Music / free jazz
The week in Jazz Mar 5-11
At the risk of sounding political incorrect … Given that this week includes both International Women’s Day and Mothering Sunday – let’s hear it for the girls! Hopefully we’re way past the time when people thought gender was noteworthy in a jazz musician but, nonetheless, it’s still a very male-dominated scene so St George’s choice of Issie Barratt’s Interchange for their IWD performance (Thur 8) is a great one. Saxophonist Issie is an ambitious composer and tireless educator who (among her many other achievements) set up both the Trinity College Jazz department and the National Youth Jazz Collective. Countless musicians have learned from her, including Dinosaur trumpeter Laura Jurd and pianist Elliot Galvin, and Interchange is a powerhouse ‘dectet’ of performer/composers including Karen Street, Yazz Ahmed and Tori Freestone. The band will be offering an open rehearsal session earlier in the day, too.
Sophie Stockham and her serious Sefrial sidekicks
There’s a nod to the date that night at Future Inn, too, when saxophonist Sophie Stockham brings her Sefrial quintet to the venue. A founder member of the mighty Dakhla Brass, Sophie started Sefrial to explore post-rock and art-jazz inspired by US modernists like John Zorn and Medeski, Martin & Wood. What started as a ‘covers’ band soon developed its own original music, however, with a strong collective voice reflecting the musical personalities involved. Hovering somewhere between contemporary jazz and the most artful of rock, it is always worth catching them.
Martin Speake Trio – full of ideas and surprises
Something similar could be said of the Martin Speake Trio (Fringe Jazz, Wednesday 7), the jousting duo of Martin’s exploratory alto sax and Mike Outram’s inventive guitar propelled by Jeff Williams’ restless drumming also adding up to an advanced form of jazz-rock. The trio is one of those outfits where three seriously good players have taken the time to embed in each others playing, allowing for a free flow of ideas and surprises. No doubt it would strike a chord (sic) with the technical wizardry of guitar-led Waldo’s Gift Trio if only they weren’t playing their own residency at the Gallimaufry that night.
is needed now More than ever
Psych-folk improvisers Woven Skull
Plenty of chances to walk on the wild side this week, of course, with The Cube offering the modestly titled Improv’s Greatest Hits night (Saturday 10) featuring math/noise collaboration People Like Milk Products and Saltings. The Cube is one of Bristol’s longest-serving homes to improvised and experimental music and this eclectic bill – first in a series – is a conscious celebration of the city’s current resurgence of free music. To prove the point the Stag and Hounds has a fine night of strangeness (Friday 9) when Irish trance-folkies Woven Skull share the bill with Manchester’s free-rock duo Yerba Mansa and the Old England’s Luxury Bucket night (Wednesday 8) features Cardboard Club’s Robert Ridley-Shackleton and Yeovil’s ’metal machine-elf music’ outfit Kek-W.
Len Aruliah
More conventional (though no less interesting) jazz can be had at The Bebop (Friday 9) when Canadian saxophonist and part-time Bristol resident Len Aruliah teams up with trombonist Magnus Dearness to front a quintet playing original modern jazz with African and Caribbean flavours. And it’s good to welcome another regular jazz session with the piano-led Alexander Veitch Quartet beginning a monthly residency at the Kingsdown Vaults (Wednesday 7).
Tom Arthurs Trio
But what of Mothering Sunday? Well it depends what your mother likes in the way of jazz, really. El Rincon is offering flamboyant violinist John Pearce with his combination of Gypsy swing and modern jazz, while St George’s has the Tom Arthurs Trio. BBC New Generation trumpeter Tom has become a leading figure in contemporary European music, both for his delicate and beautiful compositions and the assured improvisations of his collaborations. His latest CD One Year is inspired by the films of Tarkovsky, making for a haunting atmospheric collection with echoes of both Miles Davis and Kenny Wheeler.
Evan Parker checks his map
And finally: Tuesday March 7 is the day Cheltenham Jazz Festival opens the ticket office to the general public. This year’s line-up is as good as usual, with a combination of accessible entertainment and cutting edge explorations (and all stops in between). Notable mainstream names include Nigel Kennedy playing Jimi Hendrix, Courtney Pine (with Omar), Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Portico Quartet and Randy Crawford, while Evan Parker’s Trance Map, ENEMY, Kamasi Washington and Mercury-nominated Dinosaur sparkle among many more contemporary acts.
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