Bristol jazz week, 19 April
Haven’t been around much this week, but these are the dates I know about coming up. As usual, more than I thought!
First, a new venue (to me). Copper Jacks Crafthouse on Clare Street has John Pearce and James Morton together, and Dave Newton for luck, on Sunday night. £10 admission, I believe. Details here. They have music other nights, too, so one worth keeping an eye on.
Sheelanagig guitarist Kit Hawes is worth catching at the Canteen earlier in the day on Sunday, and Bartoune (Charlotte Ostafew, baritone sax, Seb Gutiez, guitar, John Blakeley drums and Tom Allen bass) are there on Weds 23rd. Just to complete the permutations and combinations, Kit Hawes plays again at No 1 Harbourside on Weds – although I have a prior engagement with the majestic Mitsuko Uchida at St George’s that evening.
The James Morton band, with Gary Alesbrook‘s trumpet making it a two horn front line, are at the Coronation Tap on Tuesday.
The inimitable Pushy Doctors – the entirely unmedically qualified Andy Sheppard, Dan Moore and Tony Orrell – are at the Fringe on Thursday. There’s a strong competing attraction at Future Inns the same evening when guitar phenomenon Dan Messore, fresh from a tour with the CBeebies band (!) brings a new quartet for its Bristol debut. He writes it is:
a piano quartet with my old buddies from college. Joe Webb (piano), Aidan Thorne (bass) and Gethin Jones (drums). I played in numerous contexts with these guys for 7 years, so its been a real epiphany to write for this band. The joy of playing with the same people in different set ups is getting a strong connection and understanding of the way each other feels and flows with music. Also, the piano/guitar line up is something that I’ve been listening a lot to recently and I’m very inspired by parings such as Bill Evans/Jim Hall, Metheny/Melhdau, Bernstein/Mehldau, among others.
Thursday is the tricky night, as usual, as Joe Driscoll and Sekou Koyate at Colston Hall also looks a fascinating prospect.
Friday you can catch the wonderful pianist Jim Blomfield‘s trio at the BeBop club on Friday – always a treat to hear him playing his own compositions with this band. The Brass Junkies will bring some horn volume to No 1 Harbourside later that evening. And earlier, there’s yet another intriguing new line up for the after work crowd in Colston Hall Foyer, a band called Sefrial. Hall blurb says:
When we heard that Dakhla sax player Sophie Stockham had a new project inspired by the unlikely triad of chamber acousticians Tin Hat, avant-rockist composer John Zorn and post-boogaloo experimentalists Medeski, Martin & Wood we just had to find out more. When we learned that she’s recruited Jake McMurchie (sax), Joe Wilkins (guitar), Greg Cordez (bass) and Matt Brown (drums) it seemed crazy not to give them a gig and get in early on what is bound to be a distinctive new addition to Bristol’s ever-creative musical subculture
I’m St George’s bound again that evening for some Americana I couldn’t resist, but might have to try and fit that in first. So many Bristol bands, so little time…
And another one for Friday: just saw this – Bruce/Ilett 6 (subset of the larger swing orchestra) play the new Bootlegger on Cheltenham Rd, at 8.30. Free admission, dancing encouraged. Details here.
Bristol jazz week 13 April
(venue links on RH of the page)
The James Gardiner-Bateman trio are at the Alma Tavern tonight (Sunday), for “a night of smooth jazz”. Not to0 smooth, I hope. Emily Wright and the Royals bring some swing to the Sunday night session at the Tobacco Factory.
Bristol Composers’ Collective present their monthly night of new music at the Wardrobe Theatre (White Bear, St Michael’s Hill) on Monday. The brilliant guitarist Dan Messore is presiding this time, I think – though you may like to check the website or twitter for confirmation.
One to make a special effort for on Thursday, when Evan Parker brings his trio with John Russell and John Edwards to the Fringe. Only a few tickets left, they say… It’ll be be quite something hearing Parker in that small room. Last time I heard him in Bristol they were queuing to get into the Cube which is quite a bit larger.
Reeds player John Martin is joined by Andy Nowak, piano, Will Harris, bass and Andy Tween, drums – who reminded us all how good he is at the Bear the other week with Chris Biscoe – at Future Inns on Thursday. And there’s a band I’ve not come across before, Niyi and Co, at the Canteen, who blend “rolling African rhythms, lazy jazz guitar and bass to make a soulful setting for Niyi’s socially aware lyrics”…
You can start the holiday weekend with the excellent Moonlight Saving Time, who have the Good Friday slot at the BeBop club at the Bear. Or you can catch acid jazz heroes The James Taylor Quartet at the Tunnels – details here
Finally, rootsy outfit Appalachia play for free in Colston Hall foyer next Saturday (19th) at 6.30.
Recent CD reviews (and one gig)
Seem to be posting more for LondonJazzNews than I am here at the moment – possibly *slightly* more readers…
For anyone who cares, and for my own future ease of reference, here are the last few CDs I’ve written about.
Andreas Shaerer‘s Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (as unusual as it sounds)
Larry Bartley and Just Us! (the great bassist, just seen in Bristol with Jean Toussaint)
Regina Carter - the violinist goes South
Dominic Lash quartet – Bristol improviser’s outfit
Christine Tobin - Her Leonard Cohen set, as marvellous as everyone says
And one gig review, which was actually in London… Joe Lovano, Jack DeJohnette and the Spring Quartet at the Barbican.
Bristol Jazz Week, 6 April
(venue links on RH side of the page)
Big start to the week with Jean Toussaint at the Hen and Chicken tomorrow (Sunday) with a fine quartet – see the previous post. So good I’ve booked to hear them even though we’re off to London the day after to catch Joe Lovano
Guitarist Neil Smith guests at the Jazz rendezvous session at the Fringe in Clifton earlier on Sunday (4.00-7.00).
If you fancy a small trip East, the splendid Ivo Neame‘s quintet tour calls at Baker Street in Swindon on Tuesday (free entry).
Kevin Figes (sax) and George Cooper (piano) do the duo thing at No 1, Harbourside on Tuesday WEDNESDAY night, and the fiery James Morton is down there on Friday. Vocalist Celestine has James Morton in her band at the Corrie Tap on Tuesday, too.
Kevin is over in Bath on Thursday, playing at St James Wine Vaults, the ever comprehensive listomaniabath.com/ tells us.
And busy man James Morton’s band are also at Fringe Jazz in Clifton on Thursday (and you should probably book now if you want to catch Evan Parker there next week, on April 17th).
Craig Crofton and Martin Jenkins‘ excellent quartet Freight are at Future Inns the same night. They’ve now instituted a small entry payment (£5), but it’s a cover charge, redeemable for food or drink, so still a pretty good value gig…
Dick Hamer‘s quintet feature at the Be-Bop club in Hotwells on Friday. Their info says:
Saxophonist Dick Hamer and trumpeter Gethin Liddington are two of the finest and most popular jazz artists living across the bridge in South Wales. Dick has worked alongside major names including Stan Tracey, Pete King, Bobby Shew, Scott Hamilton, and on the non jazz side everything from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Besides running his own band Good Katz, Gethin teaches at the Royal Welsh College and Bath Spa University. The two are travelling across to play with the top class Bristol rhythm section of Vyv Hope-Scott – piano, Greg Cordez – bass and Andy Hague – drums.
When I started this I was thinking it was a quiet week, but having checked all the websites (I do it so you don’t have to, folks), I’m reminded we don’t really have those any more. As usual, do add anything I’ve missed in the comments and I’ll update/tweet as necessary. It is also worth tweeting to the @BristolJazzFest account if you want notice of a gig retweeted, incidentally…
The great saxophonist Jean Toussaint’s quartet are visiting Bristol to play for Ian Storror – and all of us – on Sunday night. I could tell you lots of good things about them. As it’s the final night of a CD tour that has gathered some exceptional reviews, and I’m short of time, I’ll let other people do it instead.
John Fordham reckoned his last (live) CD worth five stars, as “one of the year’s best documents of a contemporary small band skilfully chancing its arm”. Review here
Derek Briggs went to the gig they just played in Cheltenham for the Gloucestershire Echo, and concluded that “Toussaint is a genius”, “a commanding, emotive and rhythmic player”. More here.
Full details of Toussaint’s career and who is in the current quartet from Ian Storror here
And I reckon full, blow by blow, review of the band’s sets in Shrewsbury by Ian Mann seals the deal.
(There’s also a podcast interview with the leader here on LondonJazzNews, which I’ve not listened to as I prefer to read, but I imagine is quite good… and a nice crit of the CD from Adrian Pallant here)
Bristol Jazz Week, March 30
(Venue links to left of this page)
A special fundraiser tomorrow (Sunday) night at St George‘s: The London Swing Orchestra play a benefit concert for the Tressell Trust, which runs four food banks in Bristol. There’s a sentence I never imagined having to write, but that tells you all you need to know about the government someone seems to have elected a few years ago… Oh no, we didn’t, really, did we? Go along, enjoy the music, or do your bit to get this lot out next year. Better still do both!
Politics done with, for now, some other gigs:
There’s blues at the Alma Tavern in Clifton Sunday night with Matt Woosey, “a young contemporary blues artist from the West Midlands, who combines an explosive slap-and-pick right hand guitar technique with big-range blues vocals”.
The very wonderful Dakhla Brass – even brassier now they’ve added a trombone to the two sax and trumpet front line – appear at the Coronation Tap the same night.
Kevin Figes guests at the monthly free jazz session at the Fringe in Clifton on Monday, and Greg Cordez‘s excellent quintet (with Jake McMurchie, Nick Malcolm, Jim Blomfield, Mark Whitlam) play there on Thursday.
New line up with familiar faces at the Canteen on Wednesday. The Play have Seb Gutiez, guitar, Martin Jenkins keys, Tom Allen, bass and Matt Brown, drums, and play “stoner jazz” which somehow sounds right for the venue… See a bit of them here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9MD_Z7hdGM
John Pearce‘s band, with the great Dave Newton on piano, play Future Inns on Thursday and Cathy Jones’ Balanca bringing a Brazilian flavour to the BeBop club on Friday.
Final mention – an unusually strong free improv evening programmed at the Cube in Stokes Croft on Thursday, with four different line-ups. Details here
Bristol Jazz Week, 23 March
A slight slowdown now, after the hubbub of the jazz festival and a three week run of outstanding gigs at St Georges, culminating in the excellent Bristol debut of Gregory Porter last Thursday – perhaps the most resonant male voice I’ve heard since Willard White sang gospel in Bath a few years ago.
Still, the regular weekly jazz spots have some goodies, starting with the Jonny Bruce Band at the Alma on Sunday evening. Trumpeter Bruce shone in numerous ensembles at the festival, and always puts on an exuberant show. The Canteen have “gypsy jazz” from violinist Matt Holborn‘s quartet on Sunday afternoon, following which the same band head over to the Tobacco Factory for an evening session.
Also Sunday is singer Lizzie Dean at the Corrie Tap, with a powerful band including bassist Jeff Spencer, Jerry Crozier-Cole on guitar, Rich Laws, keyboardist Anders Olinder and James Morton on sax. (Look out for Bristol favourites Dakhla at the Corrie next Sunday – Mar 30th – by the way)
The excellent, Monkish, Freight feature at the JazzFunkSoulSoc session at the Big Chill bar on Tuesday.
On Wednesday at the Canteen you can hear Phatic, a new quartet featuring James Ladd’s guitar and Mike Willox’s keyboard along with Dave Johnston’s bass and Justin Fellows on drums. Sample their work on soundcloud here.
Thursday’s booking at the Fringe in Clifton is the Andy Sheppard -Denny Ilett band, with trumpeter Dan Reid appearing at Future Inns. I’ve not had the pleasure but they say:
Dan Reid is a fantastic young trumpet player who has been developing his style into something fully formed and unique. He likes to play very quietly and he has exquisite control – difficult for a trumpeter at low volumes. A cross between Chet Baker and Clifford Brown this is a quality performer who is quickly gaining a reputation for intimate and engaging shows. He brings with him the wonderful Greg Cordez on double bass, Trevor Davies on drums, and George Cooper on piano.
Friday’s at the BeBop club sees a visit from Chris Biscoe, whose career has produced a vast amount of fine music. Their blurb:
Chris Biscoe is one of the UK’s finest alto sax players, who has long associations with legends such as Mike Westbrook and Harry Beckett. More recently Chris has been examining the music of Charles Mingus, releasing the CD Profiles of Mingus in 2010 with an all-star cast including trumpeter Henry Lowther. For tonight Chris is bringing some of his Mingus arrangements, some originals and some Woody Shaw to play alongside Andy Hague – trumpet, Jim Blomfield – piano, Greg Cordez – bass and Andy Tween – drums. The last gig Chris did for us in 2012 was brilliant, so don’t miss. To check out his extensive and impressive discography visit www.chrisbiscoe.co.uk
Biscoe’s last two CDs, one devoted to Mingus, the other a tribute to Eric Dolphy, were both superb tributes to their inspirations – and his playing really shows the benefits of all his decades of experience in jazz.
Finally, if anyone fancies going a bit further afield, or this blog has any readers in the neighbourhood, there’s a notable gig at the Stratford Jazz Club, Stratford-on-Avon on Wednesday, with guitarist Maciek Pysz‘s trio featuring fellow virtuosi Yuri Goloubev and Asif Sirkis, often seen in these parts with John Law’s trio. It’s part of an extensive CD launch tour (there have been a slew of excellent reviews of the recording) so if you can’t make it to the Midlands, there are also chances to catch this excellent sounding outfit at Dempsey’s in Cardiff on April 2 and the Queen’s Head, Monmouth the following day – excellent venues both – though not, alas, in Bristol. Maybe next time?
