The French connection.

The article focuses on the careers of two jazz musicians, saxophonist Alex Clarke and French horn player Jim Rattigan. Clarke, a young bandleader and educator, left the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire early to pursue a practical, gig-based learning path aligned with her musical interests, leading to her successful Alex Clarke Quartet (ACQ). Rattigan, after a distinguished orchestral and session career, has recently embraced jazz more fully, releasing three duo albums that explore standards and original compositions with collaborators including pianists Ivo Neame and Hans Koller, and guitarist Nick Costley-White. Both artists demonstrate diverse approaches to jazz performance and education, highlighting the genre's inclusivity across age and experience.