Monday 6 July 2015

Unexpected Places to Find a Bookshop No. 376: a Jazz Festival in East Sussex


Namely the Love Supreme Festival at Glynde Place (about ten minutes' drive from base camp in Lewes), which Edie and Rachel and I attended on Saturday, and which turned out to have a book stall selling a variety of remainder stock. I suppose I shouldn't really have been surprised that there was a bookshop at the festival; it's not the first time I've stumbled upon an unexpected book emporium – it's almost as if I'm psychically drawn to such places – but on this occasion it was even more fitting than usual: we were there as guests of Ethan Iverson, pianist in brilliant jazz trio The Bad Plus – who were playing with saxophonist Joshua Redman as part of their 2015 tour – but also crime and spy fiction enthusiast and noted Donald E. Westlake and Ross Thomas aficionado (among many other authors), which is how I know Ethan.


Rachel and I had seen The Bad Plus before, at Ronnie Scott's over two years ago, but Edie hadn't been born by that point, so Saturday was her first exposure to the band (having met Ethan at the side of the stage prior to the performance, she kept asking where he was while they were playing) and to jazz (not to mention her first experience of a festival). I think it made an impression. Here she is later in the day (having demolished a pizza with gusto) playing saxophone:


And piano:


So a big thank you to Ethan for the kind invite to the Love Supreme; I think he'll be pleased that as a result of attending, not only is Edie well on her way to becoming a jazz head, but that her burgeoning book collection expanded even further too.

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