SUNDAY @ THE HERTS JAZZ FESTIVAL 2018
(7th October 2018)
(7th October 2018)
Letchworth was the first garden city in the world. There was a rumour that Lenin came to look at it. More surprising, and not many people know this, but Letchworth has a colony of black squirrels. They are rare but they really are there, skipping around the trees making people doubt their eyes. Jazz lovers, also quite rare, were making their way to the Broadway Cinema in the centre of Letchworth. Opened in 1936 the Art Deco Broadway now serves as an arts centre, cinema and theatre, to the Garden City. For the Hertfordshire Jazz Festival this was a new venue for their great music. The theatre where the concerts were held has liberal ranked seating, generous leg room and an excellent sound system.
So what about the music?
Portrait of the Modern Jazz Quartet
Emulating the Modern Jazz Quartet is a difficult task, all the players of the MJQ had distinctive personalities and the problem for the players now is how to express themselves and yet remain true to the originals. Gabriel Latchin coped most of the time by reining in his pianistic exuberance to try to match the subtle economy and exquisite note placement of John Lewis. Steve Brown grins with pleasure as he plays admittedly rather louder than the original Connie Kay. It was good to hear the triangle and bells! In the heyday of the MJQ the triangle and bells were the source of much mockery. Dario Di Lecce like Percy Heath held the MJQ together and Dario was magnificent in choosing his notes perfectly.
Nat Steele led the group and had the task of emulating Milt Jackson. Nat took the group through all the favourites. ‘Woody’n You’ ‘Softly As In A Morning Sunrise’, ‘ Django’, ‘La Ronde’ ‘Delaunay's Dilemma’ ‘The Golden Striker’ and, of course, ‘Bag’s Groove’ where Steele showed his fluid improvisation skills. The whole set was a reminder of how great John Lewis was as a composer and arranger; it was also tinged with sadness because there is nothing like the MJQ on the scene now. So, thanks to the four musicians for recreating the music and finding ways of using it to express their own music.
So what about the music?
Portrait of the Modern Jazz Quartet
Emulating the Modern Jazz Quartet is a difficult task, all the players of the MJQ had distinctive personalities and the problem for the players now is how to express themselves and yet remain true to the originals. Gabriel Latchin coped most of the time by reining in his pianistic exuberance to try to match the subtle economy and exquisite note placement of John Lewis. Steve Brown grins with pleasure as he plays admittedly rather louder than the original Connie Kay. It was good to hear the triangle and bells! In the heyday of the MJQ the triangle and bells were the source of much mockery. Dario Di Lecce like Percy Heath held the MJQ together and Dario was magnificent in choosing his notes perfectly.
Nat Steele led the group and had the task of emulating Milt Jackson. Nat took the group through all the favourites. ‘Woody’n You’ ‘Softly As In A Morning Sunrise’, ‘ Django’, ‘La Ronde’ ‘Delaunay's Dilemma’ ‘The Golden Striker’ and, of course, ‘Bag’s Groove’ where Steele showed his fluid improvisation skills. The whole set was a reminder of how great John Lewis was as a composer and arranger; it was also tinged with sadness because there is nothing like the MJQ on the scene now. So, thanks to the four musicians for recreating the music and finding ways of using it to express their own music.
Gareth Lockrane’s Grooveyard
The flute has never been really welcomed in jazz: Ellington in his later years used it with Norris Turney; Stan Kenton overcame his aversion and allowed Mary Fettig to play the flute. Only Rahsaan Roland Kirk found real acceptance and he did that by dirtying up the sound and roughhousing the flute. Gareth Lockrane does not, for most of his solos, go down that route. On this occasion he stood and competed with the wide generous tone of Alex Garnett; it was not a competition of equals.
Lockrane’s compositions, especially slow pieces like ‘Memories in Widescreen’ or ‘Forever Now’ and ‘Strut’ impressed. An enduring memory is Ross Stanley on organ preaching powerfully on the slow burning piece that finished the set creating a righteous mood.
The flute has never been really welcomed in jazz: Ellington in his later years used it with Norris Turney; Stan Kenton overcame his aversion and allowed Mary Fettig to play the flute. Only Rahsaan Roland Kirk found real acceptance and he did that by dirtying up the sound and roughhousing the flute. Gareth Lockrane does not, for most of his solos, go down that route. On this occasion he stood and competed with the wide generous tone of Alex Garnett; it was not a competition of equals.
Lockrane’s compositions, especially slow pieces like ‘Memories in Widescreen’ or ‘Forever Now’ and ‘Strut’ impressed. An enduring memory is Ross Stanley on organ preaching powerfully on the slow burning piece that finished the set creating a righteous mood.
Jean Toussaint’s Young Lions
‘The harder you clap; the louder we play’, Jean Toussaint told the audience. The Young Lions, roared in backed by the base of Daniel Casimir. They certainly played loud and hard. In spite of that the overall impression was sensitivity. They listened to each other. Mark Kavuma on trumpet was a revelation; he has a powerful silvery tone and he's not afraid to leave spaces in his solos. He thinks as he plays.
Toussaint is, of course, a powerful player and his assurance spreads to the group giving them the confidence to vary the rhythms as they listen to each other. Highlights of the set were the Sam Rivers’ piece ‘Beatrice’ and the Milton Nascimento ‘Vera Cruz’. ‘’Round Midnight’, as always, is a challenge to create something new and both Mark Kavuma and Toussaint produced solos that were searing, soulful and searching. It is good to know that young men of this quality are on the way up.
‘The harder you clap; the louder we play’, Jean Toussaint told the audience. The Young Lions, roared in backed by the base of Daniel Casimir. They certainly played loud and hard. In spite of that the overall impression was sensitivity. They listened to each other. Mark Kavuma on trumpet was a revelation; he has a powerful silvery tone and he's not afraid to leave spaces in his solos. He thinks as he plays.
Toussaint is, of course, a powerful player and his assurance spreads to the group giving them the confidence to vary the rhythms as they listen to each other. Highlights of the set were the Sam Rivers’ piece ‘Beatrice’ and the Milton Nascimento ‘Vera Cruz’. ‘’Round Midnight’, as always, is a challenge to create something new and both Mark Kavuma and Toussaint produced solos that were searing, soulful and searching. It is good to know that young men of this quality are on the way up.
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames
8.00pm, the place was packed. Georgie Fame appeared with a cane. ‘Crystals in the ears’, he assured us; they affected his balance, His voice was in balance, his phrasing has hardly changed; the mid-Atlantic accent tinged with Lancashire. The hip attitude that seemed so beguiling in the 60s is still intact. It was there to entertain with stories, reminiscences, songs. He sprinkles his stories and his lyrics with hip references that only aficionados can appreciate, jazz royalty names drip from him: John Hendricks, Lee Morgan, Van Morrison, Gene Ammons, Blakey, Merritt, Timmons, Coltrane, Clifford Jordan, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, the Flamingo!
Fame’s two sons were in the supporting band: James Powell on drums and brother Tristan on guitar. It was an evening of sons: Clark Tracey on introductions and Alec Dankworth on bass. Alan Skidmore and Guy Barker gave the Blue Flames some heat and power. Skidmore's assertive tenor and Guy Barker’s piercing, well-rounded tone added to the music but it was Fame who drove the evening as he sat majestically at the organ reeling off the Chicago blues and songs such as 'Moondance', 'Moaning', 'Yeh Yeh!' and its B side 'Preach & Teach' written by pianist Johnny Burch . There was even a Willie Nelson song and a Carole King ‘The Point of no Return’. It all gave Skidmore and Barker plenty of solo space.
What we saw was a man rapidly heading into the national treasure bracket. It was a solid end to the three days that had also included a JATP tribute, Art Themen, Clare Martin, the Alan Barnes Octet and the Joey DeFrancesco Quartet a film about Bobby Wellins and Buster Keaton’s ‘Sherlock Jr’.
Clark Tracey with his downbeat presentation style gave the impression that the festival would be in a different venue next year. Wherever it is, it will continue to present a selection of music reflecting the place of jazz in the present day. I will be surprised if it has black squirrels.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
8.00pm, the place was packed. Georgie Fame appeared with a cane. ‘Crystals in the ears’, he assured us; they affected his balance, His voice was in balance, his phrasing has hardly changed; the mid-Atlantic accent tinged with Lancashire. The hip attitude that seemed so beguiling in the 60s is still intact. It was there to entertain with stories, reminiscences, songs. He sprinkles his stories and his lyrics with hip references that only aficionados can appreciate, jazz royalty names drip from him: John Hendricks, Lee Morgan, Van Morrison, Gene Ammons, Blakey, Merritt, Timmons, Coltrane, Clifford Jordan, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, the Flamingo!
Fame’s two sons were in the supporting band: James Powell on drums and brother Tristan on guitar. It was an evening of sons: Clark Tracey on introductions and Alec Dankworth on bass. Alan Skidmore and Guy Barker gave the Blue Flames some heat and power. Skidmore's assertive tenor and Guy Barker’s piercing, well-rounded tone added to the music but it was Fame who drove the evening as he sat majestically at the organ reeling off the Chicago blues and songs such as 'Moondance', 'Moaning', 'Yeh Yeh!' and its B side 'Preach & Teach' written by pianist Johnny Burch . There was even a Willie Nelson song and a Carole King ‘The Point of no Return’. It all gave Skidmore and Barker plenty of solo space.
What we saw was a man rapidly heading into the national treasure bracket. It was a solid end to the three days that had also included a JATP tribute, Art Themen, Clare Martin, the Alan Barnes Octet and the Joey DeFrancesco Quartet a film about Bobby Wellins and Buster Keaton’s ‘Sherlock Jr’.
Clark Tracey with his downbeat presentation style gave the impression that the festival would be in a different venue next year. Wherever it is, it will continue to present a selection of music reflecting the place of jazz in the present day. I will be surprised if it has black squirrels.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
