Bristol’s month in jazz – August 2022

So it’s traditionally a bit of a slack month for live gigs but nobody told the great Canteen team this and they’re having what practically amounts to a rolling festival of jazz and world music throughout August. Big name visitors are still passing through, notably Kokoroko (pictured above) who come through Rough Trade on Tues 9 for a live performance and signing session. And of course there’s Valley Fest (Chew Valley, Fri 5 – Sun 7) with Waldo’s Gift, Smerins Anti Social Club, No Go Stop, K.O.G., Soma Soma and Afon Systema.

There’s a remarkable collaboration between Pakistani quartet Jaubi and Ruby Rushton trumpeter/flautist Tenderlonious (aka Ed Cawthorne) coming to Strange Brew (Fri 19) to deliver their brilliant Ragas from Lahore project. It’s an uber-spiritual jazz, with Ed’s improvising approach woven into that of North Indian classical music and the support act is no less than Ishmael Ensemble’s Pete Cunningham. The return of the unclassifiable Organelles (Canteen, Tue 2, The Bell Wed 3) will also be standout gigs, combining the free thinking songwriting of Paul Bradley with jazz-fuelled pop music deconstructions. And if the sight of a marimba on stage makes you happy you’ll love Otto and the Mutapa Calling ((Canteen, Sat 27), a lively quartet from London featuring three of the splendid African xylophones celebrating the musics of Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.

The Worm Disco people haven’t forgotten August, either, and they bring us Australian DIY funksters Surpise Chef (Jam Jar, Tue 30). Generally wowing the critics – including the taste making Gilles Peterson – it should be a knockout session of loose limbed cinematics.And if that’s your thing Bristol’s own Goya (Canteen, Thur 11) would be worth checking out if you don’t already know them.

Recently picked up for a commission by the Jazz South West radar, Bath-based saxophonist John Martin  (Canteen, Wed 10) has honed his technique to enrich the tone of his instruments with ‘hidden notes’. It’s a technique rarely mastered and his album The Hidden Notes got maximum respect from his peers. The Raven’s regular Sunday Jazz Conspiracy sessions run through the month, starting with pianist Guy Shotton’s trio (Sun 7), followed in succession by guitar-led Adam Stokes’ Trio with a guest vocalist (Sun 14), classic jazz vocal style from Marvin Muoneke’s quartet (Sun 21) and soulful jazz singing from Victoria Klewin (Sun 28). Reaching back to when jazz was pop, Sweet & The Lowdowns evoke the music of the 20s and 30s (Canteen, Sin 7) while, less respectfully, Jack Calloway’s Band (Bristol Fringe, Thur 25) channel the anarchic prankster Spike Jones for their cabaret-style romp through the 30s.

What to say about Ask My Bull (Canteen, Fri 26)? Four Mancunians who mash dance music grooves, punk raucousness and ‘flamboyant jazz’ into something all their own and unquestionably groovy. Which you can also say about Brass Junkies (The Stable, Sat 6), and the remorselessly funky Dusk Art Rhythm Quartet (The Bell, Wed 10) while Cardiff’s Shake Ya Brass bring their horn-powered set of covers to Mr Wolf’s (Sat 27). There’s a powerful combination of well-established players in Nomad (The Bell, Mon 15), namely guitarist Jerry Crozier-Cole, Eric Mylod-Okafo on bass and the long-established rhythm combination of Anders Olinder (keys) and Andy Tween (drums). That should be full of groove energy, and so should Bristol Street Music (Canteen, Tue 16) with its combination of guest hip-hop vocalists and a regular trio of keyboard player Alex Veitch, Richard Allen on bass and drumming from Snazzback’s Chris Langton.

August’s free jazz highlight has to be the visit of Rome’s Jookla Duo (Crofters, Wed 10), long established hero practitioners of exploratory music playing here with support from Ex Agent. Ambient improviser Dau comes up from Brighton (Friendly Records, Thur 4)  to pair with cellist James Gow for an Ambient Café session that also features a solo flute performance from Tina Hitchens. Improvised hip-hop returns to Canteen in the form of Slapdash (Tues 9), with guests on the mic.

Did you go to WOMAD? If you missed it there’s a few world music treats to be had nearer home, including Soma Soma’s percussion-meets-brass in an Afro-Latin style (The Stable, Sat 20). Canteen has a string of great evenings, starting on Friday 5 with the pan-European music of faux-French outfit Fromage en Feu, and then Afrobeat energy comes from Matuki (Sat 13), their line-up recently enriched by the kora playing of Suntou Susso. The remarkable Malawian musician and singer Gasper Nali returns on Tuesday 16 with his Babatoni, an amazing one-string bass ‘guitar’ and then the venue welcomes the synth’n’sample driven contemporary West African sounds of Nyamekye Junction (Sat 20). Based in Germany, the band is a collaboration between Ghanaian singer-songwriter Eli A Free, Burundian producer Betina Quest and German multi-instrumentalist Ma.ttic and their sound reflects that cultural interaction.

And then finally – the jam scene is as lively (and diverse) as ever, with Strange Brew’s Bounce Jam every Monday welcoming musicians artists and dancers, the Old England’s Thursday Jam & Toast sessions and Tuesdays’ Mr Wolf’s Donut Filler Jam all weekly regulars. In addition The Fringe has its Hot Club Jam (Mon 1), Lost Horizon hosts We All Play Synth (Tue 9), Hare on the Hill have the old school Hot Jazz Jam and the Canteen has its regular Stone Cold Funk Jam (Wed 17) and the impressive new Canteen Latin Session led by trumpeter Michal Padron and pianist Jim Blomfield, both top class players.