In praise of the jam session: reflections on Cheltenham 2012.

Midnight, Sunday in the bar of the Hotel du Vin, Cheltenham during the annual jazz festival.  A hush falls over the packed room.  At the microphone, LA vocal sensation Gregory Porter, already the star of two sell-out shows during the weekend.  On drums, veteran New Yorker Jeff Williams.  Next to him, Birmingham Conservatoire students Matt Findlay on bass and Chris Maddock, alto saxophone.  Pianist Robbie Moore ripples an opening arpeggio and from nowhere emerges a spine-tingling rendition of the classic ballad Skylark.  The audience listens in rapt attention and finally, as the last notes die away, roars approval.  Yet these musicians have never even met before, let alone rehearsed. 

Welcome to the jam session.  It?s a jazz tradition, long on legend but not so often observed these days. Much modern jazz consists of original and complex material, and it?s much less common to see top performers include ?standard? tunes from the mid 20th century in their acts these days.  However, these tunes are the backbone of the music ? they can be reinterpreted again and again, and everyone learns them.  Jazz is an improvising art, and the key defining skill of the musician is to work with others to create on the spot.  It?s about using the common vocabulary to perform creatively and spontaneously, and the jam session ? playing with strangers and friends alike ? is one zenith of this form. 

In what other art form can world stars be found performing with students, Americans with Europeans, old with young? in public and for free?  This weekend the late-night crowd saw vocalist James Torm? (son of Mel) tearing into It Don?t Mean A Thing, sax giant Chris Potter rushing to join Marcus Miller?s band in a John Coltrane-style workout while their leader watched avuncularly from behind the piano, Bill Frisell?s audacious drummer Rudy Royston ? and Liam from school at Dumfries Academy, whose rasping trombone attracted admiring comments from some of Britain?s top brass.  In Cheltenham at least, the jam session is alive, well and connecting new generations with their heroes. 

Mark McKergow hosts the Cheltenham Jazz Festival jam sessions at the Hotel du Vin

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