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Not all of the musicians are "jazz".

Well blow me!

I've finished, though I didn't like some of the clues, especially 24ac and 24d. So,it must have been easier than I first thought. I'd never come across the word for make more concrete before.

This leaves me free to catch up with other things this evening and plant up my tomatoes tomorrow.

My FOI was 6d. My LOI was 24ac and my CODs were 8ac, 16d and 20ac

My thoughts exactly Roof! Thought it was going to be difficult but found it very gentle and relaxing —- doesn’t happen very often for me but I love Saturday Prize crosswords. Like you I didn’t like the 24s , COD 18 .
Looking forward to a coronation/ bank holiday special next week!

I think that, as rainman@4 pointed out, this Prize puzzle (and theme) is in hono(u)r of the birthday of one of the musicians...

SPOILER ALERT
24d, 23a sans first letter.

When I opened the Forum yesterday, I intended to query 14A, but I found chrise had made exactly the point I had planned to raise and others had responded. Returning today, I am still not convinced. The wordplay certainly gives the S ending. But whether the definition is "shaker" or "mover and shaker" this leads to a noun, singular or plural (with an additional letter). Whereas the S makes a verb. Please convince me one way or the other.

Hi Jaffra,

14a - when I first saw this last night my immediate reaction was that it was a potential error by the setter as it does look like it should be singular .... but, if you take the definition as "IS mover and shaker" the it would end in an S, as in:-

so and so IS (a real) mover and shaker = so and so trembles

I think!

14: defn. is "is mover and shaker". Someone made the point upthread.

Thanks, geeker and brendan. In fact, I now see that the key is not only the "IS", but the question mark, which you have not mentioned.

14a surely has to end S . Highly distinctive singerS refers to pitch so we are referring to plural singers surrounding maiden.

Well, from the point of view of a couple who quite often struggle, we loved this one and completed it in record time for us.
Didn't hurt that we're both jazz enthusiasts.
My COD was 23a.