Photograph of Jake McMurchie of Get The Blessing by Tim Dickeson.

Monday at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, 05/05/2014

The final day of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival is generally less busy than the Saturday and Sunday with a smaller number of events. With no outside performance space hired for this day everything took place in the tented venues on the main Festival site and I found myself witnessing performances I might otherwise not have chosen. The main draw for me was the early evening double bill featuring Kairos 4tet and Get The Blessing but I also took in performances by the London Afrobeat Collective and Curtis Stigers plus the annual Fringe Showcase which offers talented local acts the opportunity to perform at one of the main festival venues rather than on the Free Stage.

LONDON AFROBEAT COLLECTIVE

I began in the Big Top with the London Afrobeat Collective, a high energy collection of musicians from the capital who play in the style of Fela and Femi Kuti but largely write their own original songs. They are a popular live act with a particular affinity for festivals and have played at Glastonbury among many others, the energy of their live shows allowing them to fit in across the genres.

Today they sported a ten piece line up fronted by the exuberant singer and sometime actress Funke Adeleke and featuring the twin guitars of Alex Farrell and Alex Szyjanowicz and the horn section of Kilbens Michelet (baritone sax), Edmund Swinburn (tenor) and Andrew Watts (trumpet). A powerful rhythmic unit included John Mathews on electric bass, kit drummer Farivar Gorjian and percussionists Lee Crisp and Zak Cohen. 

They had their work cut out getting a sedate lunchtime Cheltenham audience to their feet but they managed it with their blend of bass heavy grooves, choppy guitars and punchy horns allied to the exhortations of the strident Adeleke. But behind the “let’s party” fluff lurked a more serious message as exemplified by current single “Prime Minister” with its “you’ve got to go” refrain. Other songs such as “First World Problems”, “Celebrity Culture” “I’m No Big Criminal” and the minor hit “Upside Down” also tackled cultural and political issues but for most of a pleasingly large crowd in the Big Top having a good time was what counted most’ and the LAC, as they like to describe themselves, certainly delivered on that score and gradually got the whole audience to their feet by degrees.

It wasn’t all about Adeleke, there were plenty of instrumental moments to enjoy with powerful solos by Michelet, Swinburn and Watts, these three also linking up well to provide a juggernaut of a horn section. Farrell and Szyjanowicz also combined well, sharing rhythm and lead solos and both producing cogent solos, many of them utilising rock guitar techniques.

With the exception of one slinky instrumental piece which briefly slowed the pace this was a high octane show that focussed on energy rather than subtlety, music for the dance floor rather than the concert stage, hence in part the lack of a more detailed analysis, I was up on my feet with the rest of the audience.

In the cold light of duty this was probably the least satisfying performance of the weekend in purely musical terms but subtlety wasn’t really what it was about and there’s no doubt that LAC are very accomplished at what they do and have no trouble energising a crowd. They may have been better served by a late night “party” slot but any band that can get an entire marquee on its feet in Cheltenham on a Monday afternoon must have something going for it.

Would I want to see them again? Probably not but there were plenty here today who would, some of those who’d been on their feet from the start were sweating buckets by the end and declaring that the band were “amazing”. LAC certainly know how to work a crowd and with a busy festival summer ahead their reputation as a consistently entertaining live act is likely to continue to grow.

FRINGE SHOWCASE ; JO SILVER AND THE CAFE BOHEMIA & THE INDIGO KINGS

Sponsored by the Oldham Foundation the Fringe Showcase has been a popular addition to the festival in programme with audiences turning out in force to support talented local performers who might otherwise have appeared on the festival’s Free Stage. I found last year’s event featuring the Fresh Dixie Project and George Montague thoroughly enjoyable and both acts found their profiles increased considerably as a result. I have kept an eye on both acts since and work seems to be becoming more frequent for both of them.

Today’s event was introduced by the Foundation chairman John Oldham with singer Jo Silver taking to the stage first with her group The Caf? Bohemia. Silver has often sung guest vocals with the Cotswold based gypsy jazz combo Swing From Paris and this afternoon’s gig brought together musicians from two of the Midlands’ best gypsy jazz groups. The Bohemians were led by Swing From Paris guitarist AC (Andy) Wood who was joined by his band mate Fenner Curtis on violin. A five piece instrumental ensemble also featured Herefordshire based guitarist Remi Harris who leads his own trio featuring Birmingham’s Mike Green on double bass. Adam Kearning completed the line up on rhythm guitar. Wood has recently been performing with Harris’ trio, gypsy jazz is an incestuous set up, are you confused yet?

I’ve seen Harris perform live on many occasions, sometimes in the company of singer Deborah Rose but this was very different to any previous show I’ve seen featuring him. This of course was essentially Silver’s show, the blonde singer looking elegant in the classic “little black dress” and matching elbow length gloves. The music presented in the style of a review and was hugely entertaining.

Things kicked off with Django Reinhardt’s “J’Attendrai”, a gypsy jazz standard but one that you rarely hear being sung. Silver negotiated the French lyrics with aplomb with sparkling instrumental solos coming from Wood, Curtis and Harris.

In a set that mixed gypsy jazz with swing era tunes and even pop and world items the sextet raided the “Great American Songbook” as Silver sang “I Want To be Evil” with theatrical relish as Harris took the instrumental plaudits.

“That Old Devil Called Love” was segued into a winning cover of Estelle’s “American Boy”, Silver charming her audience as Wood and Harris provided the instrumental fireworks.

Silver left the stage as the instrumentalists returned to the gypsy jazz canon for Reinhardt’s “Valse Manouche”, a tune he wrote while still a teenager as Wood informed us. Wood’s solo began languorously before he expertly increased the pace before handing over to allow Curtis and Harris to make similarly impressive contributions.

I assume that it’s Silver who comes up with the ideas for such inspired covers as the gypsy jazz cover of “Thrift Shop” by the US hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with its “freakin’ awesome” refrain. Great fun with the singer discreetly cleaning up the lyrics but still delivering them with a cheeky a smile on her face. Harris’ bluesy guitar solo was also a delight, spurred on by the considerable rhythmic impetus supplied by Kearning and Green.

Cole Porter’s “It’s Alright With Me” transported us back to an earlier time but Porter’s lyrics were considered pretty risqu? in their day so this formed a nice link to the previous item. Seductively sung by Silver the piece also featured instrumental solos from Harris, Curtis and Wood.

Silver quit the stage again as the instrumentalists tackled a tune from Tunisia, nothing to do with Dizzy Gillespie but instead a fiendishly difficult piece in a mind boggling 39/16 time signature originally written for the oud. Harris has been tackling this piece with his trio for a while now , often with Wood in tow. The piece represents a considerable challenge but it’s one they always seem to negotiate successfully. Following this Reinhardt’s “Dark Eyes” with its Harris solo seemed almost straightforward by comparison.

Silver returned to close the set with another inspired cover. Can you imagine a gypsy jazz version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” delivered in a genteel tea room / coffee house style ? No neither could I but it succeeded brilliantly and certainly made myself and many others smile.

This was a a hugely entertaining show full of wit and imagination, Silver sang with an expressive purity and all the instrumentalists played with flair and great technical skill in a well constructed performance that was enthusiastically received by the Cheltenham audience. This was a show that I’d be more than happy to see again, striking the just the right balance between populism and musical excellence. 

The Indigo Kings, a totally new band to me, profess to purvey swing and vintage pop and they, too, proved to be highly entertaining albeit in a rather more frivolous manner. The Kings are far more obviously “entertainers” although maybe they should rename themselves the Indigo Queens, fronted as they are by twin female vocalists Caroline “Caz” Boucher and Talitha Cole.  Then there’s Emma Stone on a variety of saxophone with the Kings being keyboard player Martin Howe, drummer Steve Rich and an electric bassist known simply as Carl.

Drawing on new d?but album “Contotallyfused” which was released just a week before this show the sextet kicked off with “Champagne”, an ode to drinking the bubbly stuff with the harmony vocals of Boucher and Cole augmented by instrumental solos for soprano sax and keyboards.

The Indigo girls (hey, wasn’t that a band too) dressed in retro fashion, thirties style hats and dresses, the guys suited and hatted. However they’re not totally rooted in the past, Boucher’s original song “Mousemat City” raged against modern office drudgery and celebrated the brief freedom afforded by the annual holiday. Instrumental solos again came from Howe and Stone, the saxophonist this time switching to alto.

“He’ll Get What’s Coming To Him”, a hymn of female revenge affected more of a sixties soul sound with the settings on Howe’s Nord keyboard alternating between organ and piano and with Stone moving back to soprano.

Standing centre stage the flame haired Boucher handled the majority of the lead vocals but she and Cole combined well, harmonising and often singing alternate lines. Cole handled the lead vocal on the ballad “Too Late”, an original tune and absolutely nothing to do with Carole King.

New single “When I Turn Out The Light” was a lively affair with contemporary and somewhat lascivious relics which Boucher and Cole delivered with an obvious glee as Stone unleashed her tenor sax for the first time.

“Jump Jive Daddy” maintained the energy levels and saw Boucher and Cole approximating the sound of the Andrews Sisters to the strains of boogie woogie piano, Blue Note quoting tenor sax and Rich enjoying a series of drum breaks.

The slow blues “Monkey Business”, soulfully sung by Boucher, and “Contotallyfused” itself rounded off an energetic show by an often wacky but always entertaining band who raided a variety of musical genres and eras to come up with something of their own, a blend that has won them many fans and something of a cult following. Witty between tunes repartee added to the package and although not up my usual street I couldn’t deny that I was entertained and generally rather impressed. Like Jo Silver and her group the Indigo Kings had risen to the occasion and a glance at their website reveals that they have a busy summer ahead of them with a number of further festival appearances scheduled. Indeed a festival setting seems to be the natural habitat for this amusing and good humoured but highly accomplished band. 

CURTIS STIGERS

Over in the Big Top Curtis Stigers, a regular visitor to Cheltenham, appeared with his all American quintet showcasing music from his latest album “Hooray for Love”. This was his second appearance of the weekend following the Friday Night is Music Night show alongside fellow vocalists Liane Carroll and Kurt Elling plus the Guy Barker Big Band and BBC Concert Orchestra.

I’ll admit that I’ve largely ignored Stigers since his pop chart successes of the early 1990’s but since those days he’s re-invented himself as an accomplished jazz singer, occasional saxophonist and all round entertainer, his between tunes banter is often salty and genuinely funny.

With the looks of a greying but still distinguished matinee idol Stigers commands a considerable mainstream following, especially among the ladies and the Big Top was pretty much full for this afternoon. I’ll admit that I was only filling in time before Kairos and GTB later on but I have to say that I did find Stigers’ show entertaining and enjoyable.

Stigers started out by singing and contributing tenor sax on the Gershwin tune “Our Love Is Here To Stay”, his saxophone combining well with the trumpet of his musical director John “Scrapper” Sneider. Other group members included pianist Matthew Fries, bassist Cliff Schmitt, drummer Keith Hall and guitarist James Scholfield.

Stigers’ own “Give Me Your Heart” included witty, lascivious lyrics (well he did warn us that the song was about sex) plus deliciously fruity growling plunger muted trumpet from Sneider. The trumpeter made different use of the mute on an intimate and confessional “You Don’t Know What Love Is”.

Stigers has recorded prolifically and frequently covers material from outside the jazz canon. Some of these selections are quite inspired and I was impressed with his band’s treatment of an Emmylou Harris song called (I think) “I Don’t Want To Talk About It Now” , the arrangement combining a gospel feel with hard driving blues including solos from Frise, Scholfield and Stigers himself on tenor, the leader affecting a gruff r’n'b sound. A word too for Hall’s crisp and propulsive drumming.

A ballad reading of “The Way You Look” tonight suffered from the all too familiar problem of sound leaching through from the Free Stage. No such problems though on the upbeat Stigers/Sneider composition “Hooray For Love” with its stunning high register trumpet and “You’re All That Matters To Me” which featured Hall’s dynamic drumming.

Steve Earle’s “Valentine’s Day” was another inspired cover, Stigers’ delivery catching both the humour and pathos of Earle’s lyrics.

The show closed with a storming version of “Swingin’ Down at 10th and Main”, Stigers’ tribute to the late pianist Gene Harris, a regular musical visitor to Stigers’ home town of Boise, Idaho. With Stigers playing along on tenor every member of the band was featured with Sneider’s strident trumpet playing arguably the highlight. The unassuming trumpeter is very much Stigers’ right hand man capable of playing with both remarkable sensitivity and a surprising power.

As is often the way with festivals there was no time for an encore although Stigers would no doubt have been happy to oblige.

I’ll admit that Stigers’ brand of vocal jazz isn’t really my thing but I can’t deny that I was impressed by this performance. Stigers is a charismatic figure, a technically accomplished vocalist and a pretty decent saxophonist. His band is well drilled but he also gives them a degree of latitude when it comes to soloing. I’d certainly be interested in checking any of them out in an instrumental context.
Again he’s probably not an artist I’d necessarily want to see again but I found plenty to enjoy about this show and I’m sure there were other audiences members who absolutely loved it. On the whole I was pleasantly surprised. 

KAIROS 4TET / GET THE BLESSING

For me this was the real stuff, an intriguing double bill at the Jazz Arena featuring two of the best contemporary UK jazz acts of recent years. Although superficially very different both groups are united by a desire to push the jazz boundaries and both feature non jazz elements in their playing and writing.

The essentially acoustic Kairos come closest to an orthodox jazz sound and went on first. It was good to see them playing live again following leader Adam Waldmann’s lengthy lay off with a hand injury. Playing both tenor and soprano saxophones Waldmann was joined by pianist Ivo Neame, bassist Jasper Hoiby and drummer Jon Scott with guest vocalist Emilia Martensson joining the band for some items.

Waldmann writes all the band’s music and they began with (I think) “V.C” from their d?but album “Kairos Moment”, the leader’s squiggling soprano stating the theme before embarking on a serpentine solo. Neame’s contribution was similarly inventive, the pianist swarming all over the keyboard, his feverish playing reminding me of his other band ? Hoiby’s Phronesis. It was good to see the members of Get The Blessing showing their support, watching from the front row and staying for the entire set.

From the band’s second album “Statement Of Intent” came the tune “The Philosophy Of Futility” with Waldmann switching to tenor and with Hoiby contributing a typically imaginative double bass solo.

Waldmann has always included songs as well as instrumental pieces on Kairos’ albums and their most recent recording is even more song orientated than ever with an illustrious cast of guest singers and lyricists augmenting the core quartet. Singer Emilia Martensson has appeared on all three Kairos records and joined them here to perform three vocal pieces, all sourced from their latest album “Everything We Hold”.

The gentle “El’s Bells”, Waldmann’s dedication to his young niece, Ella, featured the sumptuous blend of voice, tenor saxophone and Hoiby’s bowed bass.

Arco bass also featured on the introduction to the soulful “Narrowboat Man” which again demonstrated the rich musical chemistry between Martensson’s voice and Waldmann’s tenor.

Finally we heard “Song For The Open Road”, sung on the album by soul singer Omar Le Fook but with Martensson increasingly claiming it as her own in the group’s live performances. As Waldmann remarked the Swedish born vocalist has really “put her stamp on it”. The piece also offered the delights of Waldmann’s soprano sax and a brilliant Latin inflected solo by pianist Ivo Neame who shone throughout the set with his imagination, inventiveness and controlled intensity. 

It was left to the instrumentalists to close out an excellent, well paced set with the title track from “Statement Of Intent” with persuasive solos from all four musicians, culminating in a feature for versatile drummer Jon Scott.

Kairos 4tet have been one of the big success stories of British jazz in recent years and it was good to see the group in action again and playing at their best.

I’m sometimes wary of these kind of double bills as the time allocated for the changeover sometimes truncates both sets and both bands can be denied the opportunity to fully express themselves. That was certainly not the case here, the speed and efficiency with which the changeover was affected was most impressive.

Like Kairos the Bristolian quartet Get The Blessing have been a regular presence on the Jazzmann web pages since the remarkable success of their d?but album “All Is Yes” back in 2008. The album quickly established a signature band sound full of hooky riffs and grooves, direct, catchy melodies and a modicum of electronic manipulation. For an essentially chordless line up inspired by the Ornette Coleman Quartet their music is remarkably accessible and has earned them a following that reaches beyond the normal jazz demographic, something encouraged by the fact that founder members Jim Barr ( electric bass) and Clive Deamer (drums) were also involved with the influential “trip hop” act Portishead. Something of that aesthetic remains in the GTB sound with trumpeter Pete Judge and saxophonist Jake McMurchie bringing more of an obvious jazz element.

GTB’s subsequent albums, “Bugs In Amber (2009), “OC DC” (2012) and Lope and Antilope” (2014)  have demonstrated consistent artistic growth with the group adding fresh layers of technology to their sound, Judge and McMurchie both treating their instruments with an increasingly sophisticated range of electronic effects, and also upping the improvisatory quotient of their music, - much of the material on their latest release was born out of spontaneous jamming.

At the 2009 Cheltenham festival I saw GTB give a brilliant late night performance in a packed Pillar Room complete with a rock style light show, the resultant club like ambience suited them perfectly. Today in the more sedate setting of the Jazz Arena they still sounded authentically clubby and edgy and the energy of their performance quickly endeared them to their audience.

The majority of the material was sourced from “Lope And Antilope” but although Jim Barr MC’d the performance in his patented surreal and deadpan announcing style the naming of tunes didn’t feature much on the agenda so this is to be no blow by blow account.

Indeed there’s a sense of completeness or one piecedom about Get The Blessing’s music, their tunes may all sound similar but there’s considerable pleasure to be found in immersing oneself in their sound while enjoying the varied individual set pieces, which is exactly what I did here. I marvelled at Barr’s thick, propulsive bass (and occasional guitar) chording and Deamer’s firm,deft, imaginative drumming which draws on jazz, folk and world sources. He’s a highly adaptable player, capable of generating great power, and has worked with leading rock acts, notably Robert Plant and Radiohead.

But it’s the lesser known Judge and McMurchie who hold the most fascination for the jazz fan with their dynamic playing of their electronically hooked horns, Judge crouching to manipulate his sound through a floor mounted effects unit to create loop and drone effects, McMurchie detaching the mouthpiece of his tenor and blowing it directly into the bell of his horn to create an unusual Middle Eastern inflected sound. Supported by the deluxe rhythm section of Barr and Deamer the pair twisted the music of the group out of shape in increasingly fascinating ways.

They closed an invigorating set by reaching back to “Bugs In Amber” for “Einstein Action Figure” with its punchy grooves and circling horn motifs, a rousing end to an exciting and invigorating set that simultaneously contrasted with and complemented Kairos’ all acoustic approach.

Six years in GTB still continue to convince. What was perhaps conceived as a side project has developed a very significant life of its own.

My thanks to Jake McMurchie for speaking to me after the gig and providing me with a review copy of “Aether Drift” by his new project Michelson Morley, a trio featuring West Country based musicians Mark Whitlam (drums and electronics) and Will Harris (bass). I hope to be taking a look at this in due course. The trio have a number of live dates coming up in June 2014. See http://www.michelsonmorley.com for details.

For me this double bill was the highlight of the day, it doesn’t come much better than two of my favourite contemporary jazz acts playing back to back. In its own way the Fringe Showcase was just as good and I enjoyed seeing local hero Remi Harris on the official festival programme and I was pleased to discover the voice of Jo Silver plus her imaginative interpretations of all kinds of musical material. I’d be more than happy to see her perform live again.

I was also entertained by The Indigo Kings, Curtis Stigers and the London Afrobeat Collective, good “in the moment” events from highly accomplished performers in their field but not necessarily acts I’d want to see again or listen to at home.

FESTIVAL OVERVIEW

For me GTB brought the curtain down on Cheltenham Jazz 2014, a year that saw record visitor numbers and box office sales, evidence that by and large the organisers have got the formula right, a winning blend of the populist and the more cutting edge. There were many memorable performances but the return of Loose Tubes has to rank as THE British jazz event of the year.

As usual the only major caveat is the perennial problem of sound leakage at the main festival site. Several performers commented on this and it really is time this issue was addressed once and for all.

Otherwise the organisation was impeccable, the volunteer stewarding courteous and efficient and the overall atmosphere cheerful, relaxed and positive. It’s good to end on an upbeat note. Roll on 2015.     

Ian’s Star Ratings;

London Afrobeat Collective 3 Stars

Fringe Showcase 3.5 stars

Curtis Stigers 3.5 stars

Kairos 4tet / Get The Blessing 4 Stars

Overall 3.5 stars

 

     

   

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