story goes from there becomes deeply fascinating, and yet again reminded me why, however long it takes, I am going to learn to love jazz.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Learn more about our impact

When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Danny Robins on the return of Uncanny: ghostly monks, poignant poltergeists and famous UFOs
ghosts

Danny Robins on the return of Uncanny: ghostly monks, poignant poltergeists and famous UFOs

As Ken Bruce signs off from Radio 2, what will fill the PopMaster shaped hole in our lives?
Popmaster

As Ken Bruce signs off from Radio 2, what will fill the PopMaster shaped hole in our lives?

As UFO sightings spike, Johnny Vaughan says the truth is out there
UFOs

As UFO sightings spike, Johnny Vaughan says the truth is out there

Shaun Keaveny on life after 6 Music: 'It's about the most free I've ever felt'
interview

Shaun Keaveny on life after 6 Music: 'It's about the most free I've ever felt'

Most Popular

Read All
Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023
1.

Here's when people will get the next cost of living payment in 2023

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know
2.

Strike dates 2023: From trains to airports to tube lines, here are the dates to know

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying
3.

Suranne Jones opens up about her 'relentless and terrifying' experiences of bullying

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme
4.

Arctic Monkeys team up with Big Issue to produce unique tour programme