My Thoughts and Experiences of the 2017 (and last?)
Swanage Jazz Festival (Part One)
The Swanage Jazz Festival has always been enjoyable. If it had not been, I would not have gone every year for over 25 years! Over those years it has grown and changed, but its main principle has remained the same. Stroller tickets only, no ticketed seating, a broad range of styles, and the best musicians from the UK and abroad. It was never as ambitious as
Brecon in importing Americans, but then it didn’t go broke either!
So to come to the last one has been a sad experience. Such a wonderful event in such a wonderful setting should not be
allowed to die. It is still well attended, Friday nights last concert was full to capacity. No, not a few dozen people, HUNDREDS of jazz fans.
Let me start by making a glancing comment about all of this years programming. It was thinner than usual. Always more than one thing to see, but not the depth of venue and therefore choice we have recently been used to. Some of my breaks mentioned below were longer than maybe I needed because there wasn’t a suitable alternative this year. This year for
example, the Conservative Club, a comfortable and popular venue from which, many years ago, I did an outside broadcast for Cookham Summer FM, was only available for Saturday.
Let me now go through what I did see.
FRIDAY
I watched some of the Paul Towndrow set in Marquee 2 (the tent for Moderns!) but it didn’t do it for me. Relentless and tuneless were comments I heard from more than one knowledgeable source! All extremely capable players, but Duke Ellington had it right, “all you got to do is swing” and it didn’t. This was disappointing, as the players (Paul Towndrow alto sax, Steve Hamilton piano, Euan Burton bass and Alyn Cosker drums) all come from Scotland, and Paul himself plays with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (led by Tommy Smith), an orchestra for whom I have the highest admiration. Do check out their Duke Ellington CD.
However the following set was led by a tireless inspirer of young jazz musicians, tenor saxophonist Jean Toussaint. He came over many years ago with Art Blaky’s Jazz Messengers, and since the 1980’s has been based in the UK and is very much
involved in jazz musical education. He gave us a set by his “Young Lions”, most of them in their 20’s! They were Mark Kavuma trumpet, Ashley Henry piano and Daniel Casimir drums. Now they swung, and how, and if you closed your eyes you could have sworn Freddy Hubbard was in this band. Try and catch them soon, because a number of them are going for further studies abroad.
And so to bed, yet again in the excellent Robertsbrook Guest House, my Swanage home for a number of the recent past years.
SATURDAY
Breakfast, hearty food, and great company, as all of us at the Robertsbrook were there for the jazz, and Mike and Heather have been breakfast friends of long standing. Room wide conversations of “who” and “what” took place at every breakfast. However, we all proceeded down for the 10.30 am street parade, a simulation of New Orleans complete with coloured umbrellas!
Then I went on to the (for some) un-enterable Marquee 1, the trad tent! Why? Because it wasn’t “Trad” at all. Al Nicholls plays regularly every Thursday with the TJ Johnson Band, and that is a piano and vocal led group reminiscent of the music of Dr John. Great fun, and TJ has a good voice too. Al’s booting tenor sax cemented us firmly to it as a real jazz session. The rest of the ensemble are Jay Darwish bass, Tony Pitt guitar and ,OK, yes a banjo, (he did play for some pretty good trad bands of the 60’s after all). Wesley Gibbens was on drums. The band had been in Shrewsbury the night before, were playing London’s West End that night and were travelling to Cornwall for a Sunday gig!
For me after that I took a longish break in order to “prepare” for a climb of the hill to The Methodist Church. This required an afternoon siesta and sustenance. Sadly my evening meal was only memorable in so much as it was described as “ham egg and chips” and turned out to be 3 slices of sandwich ham, one small egg, chips and a bill for £10. Someone is taking the Michael!
The evening in the Methodist Church on paper looked to be most exciting venue to be at. Musically this was true, but the acoustics in the church are dreadful. It is very hard to hear individual notes. Simon Spillett with his trio (no piano) were first to battle with the sound, but his exciting, almost experimental, music was spoilt by the acoustic. With Simon was Simon Thorpe on bass and Spike Wells on drums.
Next, another of Hedsor Jazz’s favourite musicians. Nigel Price and his Organ Trio with Alex Garnett. Alex has not been to Hedsor, his Dad (Willie Garnett) has, and they did both come to Ken Rankine’s funeral on Portland. Ken and the Garnett family had been friends for nearly all of Alex’s life.
Yet again the acoustic almost defeated the music. I am so glad that we had Nigel with us so recently at Hedsor as his guitar sound was completely blotted just like ink used to be when dried with blotting paper! The shape was there, but blurred! The music, once one had penetrated the fog of room echo, was terrific.
With Nigel and Alex were the amazing Ross Stanley on organ (no NOT the church one!), and (according to the program) Matt Hone on drums. I must admit I was relying on the program to jog my memory for names as I didn’t take pen and paper notes, and in this instance it isn’t correct!
I eventually called it a day at the interval.
SUNDAY
You may have already guessed that Sunday morning I did not go to the gospel service led by Dave Brennan’s Band Jubilee Jazz Band in the Methodist Church! Instead went to see a very young looking Dorset Youth Jazz Orchestra. Considering the oldest could only have been 18, and the youngest (maybe the bass player) looked to be about 11. They were very good. The level of musical grades they seem to have acquired is astonishing, many having grade 6 and some up to 8 and above. The lady pianist was also a grade 8 on the drums, which she ably demonstrated when she swapped with the regular drummer to play the kit for “Sing, Sing, Sing” a la The 1938 Benny Goodman’s band.
Next into Marquee 2 for a very good session with two altos and a tenor! Alan Barnes, Greg Abate and Art Theman, with Craig Milverton (I may be wrong, I’ll check my photos, but he did play some of the sessions) on piano, Andy Cleyndert bass and Clark Tracey drums.
I think everyone had fun, it was a good old style bebop jam with swing and interesting solos.
I again took a lunch break after that. Most of the weekends sessions lasted about 90 minutes, sometimes 2 hours, so for those not used to the festival format we all need to take a break away from the music at some times in the day, otherwise you get a kind of musical indigestion coupled with an ache in the backside! One is there for enjoyment not self punishment after all!
A Young Bass Player!
First thing for me in the afternoon was a visit to Marquee 1 (yes, the Trad tent again) for the Old Hat Jazz Band. Young musicians playing (very well) old style music. A six piece band led by a lady percussionist (with a somewhat very Spartan drum kit) played music reminiscent of Jelly Roll Morton. Much of the material was written by themselves, and it was very encouraging to see that as they had a dep trombone player with them on the day, sheet music was given to him!! The program lists them as Michael Soper trumpet, Will Scott reeds, Graham Hughes trombone, Andrew Oliver piano, Louis Thomas bass and Lizy Excell on that drum kit and microphone! She formed the band in 2012 and they are all excellent musicians, very unlike me at their age as they are obviously not self taught!
Next into Marquee 2 for a very good session with two altos and a tenor! Alan Barnes, Greg Abate and Art Theman, with Craig Milverton (I may be wrong, I’ll check my photos, but he did play some of the sessions) on piano, Andy Cleyndert bass and Clark Tracey drums.
I think everyone had fun, it was a good old style bebop jam with swing and interesting solos.
I again took a lunch break after that. Most of the weekends sessions lasted about 90 minutes, sometimes 2 hours, so for those not used to the festival format we all need to take a break away from the music at some times in the day, otherwise you get a kind of musical indigestion coupled with an ache in the backside! One is there for enjoyment not self punishment after all!
