Music / Jazz
Bristol’s week in jazz, September 2 – 8
OK – got your pencils sharpened and that nice shiny Toy Story lunchbox all ready? Then it’s time for the new jazz term to begin, with a full set of the regular sessions and a host of jams spread around the town. The keen-eyed should quickly spot a week’s worth of tasty nights out coming up.
And first: it’s welcome back to the Bebop Club, kicking off a fine Autumn programme with the Afro-Caribbean flavoured jazz of The Deppa Hirst Band (Friday 6). Trumpeter Claude Deppa was born in South Africa and arrived in the UK fleeing Apartheid as part of the Brotherhood of Breath collective. While he later collaborated with Andy Sheppard, Carla Bley and others, saxophonist Clare Hirst was making a name on the pop scene with The Communards and David Bowie. Their quartet’s music draws on Claude’s African roots as well as Clare’s interest in Latin music.
There’s another welcome return at the Bristol Old Vic when Ian Storrer launches another short season of jazz gigs in the comfortable Studio venue downstairs. First up is the O’Higgins & Luft Quartet (Sunday 8), a quartet collaboration between saxophonist Dave O’Higgins and guitarist Rob Luft themed around their shared love of (Thelonious) Monk and (John Col)Trane. Both O’Higgins and Luft are highly lyrical players and the music they make is a fine tribute to their heroes. There’s a similar depth of quality to the more familiar Sefrial (LeftBank, Friday 6), with saxophonists Sophie Stockham and Jake McMurchie jousting with guitarist Matt Hopkins.
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Of course the Jazz at the Fringe never took a summer break and this week they host yet another cracker of a gig: the Iain Ballamy/Jason Rebello Quartet (Wednesday 4) is not only a fine partnership between saxophonist Ian and pianist Jason, but also boasts the top notch rhythm pairing of Yuri Goloubev’s bass and Mark Whitlam drumming. With an ECM recording in the offing, they’re revisiting a few standards and trying out Iain’s newly written tunes in what the sax player considers one of his favourite venues. Over at Future Inn on Thursday (5) vocalist and songwriter Becki Biggins reclaims a set of songs associated with male performers in her It’s A Man’s World show, with a grooving quartet of musicians behind her.
Indo-jazz fusion comes to Canteen (Saturday 7) with fusion duo Maya Jazz featuring the violin of Jyotsna Srikanth bringing Karnataka traditions together with Balkan swing. You can get more deeply into the roots of Indian classical music with sitar player Anupama Bhagwat accompanied by the tabla of Gurdain Rayatt at St George’s (Sunday 8). There’s also a raga-esque quality to be found in the looped Arabic trance of violinist Claire Northey (El Rincon, Thursday 5).
It was an inspired idea that led to Track Record (St George’s, Saturday 7), a project between ambient jazz duo Eyebrow and poetry collective The Spoke. Combining themed poems and specially composed music they have produced a real time soundtrack to the idiosyncratic railway journey between Temple Meads and Severn Beach. You can download it and listen as you travel yourself, but this launch evening of the book and CD package gives them all the chance to perform it live. Similarly filmic themes run through the original music of pianist Andrew Christie (Canteen, Wednesday 4).
It’s a good week for jazz jammers, too and respect is certainly due to the excellent work of tireless musicians committed to giving a performance space to emerging talent and backroom players. Choose between Canteen’s Jazz Session (Monday 2), the Leftbank Jazz Jam (Tuesday 3), Waldo’s Gift Open Collaboration (Gallimaufry, Wednesday 4), Hot Jazz Jam (Golden Lion, Thursday 5) and the Jazz at the Stag & Hounds (Sunday 8). That last one hosts Bebop Club’s Andy Hague as guest performer on the trumpet, while sax player Stephen Mathers visits the Leftbank session, where the house bass player is Federico Leonori whose trio plays at The Fringe on Thursday (5).
And finally … it’s good to see the wild side return to Cafe Kino after a quiet summer, with the ‘post classical feminist avant garde’ Viridian Ensemble joining ‘STUPID music’ electronicists Territorial Gobbing and ‘unknowable music’ wrangler Feghoots.
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