Island Jazz Chat: Episode 15 - Richard Bailey

Richard Bailey, born in Guyana (then British Guiana), raised in Trinidad, and long resident in England, is the go-to drummer for major recording and touring artists in the UK since the 1970s. Jamming and recording with the likes of Jeff Beck and Bob Marley as a teenager, Bailey was a pivotal member of the new generation of musicians who forged a funky and jazzy new direction for British music from the 1970s onwards that reflected the rhythmic influences from the former colonies in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. His bands Batti Mamzelle and The Breakfast Band, as well as his contributions to the groups Gonzalez, Incognito, and Citrus Sun lead to solo recording work that cements the Caribbean contribution to UK acid jazz and evolves kaisojazz and Caribbean jazz towards a universal recognition at the turn of the century. Thu, 1 Dec 2022

• Programme Date: 1 December 2022
• Programme Length: 01:23:50

Bass'd on Drums: Love & Music: A Review

David Richards, a young Wynton Marsallis look-a-like, made a precocious start to his career as a headliner and producer in the live context. His recent production Bass'd on Drums; Love & Music showcased his arranging, composing and performing skills to maximum effect and proved to this jaded reviewer that he is also a fine entertainer. I had written an earlier appreciation on David, specifically on his arranging skills, so to repeat that he is a skilled arranger would be superfluous, but it needs to be said, that we are at a point in the musical history of instrumental music in Trinidad, where young players are stepping up to the proverbial podium and taking the mantle of leadership from a weakened New School generation that all but squandered the goodwill at a time when their prolific output should have made a name for itself. David, who almost quit the music business last year, walked proudly among giants. This was, in effect, a coming of age debut by a young lion; an imperfect production, but a musical masterpiece...