Music / bristol international jazz and blues festival
Review: Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival (Day 1) Ladies Sing The Blues/Pee Wee Ellis & Friends, Lakota Gardens
The welcome return of the Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival after an enforced lapse of nearly two years saw a reasonable sized crowd gather for the opening gig. Ladies Sing The Blues had been planned as a triple header of local vocal talent, however Covid had claimed Victoria Klewin leaving Lady Nade and Elles Bailey to hastily reassemble their set lists and get the backing band of Jonny Henderson (organ), Joe Wilkins (guitar) and Matt Brown (drums) up to speed.
Lady Nade (left) and Elles Bailey with Matt Brown (drums) and Jonny Henderson (organ)
Happily this all came together rather nicely, with Elles shining on blues belters like Bonnie Raitt’s Love Me Like A Man and her own New Orleans groover Help Somebody while Nade’s shimmering Don’t Make Him Wait and Mind’s Made Up had a classic sound that belied their recent composition. Things definitely moved up a gear when they joined forces, however, and their rip snorting John The Revelator – underpinned by a thumping worksong beat and dirty guitar licks – was spellbinding.
Gareth Williams (keyboards), Pee Wee Ellis (tenor saxophone) and Stephen Little (double bass)
The evening’s second gig saw veteran funk legend (and long-time festival patron) Pee Wee Ellis take the stage with Gareth Williams on keyboards and Stephen Little playing bass. Instrumental opener There Is No Good In Love was a bit hesitant, with Pee Wee struggling to find his tone, but once joined by exuberant vocalist Ian Shaw for Bye Bye Blackbird his playing grew in confidence and fluency with echoes of Ellis’ early mentor Sonny Rollins. He even replied in kind to Ian’s ebullient scat improvisation, just one aspect of the amiable playfulness between these two good friends.
is needed now More than ever
Pee Wee Ellis announcing his retirement from performing
It was during the next number, however, that the saxophonist began to look unwell and eventually moved to the back of the stage leaving Ian to busk frantically through improvised lyrics before declaring an end to the song. Pee Wee returned during the next number (Summertime) and seemed to find his voice again, adding Dexter Gordon-style hooks to the Gershwin classic, but once it was over he told the crowd that, much as he loved playing and much as he loved Bristol and the West Country he was ‘saying goodbye’. “I just can’t keep doing this” he explained, revealing that he had spent four hours that day undergoing dialysis.
Given his obvious frailty on the stage a stunned audience could only understand his decision as we all processed the idea that, after Pee Wee’s 60 years as a performer, including legendary band-leading stints with James Brown and Van Morrison, we were watching his final gig. Naturally it ended with some funk and an assured rendition of I Got You put some of the fire back into his sax but then it was all over and, after an emotional tribute from festival host Katya Gorrie, Pee Wee was left seated at the back of the stage gathering himself for the journey home.
The Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival continues until Sunday 6
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