Review: Bristol Jazz Festival (Saturday)

With the jive dancers no doubt still cooling their heels after Friday’s non-stop Big Swing opening night there was a less turbulent emphasis on the smooth and the swinging pacing things at the Colston Hall for Saturday. Having said that, though, the Foyer programme was a much more up-beat and eclectic business with Elles Bailey’s slinky blues, Chirimoya’s subverted Nu Yorican salsa and Get The Blessing’s sheer power all providing notably excellent interludes between the ticketed gigs I was checking.

This year’s mass choir and big band collaboration was Perfectly Frank, a run through of Mr Sinatra’s greatest hits fronted by the ever-amiable Clare Teal and the perky Joe Stilgoe, and started out with a nice disposal of My Way as an up-tempo Gospel number that the 200+ singers clearly enjoyed. The solo vocalists had plenty of fun with other classics, including the duet Something Stupid, and the arrangements came across with plenty of pizazz, and if they couldn’t catch Sinatra’s overweening charisma they got the music pretty spot on. 

Solo guitarist Martin Taylor may or may not be a jazz player – he questioned it himself – but he has uniquely brought the complex techniques of great Flamenco guitarists to the jazz idiom and for an hour he held a packed Lantern agog with renditions of tunes as diverse as Some Day My Prince Will Come, I Got Rhythm and Wild Mountain Thyme. His virtuosity allows him to play bass, rhythm and melody lines simultaneously, and despite claiming to be fighting a new guitar his set was flawless. 

Equally accomplished was the thirty-year established pairing of vocalists Claire Martin and Ray Gelato, with the excellent Dave Newton’s trio accompanying their easy-going swing through the Great American Songbook in the style of Peggy Lee and Dean Martin. Comfortable with each other and the material, their Lantern audience clearly relished the snug fit of the occasion, though they even got away with a Bebop moment, creditably scatting their way through Bab Gonzalez’ setting of Ornithology as Mr Newton let himself roam on the piano.

There was no doubting the big name of the day, however, and the big hall was crammed for Maceo Parker’s headline set. Despite his ’98% funk’ being ‘neither jazz nor blues’ it was 100% welcomed and despite the seats all being in place there was an early crowding of the aisles with eager dancers. Maceo has been on the road relentlessly for years and it showed – this was a well-honed showcase that allowed him to sing, chat and slip off for a breather every now and again while his musicians got a solo spotlight moment. But whenever he dropped the purely funky stuff on the eager crowd things got predictably electrifying, and numbers like We’re Gonna Make This Funk a P-Funk, Make It Funky and the inevitable encore of Pass The Peas were the business thanks to the awesome bass slap of Skeet Curtis and Maceo’s inimitable stabbing sax. There was big love for Pee Wee Ellis, too, making a guest appearance, though sadly the two horn men didn’t play alongside each other as many would have hoped. But this was Maceo’s night, alright, and he’s definitely still got the funk.