BRECON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2024, MAIN WEEKEND

FRIDAY 9th AUGUST 2024

Following a highly successful ‘Family & Jazz & Dance Day’ in the garden of the Castle Hotel  the previous Sunday (August 4th) the main Festival weekend began on Friday 9th with a full day of jazz at various venues around the town. Ticketed events took place at The Muse and in the Ballroom at the Castle Hotel with a series of free performances being presented at St. Mary’s Church during the afternoon.

There was also a free performance by a quartet led by vocalist Tara Lowe in the bar of the Wellington Hotel during the afternoon but as this ran concurrently with the events at the Church I didn’t get to see any of that. This was a shame as Lowe’s group included three prominent Cardiff based musicians in James Chadwick (guitar), Bill Fletcher (double bass) and Ian Williams (drums). I consoled myself with the fact that I had previously enjoyed a duo performance by Lowe and Chadwick at the 2023 Festival, ironically at St. Mary’s Church! 

ZACH BRESKAL TRIO with STEVEN KIRBY, THE MUSE

Zach Breskal – drums, Ursula Harrison – double bass, John Close, Steven Kirby - guitars

2024’s Main Weekend got off to an excellent start with a performance that featured a young trio led by drummer Zach Breskal and their special guitarist Steven Kirby (pictured), a Professor as the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ma, USA. In addition to being an acclaimed educator Kirby has also released three albums as a leader, “Point of Balance” (1998), “North Light” (2003) and “Illuminations” (2016). “North Light” features contributions from such jazz luminaries as Chris Potter (saxes), Bruce Barth (piano) and Scott Colley (bass). Kirby has also worked with the renowned saxophonist Joe Lovano.

Zach Breskal is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) on Cardiff and appeared at the 2017 Brecon Jazz Festival as part of two separate groups, one led by vocalist Annette Gregory, the other co-led by alto saxophonist Glen Manby and Ashley John Long, the latter best known as a bassist, but playing vibraphone on that occasion.

Breskal was to return to Brecon in 2018 as part of Brecon Jazz Club’s ‘New Generation Jazz - Showcase Wales’ event, playing drums with saxophonist / composer Josh Heaton’s Mouth of Words jazz / poetry group and with saxophonist Norman Willmore’s quintet.

All of these previous appearances have taken place at The Muse and all are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann. Today Breskal made a successful return to the venue leading this unusually configured two guitar quartet. Kirby was on stage throughout a set that included a couple of his original compositions alongside a well chosen selection of standards.

The twin guitars of Close and Kirby introduced the first number, the familiar jazz standard “All The Things You Are”. The interplay between Kirby and the younger Close was a constant source of delight and fascination throughout the performance with Close deploying a plectrum throughout while Kirby moved between using a plectrum and finger picking techniques. Kirby took the first orthodox solo of the performance, followed by Close as the momentum of the music began to build, with leader Breskal switching from brushes to sticks. The performance also included a short but melodic bass solo from Harrison and a series of brushed drum breaks from Breskal. A satisfying start.

“Falling Grace”, a composition by the electric bass specialist Steve Swallow, has become something of a modern jazz standard. Given that Swallow used to work with a quintet led by vibraphonist Gary Burton that included the twin guitars of Pat Metheny and Mick Goodrick this tune seemed to represent a particularly apposite choice. Again the performance was notable for the six string interplay of Close and Kirby, with both again delivering fluent solos, Close going first this time. On a tune written by a bassist it was also appropriate that Harrison should also be featured, this time with a lengthier and more expansive solo.

“On The Trail” was ushered in by the gentle guitar interplay of Close and Kirby, sensitively supported by double bass and brushed drums. As the music gathered momentum during the course of individual solos from Close and Kirby Breskal transitioned to sticks, the leader rounding off the piece with an impressive drum feature.

An unusual arrangement of the standard “Alone Together” saw the quartet playing the tune in 7/4. The was ushered in by Breskal at the drums, picking up where he had left off. The addition of double bass and guitars led to solos from Kirby and Close and a further drum feature from leader Breskal.

Another innovative arrangement saw the jazz standard “I’ll Remember April” being played at an unusually fast pace. Again this was introduced by Breskal at the drums, joined first by Harrison and then by the two guitarists. Close took the first solo, followed by Kirby, the pair supported by Harrison’s propulsive bass lines and Breskal’s busy drumming.

Breskal handled the bulk of the announcements but left it to Kirby to introduce his own compositions. The first of these was “Things As They Are”, a tune from the “North Light” album based around the concept of “melodic pedal-point”. This proved to be a very attractive composition, a beautiful ballad that was very well received by an appreciative and supportive audience at The Muse. With Breskal deploying brushes the performance included delightfully melodic solos from Harrison on double bass and the composer on guitar.

The standard “On A Misty Night” represented a showcase for the talents of both guitarists, with Close, another RWCMD alumnus, acquitting himself well alongside the more experienced Kirby.

The two guitars aligned with Harrison’s bass to introduce an arrangement of the Chick Corea composition “Windows”, another tune that like the earlier “Falling Grace” has become something of a contemporary standard. The addition of Breskal’s brushed drums the provided the platform for solos from Kirby and Close.

An unaccompanied bass intro from the impressive Harrison heralded the quartet’s uplifting interpretation of the Cedar Walton tune “Bolivia”.  This saw Kirby and Close exchanging phrases before embarking on their individual solos. The two guitars then combined to ‘comp’ behind Breskal’s drum feature as Harrison temporarily dropped out.

The final tune of an excellent set was Kirby’s own “Webop”, an updating of the bebop tradition for contemporary jazz musicians and jazz audiences. Introduced by Breskal at the drums this was a lively piece that was fuelled by the powerful rhythms generated by Breskal and Harrison and it was the only piece that saw the implementation of guitar effects as Kirby adopted a Metheny-esque synclavier guitar sound during the course of his solo. Hitherto both guitarists had favoured a clean, orthodox jazz guitar sound, which Close continued to deploy during the course of his own solo. The contrast between the approaches of the two guitarists on this final number was particularly striking and effective and this second original was also highly popular with the audience.

This was a performance that had been both intriguing and enjoyable and which got the Main Weekend of the 2024 Brecon Jazz Festival off to a great start. My thanks to Steven Kirby for speaking with me after the show as I treated myself to a copy of the “North Light” album, a recording that features his guitar playing in a range of jazz contexts and in a variety of different line ups. As alluded to previously it includes “Things As They Are”, one of the two Kirby originals played today. More than twenty years on the album still sounds fresh and exciting and I am enjoying listening to it as I write.

KAT REES QUINTET, ST. MARY’S CHURCH

Kat Rees – vocals, Evan Williams – piano, Aaron Shotton – guitar, Benedict Stevens – double bass, Patrick Barrett-Donlon – drums

Following the conclusion of the gig at The Muse I made my way to St. Mary’s Church to catch something of the free musical events on offer during the course of the afternoon. I caught the tail end of the annual performance by the community music group the Uskulele Jazz Orchestra, led by jazz bassist and multi-instrumentalist Ian Cooper, and also saw the official opening of the Festival by the Mayor of Brecon.

The first full performance that I saw was by vocalist and lyricist Kat Rees, who was leading a quintet featuring pianist Evan Williams, guitarist Aaron Shotton, bassist Benedict Stevens and drummer Partick Barrett-Donlon, the latte best known for his membership of pianist Eddie Gripper’s trio, a group that also features Ursula Harrison.

Rees specialises in writing Welsh language lyrics and adding them to jazz standards and popular songs. She recently performed a programme of this material with a big band at the recent Welsh National Eisteddfod which was held in Pontypridd.

One of the pieces that was performed there was the Van Morrison song “Moondance” which appeared again today in a quintet format with Rees singing the Welsh language lyric as well as adding a scat vocal episode. The featured instrumental solo was by guitarist Aaron Shotton.

Pianist Evan Williams arranged the quintet’s interpretation of the much celebrated Kenny Wheeler tune “Everybody’s Song But My Own” and introduced the piece solo at his Roland VR-730 electric keyboard. Largely performed as voice / electric piano duet this saw Rees singing an English language lyric, presumably penned by Norma Winstone.

The Rees original “Fe” was a piece originally written for big band and was performed at the recent Eisteddfod. Introduced by Shotton on guitar the song featured a Welsh language lyric and included a keyboard solo from Williams.

The quintet’s performance of the standard “Everything Happens to Me” was inspired by the version recorded by vocalist Samara Joy, an inspirational figure for Rees. Introduced by voice and piano this piece included the original English language lyric, plus instrumental solos from Shotton and Williams.

A second Williams original, “Cafe Bach”, was written for the Siglo Section Big Band and honoured a cafe in Tiger Bay, Cardiff that had been founded by Jamaican immigrants who had come to the UK on the Windrush. Featuring an English language lyric this was a social history in song that featured Shotton as the main instrumental soloist.

A relatively short set concluded with the quintet’s version of the Welsh traditional song “Suo Gan”, introduced by Stevens on double bass. A bass and voice duet followed before the rest of the band came on board, with Williams, Shotton and Stevens subsequently featuring as instrumental soloists.

I enjoyed this brief performance from the talented Rees, who sang convincingly but also impressed further with her writing skills, bringing a uniquely Welsh perspective to her music. My thanks to her for speaking with me afterwards and clarifying a couple of queries with regard to the set list. Expect to hear a lot more from Kat Rees.

N’FAMADY KOUYATE, ST. MARY’S CHURCH

N’famady Kouyate – balafon, vocals, laptop

Based in Cardiff N’famady Kouyate originates from Guinea and is a virtuoso player of the traditional West African instrument the balafon, in addition to being an accomplished vocalist.

His band includes jazz drummer Ryan Thrupp, and it was Thrupp who first alerted me to Kouyate’s talents, telling me to tune in to catch a short set from the Kouyate band featuring Thrupp at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival. The band’s special performance at the BBC’s acoustic stage was a real Glasto highlight and Kouyate is an artist that I’ve wanted to see performing live ever since. Today I finally got my wish.

Today’s show was a solo performance (no band) and started late as Kouyate had been delayed in traffic, a knock on effect from the Billy Joel stadium concert being held in Cardiff later in the evening. He had been due to go on before the Kat Rees Quintet but the ever adaptable Festival organisers quickly reversed the running order.

The wait proved to be well worth it as Kouyate delivered a short but exciting set featuring six songs plus an encore and which saw him deploying balafon, voice and laptop.

He began with a solo balafon piece before using the laptop to create live looping effects in the next number and then singing over the resultant multi-tracked rhythms. In Kouyate’s band gigs one of the most fascinating aspects is the interlocking, overlapping rhythmic interplay of balafon, guitar and drum kit. Today the same effect was achieved electronically via the use of live looping and pre-recorded beats.

Kouyate’s lyrics celebrate his Mandinka heritage and featured in his next piece as he sang above the polyrhythms generated by the balafon and its associated electronics.

We also learnt that versions of the balafon can be found throughout West Africa, not just in Guinea but also in Gambia, Burkina Faso and Mali. There are also different types of balafon in different keys and Kouyate switched from major to minor balafon for his next piece, which also involved an element of audience participation with Kouyate encouraging the crowd to sing and clap along with the various rhythms. Kouyate is an exuberant performer and a real showman. He soon had the audience eating out of his hand.

Following a number of pieces that had featured the sounds of the balafon with electronic enhancement it was refreshing that the penultimate number should feature the unadorned sounds of balafon and voice only.

This proved to a palette cleanser behind a rousing set closer, the title translating as “Happiness”, that saw Kouyate throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at an audience that was clearly enraptured by the man and his music. Voice, balafon and electronics, it was all here in a vibrant, celebratory rhythmic mash up that actually had people up on their feet and dancing in church and which resulted in a genuine standing ovation. As this was the last performance of the day at St. Mary’s Kouyate was even permitted to perform an encore, giving his now adoring public more of the same.

There had also been a guitar on stage but Kouyate didn’t get around to playing that, it would have been interesting to see how that fitted in, but maybe he just ran out of time. It’s also possible that it was used in the creation of some of the pre-programmed elements, I wasn’t paying too much attention when he was setting up.

In any case local audiences will be able to see more of Kouyate when he returns to Brecon on November 30th 2024 with his full band to appear at The Muse, the final date of a UK wide tour.

URSULA HARRISON QUARTET, THE MUSE

Ursula Harrison – double bass, Paula Gardiner – guitar, Coren Sithers – tenor sax, Liz Exell – drums

The fact that I couldn’t tear myself away from Kouyate’s performance meant that I missed a fair chunk of this ticketed event at The Muse.

I’ve seen bassist Ursula Harrison as a sidewoman on numerous occasions, primarily with the Eddie Gripper Trio, and her bass playing just gets better and better.

Today’s event featured her as a leader and composer as she performed with a quartet featuring her mother, Paula Gardiner on acoustic (classical) guitar, Coren Sithers on tenor sax and Liz Exell at the drums.

I only caught the last three numbers, beginning with “Cathedral Road”, named for a well known Cardiff thoroughfare near to the RWCMD.

Harrison describes her compositions as being “centred around collective improvisation and colourful harmonies” and on the evidence of a composition with a German title translating as “The Green Way” that’s a pretty accurate summation. Her compositional sketches act as vehicles for improvisation as the polyrhyhmic flow of the leader’s bass and Exell’s drums provides the jumping off point for collective improvisation and individual soloing, with Sithers and Harrison the featured instrumentalists here.

As a teenager Coren Sithers appeared at numerous editions of the Wall2Wall Jazz Festival hosted by Black Mountain Jazz in nearby Abergavenny. A versatile musician who plays piano as well as tenor and alto saxophones Sithers has matured into an impressive sax soloist and acquitted himself well in this adventurous musical context. Meanwhile the sound of Gardiner’s classical guitar brought a distinctive instrumental voice to this free-wheeling musical environment.

Appropriately the set ended with the loosely structured “If This Is The End”, featuring Sithers’ fragile tenor sax melodies and with Exell cast in the role of colourist. Effectively the Festival’s ‘House Rhythm Section’ Harrison and Exell play brilliantly together and clearly enjoy doing so. They were to re-unite the following evening alongside pianist and leader Geoff Eales for another memorable performance, but more on that later.

I was sorry that I was only able to catch a small part of this concert, although I was able to hear a lot more from all the individuals concerned over the course of the weekend. Nevertheless this was a unique collaboration and the first time that I’ve seen Harrison in a leader / composer role. Let’s hope that this wasn’t just a one off and that this quartet will be able to perform live again and perhaps make a recording at some point.

DIONNE BENNETT QUINTET, CASTLE HOTEL BALLROOM

Dionne Bennett – vocals, Coren Sithers – tenor sax, John-Paul Gard – keyboards, Aidan Thorne – double bass, Liz Exell – drums

The first of two evening concerts at the Castle Hotel featured this quintet led by the Cardiff based vocalist Dionne Bennett.

Originally billed as the Dionne Bennett / Greg Sterland Quintet this gig fell victim to the second transport related incident of the day as Bristol based saxophonist Sterland’s vehicle broke down en route and had to be rescued by one of the AA, RAC or Green Flag. I hope he got back home safely.

Fresh from playing alongside drummer Liz Exell at the Ursula Harrison gig at The Muse saxophonist Coren Sithers stepped manfully into the breach and did an excellent job in the circumstances.

I don’t know how much preparatory work Bennett and Sterland had put in beforehand but the gig now had much more of an informal ‘jam session’ type feel, with the band deciding the running order ‘on the hoof’ and with Gard and Thorne both helping to bring some sort of order to the proceedings.

Bennett first came to my attention as the vocalist and lyricist of Slowly Rolling Camera, pianist Dave Stapleton’s highly successful jazz / soul / trip hop outfit. She appeared on the band’s first two albums “Slowly Rolling Camera” (2014) and “All Things” (2016) before leaving the group, at which point SRC became an all instrumental unit once more. I recall seeing Bennett fronting Slowly Rolling Camera at a performance at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton back in 2014 and again at a London Jazz Festival event in 2016. Both of those performances are reviewed elsewhere on this site.

The latter, at the Rich Mix venue in Bethnal Green, was a particularly exciting performance, the club like atmosphere at a standing venue a perfect setting for the band’s mix of jazz, soul and trip hop. There was a real ‘rock gig’ atmosphere about it with the tall, charismatic Bennett proving to be an excellent focal point.

More recently Bennett appeared at the 2021 Brecon Jazz Festival as part of 6.0, an all female sextet led by bassist / guitarist Paul Gardiner. She then returned in 2022 for the final gig of the Festival at The Muse with her regular quintet and with Gardiner featuring as a guest.
2023 again saw Bennett closing the Festival again at the late night ‘party slot’ at The Muse and giving another dynamic performance as she fronted a quartet featuring Gard, Exell and saxophonist Dominic Norcross.

Tonight’s performance commenced with a loosely structured intro based around Gard’s keyboards, featuring an acoustic piano sound, and Thorne’s bass. Tenor sax and drums were added as the music evolved into Gershwin’s “Summertime”, heralding Bennett’s grand entrance. Her powerful blues and gospel flavoured singing included a scat vocal episode, which featured alongside instrumental solos from Gard on piano and Sithers on tenor sax.
Gard’s piano introduced “Love Me or Leave Me”, a song widely associated with Nina Simone. Featuring Bennett’s adventurous but soulful vocals this piece again featured instrumental solos from Gard on piano and Sithers on tenor.

Bennett left the stage as the instrumentalists performed the ballad “It Could Happen To You” with Exell transitioning from brushes to sticks as the momentum of the music required, with Sithers, Gard and Thorne all featuring as soloists.

Bennett returned for a distinctive soul / jazz arrangement of Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale”. Her singing combines a gospel honed soulfulness with the adventurousness of a jazz singer, her inventive and unpredictable vocal lines certainly helping to keep the instrumentalists on their toes, with Sithers the featured soloist here.

The blues and gospel influences were even more apparent as Bennett gave another powerful vocal performance on “Ain’t No Sunshine”, which saw Gard mixing piano and organ sounds as he shared the solos with Sithers.

“Oleo” represented another opportunity for the instrumentalists to demonstrate their chops as a tenor sax / double bass intro paved the way for expansive solos from Sithers on tenor and Gard on piano, the latter delivering his best solo of night. Bass and drums were also featured in an extended dialogue towards the latter stages of the tune.

Bennett returned as the performance began to build towards ‘the big finish’. Those blues, soul and gospel influences were apparent on the next song, one of the few not to be either announced or so well known that it didn’t need introducing.

The home stretch featured three instantly recognisable songs,  beginning with a “super quick” arrangement of the Burt Bacharach /  Hal David classic “Walk on By”.

This was followed by a suitably steamy version of the Peggy Lee hit “Fever” in an unusual arrangement featuring just voice, tenor sax, bass and drums as Gard sat out.

The pianist then returned for “Amazing Grace”, something of a set piece for Bennett and a song that she has previously performed at The Muse. Featuring Bennett’s powerful vocals above a rolling gospel groove, and with Sithers impressing as a tenor sax soloist this represented an arresting and dramatic way to end this mainly high energy set.

Bennett has formed close links with Brecon Jazz and is a powerful and charismatic singer who is popular with audiences, but also prepared to stretch herself and her musicians. Nevertheless there were some observers who thought that her performance was a bit too theatrical and ‘over the top’.

That’s not something I’d necessarily agree with, although I could see where they were coming from. This was probably the least satisfying of Bennett’s three Brecon Jazz Festival performances, partly because of Sterland’s absence I’m sure. In addition the scheduling of this early evening performance in a more formal setting than the late night slot at The Muse didn’t necessarily play to Bennett’s strengths. Nevertheless there was still much to enjoy here and in the light of Sterland’s unfortunate mishap Bennett and her band still did a pretty good job and were well received by the majority of the audience. She’s a remarkable singer and a force of nature, that’s for sure.

THE MINGUS PROJECT, CASTLE HOTEL BALLROOM

Cameron Saint – double bass, Toby Kearns – trumpet, Blyth Bennett – alto sax, Sofia Bilovil – tenor sax, Tiggy Blackwell – trombone, Will Pearce – piano, Phil Thompson – drums, Sylvie Noble – vocals

Jam packed with RWCMD alumni The Mingus Project is an impressively tight ensemble paying homage to the music of the late, great bassist and composer Charles Mingus (1922-79).

Appropriately the group is led by bassist and composer Cameron Saint and its repertoire includes pieces from all phases of Mingus’ career, including his original compositions, plus some of the standards that he also played.

Tonight’s performance focussed exclusively on Mingus’ original material and commenced with “So Long Eric”, his tribute to multi reeds player Eric Dolphy (1928-64), who had been a member of Mingus’ groups in the early 1960s. I contrived to miss part of this having been sidelined in the hotel bar watching the Olympics on TV!

However I was fully appreciative of the core septet’s marvellous version of one of Mingus’ most famous compositions, the brilliant “Fables of Faubus”, with alto saxophonist Bennett, trumpeter Kearns and bassist / leader Saint all delivering excellent solos.

Vocalist Sylvie Noble, daughter of pianist Liam, joined the group for a beautiful rendition of “Portraits”. Introduced by Pearce at the piano the first part of the tune was a piano and vocal duet with Pearce and Noble eventually joined by double bass and brushed drums. Noble’s contribution included both the singing of the lyrics and a wordless vocal passage that presaged instrumental solos from Bilovil on tenor and Pearce on piano. It was all very different to Noble’s 2023 BJF appearance with the Tower of Power inspired funk outfit Funkyard at the Family Jazz & Dance Day at Brecon Showground.

The all instrumental “Jellyroll” featured a variety of trumpet sounds with Kearns variously playing with a Harmon note and with an open bell. He was featured in a series of lively exchanges with trombonist Blackwell, with both instrumentalists also delivering individual solos. Further features were to follow from Pearce on piano and Saint on bass, with Thompson providing suitable drum commentary.

An extended solo double bass intro ushered in “Reincarnation Of A Love Bird” and Saint’s bass continued to be at the heart of the music throughout the entire performance. Others to feature here were Kearns on trumpet and Bilovil on tenor sax.

Noble returned to deliver a haunting performance of “Eclipse”, her voice augmented by the sounds of bowed bass and Harmon muted trumpet. At times reminiscent of a classical nocturne the piece also included a passage of unaccompanied piano, this contrasting with a freely structured passage featuring a dialogue between Blackwell’s trombone and the leader’s bass, both bowed and plucked.

The rousing “Monk, Funk or Vice Versa” featured a suitable Monk quote during Pearce’s piano solo and also incorporated features for Kearns on trumpet, Saint on bass and Thompson at the drum kit.

An excellent performance of Mingus music concluded with a rendition of one of his most celebrated compositions, “Nostalgia in Times Square”. An exceptional ensemble performance incorporated solos from Bennett on alto and Blackwell on trombone, the latter with bass accompaniment only. Further solos were to come from Kearns on trumpet and Bilovil on tenor.

Introduced by with good humour and with an obvious love of the source material by Cameron Saint this was an excellent performance from a tight, well drilled ensemble. The collective passages were admirably cohesive and the individual solos assured and fluent. Although sparingly used Sylvie Noble impressed as a versatile and adept vocalist who made a substantial contribution to the pieces on which she appeared.

My thanks to Cameron Saint for speaking with me after the show and for clarifying some of the items on the set list. Also for the gift of the Project’s album “Live at The Flute And Tankard” which was recorded at the celebrated Cardiff venue. The album features a different edition of the band with only Saint, Blackwell, Kearns and Noble present from tonight’s line up. It still makes for rewarding listening and features five tracks, two of which, “Fables of Faubus” and “Eclipse”, were performed tonight. Also featured are “Pussy Cat Dues”, “Peggy’s Blue Skylight” (the tune that helped name the much loved Nottingham venue Peggy’s Skylight”) and “Weird Nightmare”. Cheers, Cameron.

So, all in all a great first day featuring some excellent and varied music encompassing a broad range of music loosely gathered under the jazz umbrella and with so much more to come. Musical diversity has also been one of BJF’s main strengths and that was very much in evidence today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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