HERTS JAZZ FESTIVAL 2014
September2014
- Hawthorne Theatre, Welwyn Garden City
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Photographs by Melody Mclaren
There are many reasons to go to the Herts Jazz Festival. It’s not in a field. You don't have to wear wellingtons. It doesn't matter if it rains. Everything is under one roof. There is a responsive atmosphere and the main auditorium, a theatre, has a good rake and great sound. There’s a car park next door and the railway station with frequent trains to King’s Cross and all points north is just a short walk. The mixture of free foyer gigs and paid for sessions works well. Above all, and best of all, the whole atmosphere is relaxed, essential for the enjoyment of great jazz.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Photographs by Melody Mclaren
There are many reasons to go to the Herts Jazz Festival. It’s not in a field. You don't have to wear wellingtons. It doesn't matter if it rains. Everything is under one roof. There is a responsive atmosphere and the main auditorium, a theatre, has a good rake and great sound. There’s a car park next door and the railway station with frequent trains to King’s Cross and all points north is just a short walk. The mixture of free foyer gigs and paid for sessions works well. Above all, and best of all, the whole atmosphere is relaxed, essential for the enjoyment of great jazz.
The Big Chris Barber Band promised much and delivered
most of it. There was a nod to the past and a rambling introduction to Ken
Colyer’s ‘Going Home’ and thankfully nothing about the awful schisms that tore
jazz apart for a time in the fifties.
‘Bourbon Street Parade’ was played with a precision that impressed. The bulk of the set was Ellingtonian. ‘Jungle Nights in Harlem’, ‘C Jam Blues’, ‘Rockin’
In Rhythm’. You soon realised that what Barber has with him now is a repertory
band that can stand comparison with
anything that Mr Marsalis has put
together. Most repertory bands
are good at playing the arrangements but rarely shine when it comes to the
solos. The Barber band has trombonist
and arranger Bob Hunt who is obviously drenched in Ellingtonia. Bob evoked real memories of Tricky Sam Nanton
and Quentin Jackson with the lost art of pungent plunger mute expressive
playing. His work was one of the most
memorable moments of the weekend.7At one point I thought that Chris was going to use his
time to take us though a tour of the jazz past, especially when the band played
‘All Blues’ by Miles Davis. If you have
ever heard the rare and magnificent album ‘Battersea Rain Dance’ with pieces by
Zawinul, Mingus and John Handy you know that Barber could do it. But he didn’t. Instead we got his hit, ‘Petite
Fleur’. Pity, he was facing a knowledgeable
audience that would have appreciated a wide ranging set. Clark Tracey with his closing announcement
almost suggested an encore but he quickly sensed that was not going to happen
and the band trooped off into the night.
Clark Tracey announced that tenor saxophonist Art
Themen was going to be the next patron
of Herts Jazz. Who better? Themen appreciates the honour. Following former patron Stan Tracey will be a
challenge but Themen’s set with Gareth Williams at the piano, Andy Cleyndert on
bass and Bryan Spring on drums showed that he will relish it. Art has left his medical work behind him and
is now concentrating on his playing. In
many ways, Art is an acquired taste. His
sound is not sweet even when he plays, as he did here, a piece associated with
Bill Evans ‘How My Heart Sings’. He is
not ingratiating, not afraid to be ugly; there are many nuances in his sound,
no uniformity of tone. His association
with Stan Tracey was remembered on the blues ‘Cuddly’ from The Bracknell Connection.
The rest of the quartet had plenty of space to explore. Cleyndert introduced as ‘love god and sex
symbol,’ was not well served with the sound mix most of the time but his solos
rang loud and clear.
The surprise of the weekend to me was Nigel Price:
brilliant guitarist and developing raconteur. There are many jazz musicians who
seem to think that it is uncool to say too much to an audience, probably
imagining that if they behave like Miles Davis they will develop the same kind
of charisma. Some hopes! They don’t;
they just leave people feeling short changed.
Nigel didn’t do that. He talked
about Joe Pass (more than once) Jeffrey Archer, 9/11 and Anthony Newley in the
course of presenting a superb set.
Price, quite simply, is astonishing, his technical ability and his easy relaxed rapport with the audience seemed effortless. His lucid solo set was an event that will remain in the mind. ‘I don't know why I am nervous; I would be doing this sitting round the house if I wasn't here,’ he joked. You realise the hours and hours he has spent sitting around the house. Yes, he has listened to Joe Pass and he is prone to flourish Art Tatum/Joe Pass embellishments and why not if you can do it? There is no place to hide on a solo set. The baroque ‘Who Can I Turn To?’ became a platform for intricate variations. He even got away with playing his heart on sleeve version of ‘Danny Boy’.
Price, quite simply, is astonishing, his technical ability and his easy relaxed rapport with the audience seemed effortless. His lucid solo set was an event that will remain in the mind. ‘I don't know why I am nervous; I would be doing this sitting round the house if I wasn't here,’ he joked. You realise the hours and hours he has spent sitting around the house. Yes, he has listened to Joe Pass and he is prone to flourish Art Tatum/Joe Pass embellishments and why not if you can do it? There is no place to hide on a solo set. The baroque ‘Who Can I Turn To?’ became a platform for intricate variations. He even got away with playing his heart on sleeve version of ‘Danny Boy’.
Clark Tracey, who, according to Art
Themen, has developed into one of the world's greatest drummers has started
behaving like one of the world's greatest drummers, Art Blakey, by bringing on
young talent. Chris Maddock (saxophones), Henry Armburg Jennings
(trumpet), Harry Bolt (piano) and Daniel Casimir (bass) were the Tracey Jazz
Messengers who powered through pieces by Wynton Marsalis, Tony Williams and
Stan Tracey. They even dressed conservatively like the Messengers with suits
and formal demeanours. Impossible not be
impressed by the vivacity and the professionalism. The music frequently changed tempo mid piece
and was always a listening band.
At the end of the set, as we left the auditorium, someone in front of me said, ‘The future of jazz is in safe hands.’ Listening to Clark’s men you can see what was meant. It is good to see young talent, but then you turn to look at the audience and you realise that the future might not be in safe hands. There is a yawning gap between those who play and those who listen. What does it feel like if you are in your twenties and you look out at the audience you're playing for who are mostly are in their sixties and seventies. Do you long to play for your contemporaries, long for their applause?
The Montreux Jazz Festival attracted younger audiences by dropping jazz. There must be a better way. Clark Tracey will not do that.
At the end of the set, as we left the auditorium, someone in front of me said, ‘The future of jazz is in safe hands.’ Listening to Clark’s men you can see what was meant. It is good to see young talent, but then you turn to look at the audience and you realise that the future might not be in safe hands. There is a yawning gap between those who play and those who listen. What does it feel like if you are in your twenties and you look out at the audience you're playing for who are mostly are in their sixties and seventies. Do you long to play for your contemporaries, long for their applause?
The Montreux Jazz Festival attracted younger audiences by dropping jazz. There must be a better way. Clark Tracey will not do that.
