Photograph of Helena Kay sourced from the EFG London Jazz Festival website; http://www.efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

GUILDHALL JAZZ FESTIVAL

MILTON COURT,  LONDON, 20-24 NOVEMBER 2024

This Festival within a Festival took place at the splendid Milton Court Concert Hall over the course of five days and was part of a collaboration with the wider EFG London Jazz Festival.

The Guildhall Jazz Festival is an annual event that celebrates the work of the students and alumni of the Jazz Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Four afternoons and evenings of performances in Milton Court Concert Hall were headlined by Helena Kay & Peter Johnstone (20 November), Giacomo Smith & Mozes Rosenberg (21 November), Junior Guildhall Big Band and Jazz Choir and NYJO& Cleveland Watkiss (23 November) and Sultan Stevenson (24 November) 

There were also a series of performances by bands led by and featuring the current students, these embracing a wide variety of jazz styles. All events were free of admission and on Wednesday 20th November I spent a whole day at Milton Court enjoying the music of the various student ensembles plus the headline act, the duo of saxophonist and composer Helena Kay and pianist Peter Johnstone.

I then returned on Thursday 21st for a further afternoon of music from the students before taking the new Elizabeth Line into Central London for the EFG LJF performances by the Shai Maestro Trio at Ronnie Scott’s and Ant Law’s Unified Theories Quintet at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho.

Reviews of the Law and Maestro shows can be found here, but I decided to cover all the Guildhall events as a single entity within the same feature.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/features/article/efg-london-jazz-festival-2024-thursday-21-11-2024

WEDNESDAY 20th NOVEMBER 2024

ARRAN

Dan Fawcett-Tuke – guitar, Valentine Cheesbrough – guitar, James Leaver-Whitfield – double bass, Luke Brueck-Seeley – drums

Today’s first band was Arran, a quartet featuring an unusual twin electric guitar front line, perhaps inspired by Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires band featuring Bill Frisell and John Scofield, or perhaps Scofield’s collaborations with Pat Metheny. And, of course, Frisell and Metheny have also worked together under Johnson’s leadership.

On the opening “Before An Angel Falls” arpeggiated guitars intertwined above an arco bass drone and the swish and patter of drums variously played by brushes and bare hands. I only got a personnel listing later so wasn’t able to identify the soloists at this stage, but have tried to so retrospectively. We heard solos for guitar (Fawcett-Tuke, I think) plus pizzicato bass and drums.

An impressionistic Frisell like dream sequence, courtesy of Cheesbrough I think, provided the link into the next piece, “I Went To the Forest And Never Came Back”, which also included the sound of bowed bass.

Companion piece “In My Mind Is All The Trees” featured the now familiar blend of guitar arpeggios, arco bass and mallet tumbles and cymbal shimmers.

The concluding “Before The Sunrise” embraced more rock orientated territory and included solos from both guitarists plus a closing drum feature.

With the two guitarists deploying their effects wisely this was music that was surprisingly rich in terms of colour and texture and which embraced a variety of musical genres, including jazz, rock and ambient.

An enjoyable and very promising start to the day, with the majority of the group members also turning up in other bands later on in the day.

JASMINE SEXTET

Angel Wong – vocals, Jemima Whyte – alto sax, Hyokyung Jung – guitar, Diarra Walcott-Ivanhoe – piano, Louis Gascoyne – bass, Luke Brueck-Seeley – drums

Led by vocalist and songwriter Angel Wong Jasmine Sextet was a group that offered more of a song based programme. Nevertheless Wong proved to be an adventurous singer, capable of deploying her voice as another instrument, as exemplified by her wordless vocals on her arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Juju”, which found her soaring in the company of alto saxophonist Whyte and guitarist Jung.

The set also included Wong’s original songs such as “Hide And Seek” and the tongue in cheek “Needy”, which closed the set. “Needy” proved to be a witty, well observed song about the pitfalls of the modern dating scene and had the kind of pop sensibility to suggest that it could become a hit single if it got the appropriate airplay.

Drummer Brueck-Seeley contributed the original “Gabriel”, a song about “finding hope in a hopeless place”.

Meanwhile the impressive pianist Walcott-Ivanhoe provided “Elhurst”, a vehicle for Wang’s wordless vocalising, plus a liquidly melodic electric bass solo from Gascoyne. The piece also included a lyrical piano solo from the composer, playing Milton Court’s magnificent grand piano, which was deployed by various acts throughout the duration of the Festival.

Wang and Walcott-Ivanhoe then teamed up to perform “Darn That Dream”, the only standard of the set delivered as a beautiful voice and piano duet.

Other soloists to impress during the course of another enjoyable, but very different set, were guitarist Jung, who was later to return with her own septet, and alto saxophonist Jemima Whyte.

Whyte is something of a rising star and was to appear in multiple ensembles during the course of the Guildhall Festival, including leading her own sextet on the Sunday.

DARIA BLYZNIUK QUINTET

Daria Blyzniuk – vocals, John Alcock – tenor sax, Joseph Game – piano, Elliot Whitehouse – acoustic and electric bass,  Nathan Kedzierski – drums

Next up another vocal led ensemble, led by Ukrainian born singer and songwriter Daria Blyzniuk.

Like Wong before her Blyzniuk was adept at using her voice as an instrument, as illustrated by an arrangement of the Weather Report tune “Elegant People” which featured her wordless vocals alongside features for tenor sax and drums.

A version of Herbie Hancock’s ballad “Come Running To Me” featured her voice alongside instrumental solos for piano and double bass.

However the adventurous and versatile Blyzniuk was not afraid to explore beyond the jazz canon and the set list also included a slowed down arrangement of the Tears for Fears song “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and a jazz version of the traditional Ukrainian folk song “Ivanka, Ivanka”.

Blyzniuk’s original “Balance” featured her soaring wordless vocals alongside instrumental solos for piano and tenor sax, plus a closing drum feature.

Finally a version of saxophonist Ben Wendel’s composition “Burning Bright” incorporated more impressive ‘voice as instrument’ vocalising alongside features for tenor sax, electric bass and drums.

HYOKYUNG JUNG 7tet

Hyokyung Jung – guitar,  Jemima Whyte – alto sax, Matt Hill – trumpet, flugelhorn, Vicente Magalhaes – piano, Josh Stidwill – synth, Will Jutton – electric and acoustic bass, Luke Brueck-Seeley - drums
with guest Jieun Kim – haegeum

Although billed as a septet this group, led by the Korean born guitarist and composer Hyokyung Jung was eventually expanded to an octet with the addition of her countrywoman Jieun Kim, an exponent of the traditional Korean instrument the haegeum, a kind of vertical fiddle played with a bow.

Jung is a versatile musician and composer and this set explored a wide range of jazz genres from the Jobim influenced opener “Blue On Saucer” to the angular funk of the following “Decal Off”.

The Jung original “Tumble Doors” embraced more of a swing feel and was the vehicle for solos from guitar, electric bass, piano and trumpet.

Guest Kim joined the ensemble for the fourth number, titled” Reminiscences from Barbican”, a tune based around traditional Korean melodies and rhythms. The Seoul musician introduced the audience to the exotic but beautiful sounds of the haegeum as she teamed up in the front line with trumpeter Hill and saxophonist Whyte, also sharing the solos with them.

Kim remained on board for the final item, a piece whose title I didn’t catch. Picking up tune titles from the on stage announcements was a difficulty with all the bands.

The music itself began in highly atmospheric fashion and featured the haunting, ethereal sound of the haegeum alongside guitar and synth washes, mallet rumbles and cymbal scrapes. Later Brueck-Seeley established a groove that saw the other band members clapping along to a string of solos from alto sax, guitar, piano, trumpet and synth, with the haegeum returning on the outro.

For me this was the most interesting set of the day thus far, and not just due to the unfamiliar sounds of the haegeum. All of the material was original and Jung appeared to be a musician who is already beginning to carve out a distinctive niche for herself in the world of contemporary jazz.

Before coming to the Guildhall she had previously studied in Leeds, where she recorded the EP “Blue On Saucer” with her band Hyowa Project. I managed to find some audio of this on Youtube and it sounded very impressive.

Like Jemima Whyte, who was also present in this septet, Jung is going to be a name to look out for in the future.

This marked the end of the afternoon performances but we were to return in the evening, suitably fortified by coffee, to enjoy some more student performances,  plus the headline set from the duo of Kay and Johnstone.

NESTOR VASILAKIS QUARTET

Nestor Vasilakis – tenor saxophone, Jakub Klimiuk – guitar, Cody Moss – piano & keyboard, James Leaver-Whitfield – bass, Finn Genockey – drums

Greek born saxophonist Nestor Vasilakis has already established a considerable reputation in his homeland and has also studied in the US.

Effectively he’s already a professional musician who has already gained plenty of live experience and this was the most mature group performance that we’d seen thus far.

Vasilakis’  band also included guitarist Jakub Klimiuk, a musician whose playing I had enjoyed previously when his own quintet had played a very impressive set of original material at a Music Spoken Here event at the Marr’s Bar in Worcester in October 2024. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/jakub-klimiuk-quintet-music-spoken-here-the-marrs-bar-worcester-31-10-2024

An extended unaccompanied tenor sax intro ushered in Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight”, this evolving into sax and guitar dialogue. The addition of bass and drums marked the transition into the Vasilis original “De-reified”. Clipped bass and drum grooves then provided the momentum for Vasilakis’ fluent soloing, the equally impressive Klimiuk then following suit.

John Coltrane’s “Miles Mode” followed, introduced by Genockey, the leader of the Intercollegiate Jazz Orchestra, at the drums. This provided the opportunity for more expansive soloing from both Vasilakis and Klimiuk.

Finally Vasilakis promised us a “classic with a twist”. This proved to be an unusually rapid arrangement of “Autumn Leaves” that allowed the leader the opportunity of really digging in on tenor, eventually followed by Klimiuk.

This was an extremely enjoyable set from a highly talented young saxophonist, with the presence of Klimiuk representing an unexpected bonus. Video footage of the quartet’s entire performance is available on line and it sounds just as good second time around.

I’d like to see a full length show from Vasilakis in the future.  He’s a musician with the potential to become a hugely popular performer on the UK jazz scene and beyond.

ANMOL

Anmol Mohara – drums, tabla,  percussion, vocals, Tereza Catarov - vocals, cowbell,  Simeon May – tenor sax, flute, Daniel Fawcett-Tuke – guitar, Cody Moss – piano & keyboards, Rory Hudson - bass

The most visually spectacular show of the day came from Anmol, a sextet led by the Nepalese drummer, percussionist, vocalist and composer Anmol Mohara. He was the winner of the UK Young Drummer of the Year Award in 2017 and graduated from the Guildhall in 2023.

Although rooted in traditional Nepali and Indian music he has also embraced the rhythms of other global musics, most notably those of Morocco and Brazil.

Intended to be a celebration of Nepali culture this show was an audio-visual experience with a video screen behind the band showing various projections. There was also a short but colourful exhibition of traditional Nepalese dancing at the start of the performance.

Opening number “Sakhiye Yo” featured the airy sounds of flute and wordless vocals, underpinned by the leader’s drum grooves.

“Five Elements” added elements of konnakol (vocal percussion) and also featured the leader on tabla. May was featured on tenor sax and the performance also included an extended synth solo from Cody Moss, who had been part of Jakub Klimiuk’s band at Worcester, plus an outing on guitar from Dan Fawcett-Tuke on guitar, previously seen earlier in the day with Arran.

“Suritay” took its inspiration from a Nepalese folk tale and was a suitably atmospheric piece that incorporated solos from May on flute and Moss on acoustic piano, plus Catarov’s soaring wordless vocals.

“Madal” took its title from the Nepalese madal drum and featured the leader’s unaccompanied playing of this cylindrical instrument. He later switched to kit drums as guitar, bass, flute and wordless vocals were added.

The playful “Momo In My Mind” celebrated Mohara’s fondness for the traditional Nepalese doughnut, the momo. This uptempo number featured Mohara as both drummer and vocalist and saw May reverting to tenor sax, with Fawcett-Tuke the featured instrumental soloist.

The self explanatory “A Rhythmic Guy” saw Mohara encouraging the audience to clap along and included an entertaining series of konnakol exchanges between Mohara and lead vocalist Catarov.

The closing “Conversation” kept the energy levels bubbling and continued the celebratory mood with the excellent Catarov playing cowbell as she entered into a further series of konnakol exchanges with the leader. She proved to be equally adept at jazz scat vocalising. May, who had also been part of the Jakub Klimiuk Quintet at Worcester, was the featured instrumental soloist.

With its combination of music and visuals, the latter by Asis Dai, this was a highly entertaining show that embraced a wide variety of musical genres. The standard of the playing was excellent throughout and vocalist Catarov impressed with her flexibility and versatility. Mohara is a highly skilled drummer and percussionist and a more than capable singer, but his incessant cheeriness did get a little wearing at times. Nevertheless there’s nothing questionable about his ability as a player or about his love for Nepalese culture and for music in general.

The Anmol band is due to record its debut album very shortly, with Dai providing the artwork. The finished product should be well worth hearing – and seeing too.

HELENA KAY / PETER JOHNSTONE DUO

Helena Kay – tenor saxophone, alto flute,  Peter Johnstone – piano

Today’s headline act was a duo featuring the Scottish musicians Helena Kay and Peter Johnstone.

Perth born saxophonist and composer Kay graduated from the Guildhall in 2016 and spent many years living and working in London, becoming an important presence on the music scene in the capital. However she never relinquished her close ties with Scotland and is currently based in Glasgow.

The Jazzmann has favourably reviewed both of Kay’s albums as a leader, “Moon Palace” (Ubuntu Music, 2018) and “Golden Sands” (2023), the latter released on Kay’s own Sulis record label.

Both albums are credited to Kay’s KIM Trio, originally, Kay, drummer Dave Ingamells and bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado.  The last named left the group fairly early on and was replaced by Ferg Ireland, who plays on Moon Palace.

“Moon Palace” was a genuine saxophone trio recording but “Golden Sands” is a quartet album that sees Ireland replaced by Calum Gourlay, with pianist Johnstone also present on all tracks.

Kay has also featured on the Jazzmann web pages as a member of groups variously led by saxophonists Stan Sulzmann, and Issie Barratt, trumpeters Yazz Ahmed, and Sean Gibbs, bassist Calum Gourlay, trombonist Rory Ingham, pianist Zoe Rahman and drummer Rod Oughton (Tomorrow’s New Quartet).

A frequent award winner she won the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award in 2017, the prize money helping to finance the recording of “Moon Palace”.

Kay and pianist Peter Johnstone have been playing music together since both were in their teens and members of the Scottish National Youth Jazz Orchestra under the tutelage of the great saxophonist and educator Tommy Smith OBE. Both have since progressed to the ranks of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra itself.

Johnstone is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and leads his own piano trio as well as being a member of Tommy Smith’s quartet. A versatile musician he has also played organ in bands led by saxophonist Paul Towndrow and guitarist Kevin MacKenzie. He was voted Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year in 2012. Kay was the recipient of the same award three years later.

I have to admit that I was half expecting the duo to perform a standards based set, so I was very pleasantly surprised that instead the focus was on Kay’s original writing,  a mix of new, as yet unrecorded material together with selected pieces from the “Golden Sands” album, on which, of course, Johnstone plays.

After playing music together for so many years it came as no surprise to learn that Kay and Johnstone have developed an almost telepathic rapport. Despite the apparent limitations of the duo format this was a thoroughly absorbing and totally compelling set from two supremely accomplished musicians with a thorough understanding of each others’ playing.

Kay plays various instruments in the saxophone family but these days has chosen to focus on tenor sax. Her first opportunity to demonstrate her confidence and fluency came on the opening “Amore y Amargo”, also the opening track on “Golden Sands”. Kay stated the theme and took the first solo, this followed by a passage of unaccompanied piano from Johnstone.

In this pared down context most of the tunes followed a similar format but “Grey Light”, a new Kay composition featured a more expansive solo piano passage from the impressive Johnstone, also a gifted and confident instrumental soloist.

“The World I Live In” featured Kay’s spoken word introduction, reciting lines from Mary Oliver’s poem of the same name – “only if there are angels in your heart will you ever, possibly, see one”.

“Swolf” saw Kay switching to alto flute and displaying a similar level of proficiency. This item also included a particularly lovely solo piano interlude from Johnstone.

Kay reverted to tenor sax for “Winter Halo”, an almost unbearably beautiful and delicate performance during which one could hear the soft flutter of the saxophone’s key pads.

“Alcazaba”, named after a castle near Malaga represented something of a feature for Johnstone. The duo are intending to record the new material for an album, the projected release date being October 2025. This should be well worth hearing when it finally arrives.

The title track of “Golden Sands” takes its name from a lullaby that Kay’s mother used to sing to her. It features a gorgeous melody, played here by Kay on tenor sax with Johnstone shadowing her at the piano. This was followed by a lyrical solo piano episode, and yes the piece genuinely does have a lullaby like quality.

A superb duo performance concluded with “Virago”, the title referring to a female warrior. As befits its title this piece featured the trio’s most aggressive and assertive performance thus far with Johnstone adopting a more percussive approach and with Kay digging in more rigorously on tenor.

This intimate duo performance contrasted well with the ‘all singing, all dancing’ spectacle of Anmol and despite the comparative sparseness of the instrumentation the sheer quality of the duo’s performance more than justified their billing as headliners.

My thanks to Helena and Peter for chatting with me after the show and for clarifying the set list. Their debut duo recording in 2025 will be very keenly anticipated.

THURSDAY 21st NOVEMBER 2024

As alluded to previously I spent Thursday afternoon at Milton Court before heading into town in the evening and was able to enjoy the music of a further three acts.

ULTIMATUM

Josh Stidwill – piano, keyboards,  Benjy Charles – piano, keyboards-Jon Batchelor – electric bass, Isaac James – drums
plus Felix? - trumpet, flugelhorn

Fist up was this quartet led by keyboard player, composer and arranger Josh Stidwill, who is also the leader of the Massive Chops Big Band.

Wednesday’s programme had featured Stidwill as a member of guitarist Hyokyung Jung’s septet but today he was featured much more prominently, playing grand piano, plus a variety of electric keyboards.

The quartet opened with a Cory Henry tune that contained elements of jazz, gospel, funk and even prog rock and featured Stidwell and Charles combining to deliver a range of keyboard sounds including organ and electric piano. There was also a feature for drummer Isaac James.

Written by former Snarky Puppy keyboard player Sean Martin (1978-2024) “The Yellow Jacket” was dedicated to the band the Yellowjackets and included an electric bass feature from Jon Batchelor. Once again the funk and gospel quotient was high, with presumably both Snarky Puppy and Yellowjackets being an influence on Stidwell and Ultimatum.

Gust trumpeter Felix (sorry, I didn’t catch the surname) joined the trio for Stidwell’s original composition “Children of Light”, sharing the solos with Stidwell on acoustic piano and Batchelor on electric bass. The addition of trumpet helped to bring extra depth and colour to the music.

Felix remained on board for “Mala”,  a tune written by the Japanese trumpeter Takuya Kuroda. This was another funky offering with Batchelor’s electric bass grooves fuelling solos from Felix on trumpet and Charles on electric piano. The leader was also featured on acoustic piano and there was also a major feature for Isaac James at the drum kit.

Finally we heard “Seascapes”, a tune written by Isaac’s father Peter James. This saw Charles moving to acoustic piano for the first time with Stidwell on Nord keyboard. This included solos for flugelhorn and acoustic piano, plus a closing drum feature.

Again this was an enjoyable set that covered a number of bases, mainly at the funk and fusion end of the jazz spectrum. Leader Stidwill is a skilled and versatile all round keyboard player and also an adept composer and arranger. He’s another musician we’re likely to hear a lot more of.

BELUGA

Louis Gascoyne – acoustic & electric bass, vocals, Baylee Blu – vocals, Jemima Whyte – tenor sax, Thomas Sladden – piano, keyboard, Alex Astill – guitar,  Frank Hawkes – drums
plus unidentified – percussion, unidentified rapper

Co-led by bassist / vocalist Louis Gascoyne and singer Baylee Blu Beluga presented a very accessible blend of jazz, pop and soul, their song orientated music suggesting that they have the potential to reach out to an audience beyond the usual jazz demographic.

I assume that Gascoyne is the son of bassist Geoff Gascoyne and singer Trudy Kerr, so as a bassist and vocalist he seems to have inherited his talents from both parents, combining their musical disciplines in a single package. Opener “Distance”, a song with a strong rhythmic groove saw him playing electric bass and vocalising in tandem with Bayley Blu. Keyboard player Sladden and saxophonist Whyte, here specialising on tenor, also made telling contributions.

Other original songs included Gascoyne’s “Trust Issues”, which featured him as lead vocalist alongside instrumental soloists Sladden on piano and Astill on guitar.

The Horace Silver composition “Nica’s Dream” was sung by Blu with Gascoyne moving to double bass. Whyte soled expansively on tenor sax and a percussionist, whose name I didn’t catch, was added to the group to provide a little Latin exotica.

Although his name was mentioned several times I didn’t catch the handle of the rapper who joined the group either. He featured on three numbers and although rap and hip hop isn’t my favourite musical genre he represented a good fit for this particular band, a group rooted in jazz but with their eyes focussed beyond the usual jazz scene.

The set closed with an audacious, and successful, cover of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” featuring a slowed down arrangement framing the joint vocals of Gascoyne and Blu and the rock influenced guitar soloing of Astill. Sladden soloed on acoustic piano and there was also a feature for the percussionist.

On the evidence of this performance Beluga have the potential to establish themselves as a popular attraction on the wider London live music scene and perhaps to enjoy a degree of mainstream pop success. Watch this space.

ORCHARD

Evie Hill – vocals, Diarra Walcott-Ivanhoe – piano, Matt Hill – trumpet, Jemima Whyte – alto sax, Matt Hill – trumpet, Cat Eden – trombone, Calum Harrison – guitar, Joe Orme – bass, Reuben Murray – drums

The final act of the afternoon session was Orchard, an octet led by vocalist and songwriter Evie Hill.

With three horns on board the octet produced an agreeably big sound, which acted as the perfect foil for Hill’s soulful vocals on original songs like new single “Honesty”, “Calling” and “Moonlight”.

The singer received excellent support from instrumental soloists Whyte,  Harrison and Walcott-Ivanhoe.

“D’s Riff” featured a strong electric bass groove and powerful unison horn riffs, these framing Hill’s vocals plus a round of instrumental solos variously featuring Orme, Hill, Whyte, and Eden.

“Heaven”, so named because it was written in seven, offered a lilting odd meter groove with Hill’s voice augmented by an alto sax solo from the excellent Whyte.

The closing “Grateful” featured a voice and piano intro before introducing the rest of the band, with Hill and Walcott-Ivanhoe the featured instrumental soloists.

This was another enjoyable set from a band more rooted in the jazz tradition than Beluga but still with the potential to appeal to a wider audience. Hill is a thoughtful and intelligent songwriter and an accomplished and soulful vocalist. And in Whyte and Walcott-Ivanhoe Orchard possess two of the most inspired instrumental soloists of the entire Festival.

FESTIVAL OVERVIEW

The Guildhall Jazz Festival made for an impressive and very enjoyable listening experience. The singing and playing from all of the student ensembles was excellent throughout and it was also pleasing to hear so much high quality original material across a broad variety of jazz genres.

The sheer quality and musicality of the duo performance by Helena Kay and Peter Johnstone more than justified their billing as headliners on the Wednesday evening. I have no doubt that the other headline sets would have been excellent too.

The Guildhall Festival took the Friday off but returned with more music from students and alumni on Saturday and Sunday, culminating with the performance by the Sultan Stevenson Trio. I was busy covering other events elsewhere, but I’m sure that there was more fine music to come.

The standard of the young musicians produced by the UK’s jazz education establishments is astonishingly high. During my years of writing about jazz I’ve reviewed performances by students or recent graduates from the London based colleges of the Guildhall, Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban and also the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Leeds College of Music and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The quality of the student musicianship is uniformly high across all these establishments and it has been good to see many of these young musicians go on to establish themselves on the wider UK jazz scene.

I very much enjoyed my day and a half at the Guildhall Jazz Festival and would wholeheartedly recommend this annual event to other jazz fans, and particularly those on a tight budget, bearing in mind that all of the performances are free of admission and take place in the well appointed Milton Court Concert Hall with its excellent acoustics. The Festival allows these young musicians to play to appreciative live audiences as they hone their stagecraft. All of the performances were co-ordinated by the students themselves with regard to the choice of material and the scheduling of the set lists.

I’m grateful to Guildhall’s Head of Jazz, Dr. Jo Lawry, who presented all the shows, for providing me with a list of personnel for the various student bands, which has proved invaluable in the writing of this Feature.

Lawry is also a vocalist and songwriter and in 2023 the Jazzmann gave a favourable review to her album “Acrobats”, which was recorded in the stellar company of bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Allison Miller. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/jo-lawry-acrobats

 

 

 

 

 

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