Music / Jazz
Bristol’s week in Jazz, July 23-29 2018
So school’s out and the annual summer shrinkage of jazz action begins as many musicians follow the more lucrative path of festival touring in the backing bands of soul divas and big-production warblers. Happily we have WOMAD just down the road (Charlton Park, Thursday 26 – Sunday 29), one of the few big events to feature some top quality jazz with the option of a day ticket. Among a range of enticements to the jazz-minded this year’s line-up includes hip UK jazz names like Mammal Hands, Yazz Ahmed’s Hafla Band and Ezra Collective (pictured above) as well as US visitors Too Many Zooz and Jazzanova Live .
Graham Clark – Gong but not forgotten
Some well-seasoned names with Bristol connections are popping up this week, too, starting with sometime homeboy Graham Clark (Fringe, Wednesday 25). A fine jazz violinist, Graham’s career began on the Bristol jazz scene but has been most defined by membership of the anarchic psychedelic collective Gong since the late 80s. For the gig he’s reformed the occasional quartet – including pianist Jim Blomfield – that so successfully played the Fringe a few years ago.
HEXIT in the studio
The post-punk years in Bristol saw a wave of interesting musical fusions and some survivors of that upsurge are still developing new and challenging ideas. Sun Ra inspired no-holds-barred improvisational quintet HEXIT (Old England, Thursday 26) includes former members of Pigbag and Monk & Canatella, while Silenzio (El Rincon, Friday 27) is an enigmatic new project from drummer Keith Bailey whose CV boasts cult Bristol ensembles Experimental Pop Band and Spaceways. The El Rincon listing suggests ‘the lost soundtrack to a Tangiers romantic heist movie’ as a clue to the new trio’s sound.
is needed now More than ever
Pete Cunningham finds what he’s looking for
This month’s Sound Cupboard (Crofter’s Rights, Wednesday 25) features Welsh electronic-acoustic improvising duo Anna Savage & Steve Moyes and French situationist looper Emmanuel Reveneau aka The Lucid Brain. It’s an unfortunate clash with Waldo’s Gift’s residency at Gallimaufry where their guest collaborator is producer and multi-instrumentalist Pete Cunningham, known for his live project the Ishmael Ensemble.
And, finally … Bristol International Jazz and Blues Festival’s busy Artistic Director guitarist Denny Ilett is bringing some classic blues and swing to Future Inn (Thursday 26) in a quartet that also includes the ever-impressive piano of Dave Newton and drummer Ian Matthews.
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