JAZZ / Locking horns and bringing history to life

THERE'S something heroic, swashbuckling even, about a great tenor- sax player taking an extended solo and really letting rip. When David Murray gets up a full head of steam, he's the most piratical of all: eye- balls popping, shoulders heaving, horn held out towards the audience like a weapon as he attacks the umpteenth chorus. Born in California 39 years ago, Murray made his reputation among the wildest of the New York avant-garde, before turning back towards the great tradition of Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins. He's a terrific ballads-player too. For his latest British tour he's backed by the UK Posse, a collection of some of the best young British players on the scene, including the brilliant alto- sax and clarinet specialist David Jean Baptiste. The programme is partly inspired by Eric Dolphy, the man who brought the bass clarinet into the jazz front-line, and Murray and Baptiste should provide a thrilling reminder of the famous two-horn battles of jazz history. The rhythm section wlll be lucky to keep up. At the Greenwich Festival, Blackheath Concert Halls (081-317 8687), Tues; Bath Festival, the Pavilion (0225 463362), Wed; Manchester Band on the Wall (061-832 6625), Thurs; and Birmingham Midland Arts Centre (021-440 4221), Fri.

(Photograph omitted)