Bristol’s week in jazz, March 4-10 2019

Hoorah! It’s International Women’s Day on Friday and, while it’s by no means unusual to see female musicians across the jazz calendar these days it’s still always good to celebrate their contribution both locally and wider. And, of course, there’s a few non-female artists worth catching this week, too.

Her 2012 debut album Landing Ground announced trumpeter Laura Jurd (St George’s, Thursday 7) as an emerging talent to watch and she has continued to deliver on that early promise as player, composer and bandleader. Her band Dinosaur were nominated for the 2016 Mercury Prize and they are at the core of Stepping Back, Jumping In, her latest (and most ambitious) project also involving a string quartet, electronics artists, improvising musicians and a traditional Iranian musician. Laura’s past performances ensure that this will all make perfect sense on the night.

Starling – Emma Holbrook, Sophie Stockham, Lisa Cherian and Ruth Hammmond

Starling (Leftbank, Friday 8/Golden Lion Sunday 10) is another new collaboration, launched late last year by four of Bristol’s most highly respected women instrumentalists. Coming as they do from a range of musical backgrounds drummer Emma Holbrook, saxophonist Sophie Stockham, percussionist Lisa Cherian and keyboard wizard Ruth Hammond have pulled together an eclectic set from Maceo Parker to The Meters via Soulive and Lettuce, viewed no doubt through a mix of jazz, funk and Latin filters. Expect a similar mix to drive the live-wire fusion of Malavita (The Bell, Tuesday 5), fronted by energetic (female!) vocalist Boo La La.

By contrast, solo performer Āvā looks to the overlap between experimental jazz and house and techno dance music to inform her improvised loop-station electronica. It’s reflectively composed stuff, far from the tumult offered by Silvia Konstance Costan’s frenetic electro-percussive Dame Area, a Spanish visitor twinned with local vocal improviser Dali de Saint Paul’s HARRGA duo (Stag & Hounds, Saturday 9).

And, rocking even farther into the free world, saxophonist Rebecca Sneddon appears at The Exchange (Sunday 10, 2pm) in a fully spontaneous session of ‘emancipated sound’ with Robin Foster, Matthew Grigg and Joe Kelly.

Later that evening you can catch percussion ace Harriet Riley (seen above with Ethiofunkers Tezeta) as special guest when The Phantom Ensemble launch their debut album Connections at the Gallimaufry.

But what of the boys? Well, yes, there are one or two gentlemen of musical note coming to town this week, and probably the most hip and happening visitor is the ubiquitous Shabaka Hutchings’ electronic trio The Comet Is Coming (Thekla, Thursday 7), a fine combination of drums, keyboards and the man’s superfluent reedwork that should produce plenty of boat-rocking beats.

More sedate pleasures come to Future Inn on the same night with the folk inspired jazz of Brazilian bass player Matheus Prado and his pan-European septet. And to prove we can always look to the local for classy composition and top playing the Bebop Club (Friday 8) showcases new music from the Kevin Figes Quartet, with Kev’s sax and flute matched with Jim Blomfield’s piano, Riaan Vosloo on bass and drummer Dave Smith.

For big name jazz credibility, though, the Fringe (Wednesday 6) continues to do well and this week’s explosively improvisatory encounter of the Dunmall/Etheridge Quartet sees Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge take on the mighty sax of Paul Dunmall with the ebullient Mark Sanders on drums and Fringe favourite Percy Pursglove on bass (and trumpet).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZGAp3V3tdE

If it’s dancing to quality instrumental music you seek you’re too late for the sold out Ibibio Sound Machine at Trinity on Saturday (9) but you can probably catch the Sun Ra meets Gong anarchy of Henge (Fiddlers) on the same night – and make sure to get there for Paddy Steer’s manic electroacoustic one-man-band support act. Other energetic workouts available this week include psych funk outfit Wasabi (Leftbank, Saturday 9) and jazz-hop Londoners Halfpenny (Mr Wolf, Friday 8).

Those of a more contemplative nature, however, could choose the ambient delights of LTO (Cafe Kino, Wednesday 6), the more gothic Dark Alchemy night (Crypt of St John On The Wall, Friday 8) or the AI-generated installation Kawasaki Plant (Arnolfini, Saturday 9). That last one is predicted to last at least 5 hours, mind you, so you might want to take a cushion.