Bristol’s Month in Jazz – July 2022

So the summer’s finally here and that means both the Bebop Club and Fringe Jazz sessions are already taking a well earned break, while the monthly Fringe In The Round finish their season on Tuesday 5 with a real cracker – drummer Mark Whitlam premiering solo electroacoustic music before the mighty Palindromes improv supergroup of Paul Dunmall, Olie Brice and Mark Sanders. But fear not – the regular Sunday sessions at The Raven continue undaunted, there’s plenty of jazz at Canteen and of course there’s the WOMAD festival (Charlton Kings, Thur 28-Sun 31) with appearances from Yazz Ahmed, Joe Armon Jones, Seed and Latin legend Gilberto Gil among many jazz orientated treats. Day tickets are now available for that one. Big name gig of the month has to be Jazz Jamaica’s Lively Up! At St George’s (Fri 8), a celebration of Jamaica’s 60th Independence Day that will surely feature some of the highpoints from the band’s previous exploration of the Trojan Record label story. And try not to miss the astonishing voice of South African vocalist Sisanda Myataza (Bristol Beacon, Thur 21) whose set at last year’s Bristol Jazz Festival was heart-stoppingly memorable.

The aforementioned Mark Whitlam also features in the last of the summer’s Bristol Beacon Jazzata evenings (Sun 10), drumming for the excellent Kevin Figes Quartet alongside Jim Blomfield’s piano and Ashley John Long on bass. It’s a formidable combination of talents steered in interesting directions by saxophonist Kevin’s endless musical curiosity. Other local jazz heroes getting a showcase this month include energetic trumpeter Jonny Bruce (St George’s, Sun 24) and nu-jazz collective Rwkus who feature alongside grime MC Flowdan on the bill of Worm Disco’s new collaboration with 6Music’s Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here festival (Lost Horizon, Tue 15). Trumpeter Pete Judge’s latest collaboration is JOW, a duo with cellist James Gow and they have two gigs this month (To The Moon, Thur 7; Tobacco Factory, Sun 31) while accomplished swing quartet Scarlet Muses similarly bookend July (Old Duke, Sat 2; Canteen, Wed 27).

Soul jazz singer Victoria Klewin appears at The Raven’s Sunday Jazz Conspiracy (Sun 24) and also pairs with guitarist Adam Stokes for a duo gig at The Fringe (Thur 21). Adam’s trio will have also played at The Raven (Sun 10) following pianist Guy Shotton’s trio gig there (Sun 3). Two contrastingly complementary guitar styles will blend at El Rincon (Thur 26) in a duo featuring country blues exponent Holly Carter and jazz-blues player Joe Wilkins while Old Duke stalwarts guitarist Andy Christie, saxophonist Mat Sibley and drummer Mike Hoddinott reunite in The Funky MH (Old Duke, Wed 6). The Duke will also host old-time specialists Shanghai Shuffle (Sun 3) and trad/swing sax player Jeremy Huggett’s Jazz Combo (Mon 4). Hot jazz gets the wacky treatment from The Parlophonians (Fringe, Wed 27), Jack Calloway’s Spike Jones inspired cabaret combo.

Busy saxophonist Sophie Stockham takes her accomplished ‘chordless’ quartet Orfic to Canteen (Wed 13) and her fellow Starling, keyboard player Ruth Hammond, appears in the Hopkins Hammond Trio at Tobacco Factory (Sun 24). Pianist Alex Veitch’s usual quartet Yeti appears as a trio at Greenbank (Thur 7). Their monthly residency has something of London’s Pizza Express venue about it with candlelit tables and pizza on order. And you can expect smoothly soulful swing from vocalist Marvin Muoneke and his Quartet who appear at The Raven (Sun 17).

Like that big brass onslaught? Then you’ve a busy month of Fridays ahead … starting with local favourites the Brass Junkies (Canteen Fri 8), followed by Cardiff’s energetic young  ’New Orleans Riot Jazz’ outfit Bass 12 (Mr Wolf’s, Fri 15) and culminating in Broken Brass (Old Market Assembly, Fri 22). The latter is an 8-piece ensemble from the Netherlands who add in-you-face vocals to some sparklingly groovy brass arrangements. There’s plenty of groove-heavy fun around with more restrained horn sections, too. It’s good to see jazz funkers Monkey Chuckle back on the bill (The Bell, Wed 6), and likewise funky alto wizard James Morton appearing with friends (The Bell Wed 13). Heavyweight musical talent is promised for the Wat(er) The Funk benefit gig for Water Aid at the Volunteer Tavern (Thur 7) and is guaranteed at the Golden Lion (Fri 8) when funk ubergroup Stone Cold Hustle get going. Snazzback hip-hop inspired spin-off Bristol Street Music are at Canteen (Tue 19).

For those seeking stranger things than Kate Bush it’s always a good idea to watch out for Harry ‘Iceman’ Furniss. The improvising cornet player brings his Quintet to The Thunderbolt (Thur 7), headlining a great free grooving triple bill. Harry’s excellently ironic Improv’s Greatest Hits night has another fine triple bill at Crofters (Tue 5) with Faye Macalman’s Archipelago topping things off. The ever unpredictable Robert Ridley-Shackleton’s Cardboard Club pops up twice: firstly at Strange Brew (Wed 6) featuring abstract London songstress Punchcutter, secondly at The Cube (Sat 23) with local improv supergroup Yoke. Ambient electro violinist Agathe Max joins viola player Alison Cotton for an acoustic chamber-folk workout of layered strings at Crofters (Fri 15), while Sean Addicott headlines an all-electronic feast in his new alias DESTROYERTONES on the same night at Dareshack. Most intriguing genre of the month has to go to Jerusalem in my Heart (Cube, Thur 7) whose strapline describes their music as ‘experimental Levantine electroacoustic grief rituals’.

What with WOMAD happening just down the road there’s a wealth of world music passing through the city. You won’t get into the sold-out Orchestra Baobab gig at St George’s (Fri 29) but you might get a ticket for kora player Suntou Susso’s visit there (Wed 27). His delicate Griot performance would be a marked contrast to the inspired exuberance of Rizwan Muazzam Qawwals in the same venue that night. Anyone not headed to WOMAD could enjoy a weekend of North African Gnawa music nearer to home with Entrancement (Cotham Parish Church, Fri 22) featuring a band led by Moroccan guembri master Mohamed Errabbaa followed by the popular Gnawa Blues All Stars at Canteen (Sat 23). Entrancement’s trumpet player David Mowatt also appears with his Yiddish music celebration Chai for All at The Lansdowne (Fri 8). Heading into West Africa, the Thekla has latest Tuareg guitar name Mdou Moctar (Mon 25) and band, acclaimed for bringing a more electronic production sound to the hypnotic rhythms and jangling sounds of desert blues, while Afrobeat behemoth No Go Stop live up to their name at The Attic Bar (Fri 15).

And there’s a trio of characterful Latin bands this month, too, starting with Toulouse-based Afro-Colombian street band Super Panela (Canteen, Thur 14), followed by Bristol-based Afro-Brazilian vocal/percussion collective Safrela at Canteen (Thur 28) and topped by the arrival of Sao Paulo’s Theo Mizú & Banda (Lansdowne, Fri 29) with their interestingly Balkan-tinged take on Brazilian dance music.

And finally … the jam sessions are still happening weekly: Bounce Jam (Strange Brew, Mondays) and Mothership Connection (Gallimaufry, Thursdays) as well as one-offs: Hot Club Jam (Fringe, Mon 4), Canteen Jazz Session (Canteen, Wed 6) and Stone Cold Funk Jam (Canteen, Wed 20).