Music / Jazz
Bristol’s week in jazz, December 3-9 2018
It’s a veritable advent calendar of surprises around Bristol’s busy jazz scene this week, with one of the most eclectic selections we’ve seen for a long time.
Biggest jazz name is probably sax player Iain Ballamy, though young whippersnapper Sam Crockatt could make a claim for the title himself, while the leftest-of-field award probably goes to trumpet trio TORU.
Ian Ballamy (Future Inn, Thursday 6) is one of the generation of UK jazz names that emerged from the mighty Loose Tubes big band to carve his own furrow in the contemporary jazz world. He’s very big in Scandinavia thanks to outfits like the ECM recorded Food and The Little Radio, while he’s also crucial to the very British bands Anorak and Quercus. He was a judge in this year’s BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year awards, too. He has an instantly recognisable tone, using the fullness of the instrument’s voice and a splendid blend of power and sweetness.
is needed now More than ever
Was it only last week that Sam Crockatt popped up alongside Andy Hague at The Bebop Club? Now he brings his Sam Crockatt Trio to the Fringe (Wednesday 5) with Riaan Vosloo on bass and Robert Plant drummer Dave Smith. Sam and Dave both emanated from the Loop Collective, another one of those talent nurseries like Loose Tubes that invigorate the jazz scene from time to time, and it should be riveting stuff.
As always there’s a fair blast of brass across the week, from funky big band Hornstars (Canteen, Tuesday 4) to the hip-hop Mardi Gras sound of Brass Junkies (No 1 Harbourside, Saturday 8). If you want a break from Christmas shopping, however, you could catch the afternoon set from improvising trumpet trio TORU (Gastro Vinyl, Saturday 8) whose splendid tune titles include It Is Not Our Intention To Ruin Your Evening and You Are So Beautiful To Me; I Mean To Anyone Else Not So Much, But To Me.
And eclectic trumpeter David Mowatt crops up twice too, firstly as part of Klezmer cabaret group Chai for All (Tuesday 4, St Stephens Church) and then at the helm of the Bristol European Jazz Ensemble (Salt Cafe, Sunday 9).
This Friday’s guests at the Bebop Club are the excellent Sefrial, a post-jazz quintet led by Dakhla alto player Sophie Stockham (pictured top) who have moved beyond their original John Zorn inspirations to create an original sound that gives contemporary jazz a rocky edge, with ultra-tight rhythm and hard-nosed solo work.
Similarly edgy, but with probably a nudge in the funk wards direction, this week’s Waldo’s Gift session (Gallimaufry, Wednesday 5) sees them welcome vocalist and keyboard player Hollyseus Fly. The following night (Thursday 6) the same stage will host new improvising collective Blasé promising music that will be ‘unrepeatable’.
More repeatable should be Prudent Primate’s set at Crofter’s Rights (Tuesday 4) since they’re launching their debut EP in the company of world-groovers Snazzback and wayward psych outfit Insomnichord.
And, talking of repeatable, there’s a couple of tribute sets this week: the piano-led Alex Veitch Trio revisits the now defunct US band Bad Plus at Greenbank (Thursday 6) while a clutch of well-respected local jazz players (including guitarist Denny Ilett) bring a Bristol flavour to classic Latin-inspired rock in Santanal (Bell, Saturday 8). Geddit?
There aren’t that many ambient lutenists in the world, for sure, but Josef van Wissem (Cube Wednesday 5) is one who uses the instrument’s baroque sound to atmospheric effect in film soundtracks and art installations as well as public performances. Support comes from improvising violin/guitar duo Winter Ghost.
There’s similarly genre-busting experimentalism at Cafe Kino (Friday 7) from Southampton’s Out-take Ensemble who feature pieces so radical that they do away with audible sound altogether (?!). No, it’s not that John Cage thing, but rest assured there is another of his pieces on the programme.
Dan Messore getting fretful
And finally, the one-of-a-kind guitarist Dan Messore makes one of his occasional visits to Canteen (Wednesday 5) and while it’s always difficult to predict what so eclectic a musician might do it can be assumed it will be both entertaining and original.
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