Sunday at Titley Jazz, The Rodd Farm Estate, Titley, Herefordshire, 28/07/2013.

Photograph of Steve Melling by Paul Bentley http://www.jazzimages.co.uk
Sourced from http://www.titleyjazz.com

The extended bout of rain on the festival Saturday had shown that the festival site at The Rodd could adequately deal with any bad weather. Sunday was better, still warm, but with the sunny intervals periodically interrupted by a series of very heavy showers. However nobody’s spirits were dampened and a varied programme that ranged from the intimacy of the Steve Melling/Andy Cleyndert duo to the rousing sounds of Robert Fowler’s Gerry Mulligan inspired big band resulted in arguably the best day of the festival in purely musical terms.

STEVE MELLING / ANDY CLEYNDERT DUO

It’s become something of a Titley tradition for the Sunday morning to begin in relaxed style with the music of a piano / double bass duo. Although the music in this format is resolutely laid back in comparison to the other line ups there’s still plenty of quality on offer and a musical rigour that ensures that these good natured duets keep Titley’s early morning listeners on their toes. Chilled out it may be, bland it isn’t.

Previous Sunday morning pairings have included Cleyndert and Stan Tracey in 2011 and a wonderful set by pianist Dave Newton and and bassist Mick Hutton in 2012. These single sets, usually clocking in at just under an hour have habitually exceeded expectations and turned out to be real highlights of the festival programme.

Today’s performance by two of Titley’s relatively unsung heroes was no exception. Pianist Melling and bassist Cleyndert rose to the challenge and delivered an absorbing set of variations on a series of jazz and blues standards beginning with the ever popular “On Green Dolphin Street”.

Melling’s dry but humorous announcing style enhanced the performance as he wryly dedicated the tune “I’m Old Fashioned” to “those who are”. The pianist swung admirably, propelled by Cleyndert’s powerfully plucked bass. Having demonstrated his arco skills when leading his quartet the previous day Cleyndert mainly stuck to the pizzicato technique throughout this set, only briefly brandishing the bow to add a sense of gravitas at the conclusion of tunes such as this one.

The instructive Melling informed us that the blues “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” by Charlie Warfield and Clarence Williams was originally sung by Bessie Smith before being covered by a variety of jazz artists. The duo’s version borrowed from Victor Feldman’s arrangement for Miles Davis’ “Seven Steps To Heaven” album and again featured Cleyndert’s bow on the coda, this following a substantial plucked solo.

Following a lovely duo interpretation of the ballad “Alone Together” Cleyndert left the stage for a solo Melling performance of “Meditation” from Duke Ellington’s “Sacred Concert”. The deeply spiritual mood of the piece was deemed by Melling to be particularly appropriate for a Sunday morning “whatever your belief”.

The pianist was at his most percussive and exuberant as the duo tackled Joe Zawinul’s “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, a gospel flavoured romp originally written for Cannonball Adderley’s band. Again an appropriate choice for a Sunday but very different in style and delivery to the Eliington piece.

A beautiful “I Fall In Love Too Easily” was essentially a bass feature with Cleyndert demonstrating admirable emotion and lyricism, not to mention a remarkable dexterity as he soloed,above Melling’s sparse and economic accompaniment.

The pair rounded things off by gleefully negotiating the boppish twists and turns of Gigi Gryce’s “Minority”, a great way to conclude an excellent set that had touched on a variety of jazz styles whilst also incorporating an admirably wide emotional and dynamic range given the sparseness of the instrumentation. These two long term associates clearly know each other’s playing very well and their easy rapport was apparent throughout. The much loved tradition of the “Titley two hander” continues to flourish and prosper.

ROBERT FOWLER’S “GERRY MULLIGAN CONCERT BIG BAND”

Multi reeds player Robert Fowler had appeared the previous evening playing tenor saxophone as part of the not entirely convincing vocal showcase featuring singer Zoe Gilby and A J Brown. Previously he had performed at Titley playing clarinet as part of Alan Barnes’ celebration of the instrument, “Clarinet Marmalade”.

Today Fowler was on baritone sax, fronting a thirteen piece line up playing the arrangements of bari supremo Gerry Mulligan’s short lived Concert Big Band which flourished between 1960 ans ‘62. Fowler was cast in the Mulligan role and took the majority of the solos but there plenty of other fine musicians in a star studded line up that represented something of “who’s who” of British jazz.

With some slight differences to the personnel listed in the festival programme the ensemble lined up;
Robert Fowler ? baritone sax
Karen Sharp- baritone sax, bass clarinet
Bruce Adams, Steve Waterman, Martin Shaw -trumpets
Adrian Fry, Mark Nightingale- trombones
Sarah Williams- bass trombone
Alan Barnes ? alto sax, clarinet
Nigel Hitchcock- alto sax
Simon Allen-tenor sax
Dave Green-bass
Steve Brown-drums      

As well as being a fine saxophonist Mulligan (1927-96) was also an inspired arranger and orchestrator. The Concert Big Band was very well regarded in its day, a reputation undimmed by the passing of the years. Fowler and his colleagues served Mulligan’s memory well beginning with a brief fanfare featuring the CBB’s theme tune “Utter Chaos”.

Then it was into “You Took Advantage Of Me” with solos from Nightingale on trombone and Fowler himself on baritone. Fowler’s tenor solos the previous evening had seemed rather perfunctory with the saxophonist keeping it simple and r’n'b inflected. He was far more convincing on the big horn, consistently playing with invention, energy and verve with his baritone featuring in more or less every tune including the following “Black Nightgown” by Johnny Mandel. Other soloists here included Fry on trombone and Shaw on muted trumpet.

Mulligan’s own “Motel” saw Shaw switching to the open horn to solo alongside Barnes, Nightingale and Fowler.

Django Reinhardt’s “Django’s Castle” had featured the previous evening during guitarist Gary Potter’s gypsy jazz celebration. Here in a slowed down big band arrangement the tune appeared softer and gentler, with the rich sound of muted trombones plus Fowler displaying a remarkable tenderness and lyricism on the big horn.

However this big band could roar too, and none more so than Simon Allen whose barnstorming tenor solo on “Apple Core” was fast, fiery and fluent.

Another change of mood with the rich textures of “Gary McFarlane’s “Weep” as transcribed by Iain Dixon. Here Sharp switched to bass clarinet and Barnes to clarinet with solos coming from Fowler, Nightingale and Waterman.

The first half concluded with “18 Carrotts (for Rabbitt)” , Mulligan’s tribute to Johnny Hodges and here a feature for the alto of Nigel Hitchcock alongside further solos from Sharp on baritone, Waterman on trumpet, Green on bass and Allen on tenor. 

Set two kicked off with “Walking Shoes”, a perpetually popular and much covered Mulligan tune that here featured Fowler, Hitchcock, Shaw and Fry.

“Barbara’s Theme” by Johnny Mandel was taken from the same source as the earlier “Black Nightgown”, the soundtrack from the 1958 film noir “I Want To Live”. Adam’s emotive trumpeting, sometimes exploiting the instrument’s highest registers was the chief instrumental voice here with the gently rolling mallet induced thunder of Brown’s drums adding much to the foreboding atmosphere.

Mulligan’s own “Catch As Catch Can” in an arrangement by Al Cohn altered the mood as it fairly barrelled along in the manner of a runaway train. High octane solos came from Fowler, Shaw and Green with Brown enjoying a series of scintillating drum breaks.

Richard Rogers’ much covered “My Funny Valentine” marked a return to ballad territory with lushly orchestrated horns and Fowler again in lyrical mood on the baritone.

Barnes’ solo clarinet ushered in “Big City Blues” with Green and Brown coming in first to form a trio before the full ensemble kicked in. Featured soloist Barnes was augmented by Allen’s tenor and Adam’s growling, vocalised trumpet.

Johnny Carisi’s “Israel” originally appeared on the famous Miles Davis album “Birth Of The Cool” , a recording upon which Mulligan also appeared. Mulligan later arranged the piece for the Concert Big Band and it was this version that we heard here with solos coming from Fry and Fowler.

Mulligan originally wrote “I Know, Don’t Know How” for sextet before expanding it for big band. Today’s version featured Fowler and Nightingale.

The ensemble signed off with a romp through Art Farmer’s “Blueport” (which I assume was written for the famous Newport Jazz Festival).  This was an excuse to feature nearly everybody with Fowler followed by Nightingale, Hitchcock, Allen, Green and the blazing trumpet of Waterman, the latter also engaging in a series of incandescent exchanges with Fowler to crown a fine set.

This exciting big band performance with its imaginative arrangements and outstanding solos received a rare standing ovation from the Titley crowd, definitely the most rapturous reception of the weekend. 

CLARK TRACEY SEXTET

During the morning rumours had been circulating the festival site that the veteran pianist and composer Stan Tracey had been taken ill and would not be available to lead his sextet. Unfortunately these rumours proved to be true but Stan’s son Clark was able to re-assure the audience that although Stan was not well enough to perform his condition wasn’t in any way serious.

This wasn’t the only piece of good news from Clark as he informed the audience that Stan had made sure that Clark had brought along the charts of the music that the sextet were due to perform. With Clark now leading from the drums the tireless Steve Melling took over on the piano stool with the rest of the group comprising of Simon Allen (tenor and soprano sax), Mark Armstrong (trumpet & flugel horn), Andy Cleyndert (bass) and another dep, Nigel Hitchcock, standing in for Sammy Maine on alto.

Thus constituted the sextet played two sets of punchy, hard hitting music, most of it penned by Stan and sourced from the numerous suites he has been commissioned to write over the years. With Clark’s drums driving the band it brought back fond memories of a set I saw Stan’s group Hexad play at Brecon Jazz festival in the late 1980’s (as I recall that group included Stan and Clark, Guy Barker on trumpet, Art Themen on tenor and soprano saxes, Jamie Talbot on alto and Roy Babbington on bass). 

Today’s set commenced with the punchy, hard grooving “Devil’s Acre” with Melling reproducing something of Stan’s quirky, percussive chunkiness at the piano. Both saxophonists dug in effectively with Armstrong’s fiery trumpeting another highlight.

“Funky Day In Tiger Bay” was drawn from the old Hexad repertoire and was originally written for a suite commissioned by the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. It swings and grooves mightily and here acted as the platform for fine solos from Armstrong on trumpet, Allen on soprano sax, Cleyndert on bass and, most impressively, Hitchcock on searing alto.

From Stan’s “Pompey Suite” the tune “Mary Rose” revealed a more sensitive side to the band with gentler, more lyrical solos coming from Armstrong on mellifluous flugel horn, Hitchcock on alto, Cleyndert on bass, Allen on tenor and Melling at the piano. Most of the time, and particularly on his solos, Melling resisted the temptation to mimic Stan’s style too closely and ,within reason, largely concentrated on sounding like himself.

Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk” closed the first set, a piece Clark dedicated to Josie Thompson, one of Stan’s keenest fans. The old favourite featured a rich blend of horn voicings plus solos from Armstrong on trumpet, Melling at the piano, Allen on tenor, another buccaneering Hitchcock alto solo and finally Clark himself at the drums. A storming end to a tremendous first half.

On their return the sextet opened with Stan’s “Triple Celebration”, also from the “Chapter Suite” and here given a Latin flavour with ebullient solos coming from every member of the group. Particularly impressive was Armstrong’s flaring trumpet solo. A first time visitor to Titley Armstrong consistently impressed with his physical commitment and fiery playing, he was completely drenched in sweat following this dazzling contribution.

Stan’s piece “Stemless” kept up the momentum with Allen on tenor going first followed by Cleyndert and Armstrong, the trumpeter really going for it again with some high register trumpet pyrotechnics before Hitchcock and Melling completed the soloing.

Another ballad from the Pompey Suite, “Spaces”, saw Armstrong switching to flugel horn and sharing the solos with Hitchcock on alto and Allen on tenor.

After this pause for breath the set concluded with “Suddenly Last Tuesday”, a tune written by trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar and the title track of Clark’s first solo album released in 1986. Steve Melling played on it and I still have a vinyl copy somewhere. Clark dedicated the piece to his father saying “Stan likes a bit of a race” and that’s exactly what that tune is with dazzling super fast unison horn lines proving the jumping off point for some shredding solos from Armstrong on trumpet, Allen on tenor Melling at the piano and particularly Hitchcock on alto. Finally the three horns traded choruses with Tracey as the drummer/leader enjoyed a final flourish.

Whilst it was unfortunate that Stan wasn’t well enough to lead the band there was no doubt that the sextet had risen to the challenge and done his music proud in his absence. Taking their cue from Clark each member played with fire and passion and a huge degree of technical skill. For me it came very close to replicating the excitement of that Hexad gig all those years ago.

SIMON SPILLETT “TRIBUTE TO TUBBY HAYES” 40 YEARS

Edward Brian “Tubby” Hayes (1935-73) was widely acknowledged as one of the best jazz musicians the UK has ever produced. Primarily a gifted tenor saxophonist the versatile Hayes was also an accomplished flautist and pianist who loved to double up on vibes during his group’s live shows. Also a relatively prolific composer he recorded frequently and forty years after his death his presence still resonates on the UK jazz scene, his reputation as strong as ever. However for all his brilliance Hayes was cursed with an addictive personality and an over fondness for drink and drugs,  both of which contributed to his ultimate early demise following a series of heart problems.

Simon Spillett is a particularly passionate champion of Hayes’ music and is a real authority on the man and his playing. Spillett is an excellent author who has written extensively about Hayes and his legacy in album notes and elsewhere. More importantly he’s a fine saxophone player in the Hayes tradition and has recorded a series of albums exploring the Hayes legacy whilst simultaneously bringing enough of himself to the music to make it convincing and more than mere copying. 

Today’s quartet paying tribute to Hayes featured Spillet on tenor, Dave Green on bass, Clark Tracey playing his second gig of the afternoon on drums, with the veteran John Critchinson, once of the Ronnie Scott Quintet, on piano. Half of this group appeared on Spillett’s 2008 homage to Hayes “Sienna Red” (an album reviewed elsewhere on this site). Cleyndert also appeared on that record but was being given a rest as he was due to play with Alan Barnes and others later on.

In a programme of material either written by Hayes or associated with him the quartet hit the ground running with Hayes’ own “Royal Ascot”, a backhanded tribute to Hayes’ old Jazz Couriers band-mate Ronnie Scott and Ronnie’s fondness for a flutter on the gee gees. Spillett immediately set his stall out with a powerful, fluent tenor solo in the Hayes manner with other strong contributions coming from Green and Critchinson. Spillett also indulged in some scintillating exchanges with Tracey, the saxophonist peppering his contributions with quotes including “Bye Bye Blackbird”.

Several of today’s tune titles referenced Tubby’s fondness for a drink. “Bass House” was written by the fiery Scottish trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar, ironically a man who shares his name with a rather fine beer, and a composer who had already been represented in the previous set featuring Clark Tracey. Green, Spillett and Critchinson were the featured soloists here.

Hayes’ own “Sourayia” is one of the late saxophonist’s best loved ballads and was given a tender reading by Spillett on warm toned tenor with further lyricism coming from critchinson at the piano and Green on the bass.

By way of contrast Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo” was always a favourite of Hayes sets, a barnstorming flag-waver which Spillett and his colleagues also treated as a tear up with buccaneering solos from tenor sax and piano plus some dynamic sax and drum exchanges. By the end of this both band and audience were left breathless and in need of a quick break.

Set two began with the tune “By Myself” written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz and made famous by Judy Garland. Spillett’s interpretation took on a Coltrane-esque turn with further solos coming from Critchinson and Green plus a further series of tenor sax and drum exchanges.

Hayes was one of the few UK jazzmen of his time to work in America and he recorded an album “Tubbs In New York” with American trumpeter Clark Terry. Terry was also a frequent visitor to London, hanging out in the capital’s pubs and bars with Hayes hence the title of Terry’s Tubbs tribute “A Pint Of Bitter”, a tune based on the chords of the standard"You’re Driving Me Crazy”, a bastardised version of the latter once a hit for the Temperance Seven.  All this information came from the erudite Spillett, an urbane figure in a smart suit with a neat line of Alan Barnes inspired patter. Spillett has a neat line in tenor sax solos too, his opening gambit followed by Critchinson and Green plus the usual tenor and drum trading of pleasantries.

This set’s ballad was “Yesterday I Heard The Rain”, a song covered by Tony Bennett, Selena Jones and others. The blend of tenor and piano plus delicately brushed drums was highly effective on a piece rarely tackled by jazz players. Not exactly a Hayes tribute as such but an excellent addition to Spillett’s repertoire and a piece included on his latest album “Square One”.

Spillett finished off with something more typically Tubby, a blistering sprint through Ray Noble’s “Cherokee” . “Tubby loved a tear up” Spillett informed us as the quartet fairly blazed their way through the old chestnut with the saxophonist leading the way. Critchinson may be looking a little frail these days but he can still swing mightily and solo fluently as we heard yet again here. Clark Tracey’s final drum barrage of the afternoon seemed to signal the close but Spillett returned to the fray to tease the audience with a series of false endings.

Well dressed, sharp and intelligent Spillett is a highly capable saxophonist with chops to burn. He’s a highly popular performer who has done much to keep Hayes’ music in the public eye whilst simultaneously carving out a niche for himself. This set in the company of three highly experienced musicians ensured that the standard of music on this final day of the festival remained resolutely high.

ALAN BARNES / ART THEMEN / DON WELLER

Three of Titley’s favourite sons rounded off the festival with an admirably varied set featuring a selection of jazz standards plus a couple of Don Weller originals. The triumvirate of saxophonists, a variation on the popular “three tenors” format, was joined by the well oiled rhythmic machine of pianist Dave Newton, bassist Andy Cleyndert and drummer Steve Brown. 

“Strike Up The Band” was a lively and appropriate opener with Barnes on alto leading the way with Themen and Weller, both on tenors following. Newton subsequently took over on tenor before the horns traded choruses with “Brown” Barnes revealed that Weller, a man with a long established love of Spoonerisms had suggested the alternative title of “Bike Up The Strand”.

Jobim’s “Corcovada” (aka “Quiet Nights”) was a surprise choice with the theme stated by a front line of tenor (Weller), alto (Barnes) and soprano (Themen). All three soloed with Weller looking cool in his trademark hat leading the way. The horn solos were punctuated by statements from Newton and Cleyndert.  A surprising but rewarding choice.

The heaviest rain of the day drummed violently on the marquee roof as Themen’s solo tenor introduced “I Can’t get Started”. This was all that Barnes needed to squeeze a quote from “Singin’ In The Rain” into his solo with Newton responding in kind as the precipitation became more persistent.

Weller’s “Round The Twist”, a tune that has surfaced at Titley before, was a welcome addition to the repertoire with the composer leading the solos on tenor followed by Barnes on baritone, Themen on tenor and Cleyndert at the bass. Brown’s drum breaks rounded off an enjoyable and agreeably diverse first half.

The sextet dipped into the Thelonious Monk canon to begin their second set. The relatively obscure “Hackensack” featured a typically Monkish motif with Barnes soloing on alto either side of the two tenors Themen and Weller. Newton, Cleyndert and Brown rounded off the solos on an interesting opening piece.

“Hey There, You With The Stars In Your Eyes” is a perennial Titley favourite, much favoured by Barnes. Weller led off the solos followed by Barnes on baritone with Themen on soprano and Cleyndert at the bass also making significant contributions. However it was Newton at the piano who delivered the strongest statement, a truly sparkling solo , arguably his best of the set.

Weller’s own “Di’s Waltz” was a feature for his own excellent tenor playing, a beguiling mix of the gruff and the tender, his husky tone thoroughly distinctive. Weller has been a significant figure on the UK scene for decades yet remains under recorded and under valued. Following last year’s absence through illness it was good to see him back to his best. Newton and Cleyndert also featured on this impressive original composition.

Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie” provided the vehicle for a lively finale featuring the screaming tenor of Themen, Barnes on alto and Weller in more robust form on tenor. Newton, Cleyndert and Brown pitched in strongly too as Titley Jazz 2013 came to a rip roaring conclusion.

David Masters took to the stage to thanks a whole list of people but key to the success of the festival was sound engineer Paul Sparrow who did a fine job all through the weekend with the sound well balanced between front line and rhythm throughout. As mentioned previously the indefatigable Andy Cleyndert made a significant contribution here too.

Despite my reservations about the vocal concert on the Saturday night this was arguably the most consistent Titley Jazz yet with the Sunday programme particularly strong. There was certainly a greater degree of variation in terms of styles and instrumental format with big band, gypsy jazz, chamber jazz and vocal jazz included alongside the regulation mainstream and hard bop. If I have a criticism it would be that there were too many “tribute” performances, it’s perhaps a bit too easy to hang a gig on a theme however classy the playing. Although not a million miles away from this the groups led by Chris Biscoe and Andy Cleyndert dared to offer something a little bit different and thus get the nod for best gigs of the weekend with Sunday the best musical day overall. Genuinely original music was in short supply, it’s something I’d like to be considered in future years.

All in all Titley Jazz 2013 represented another triumph for David Masters and his hard working team and the event must have brought a considerable boost to the local economy with David choosing to support locally based suppliers. The sometimes adverse weather dampened nobody’s spirits. Let’s hope we’re all back at The Rodd again in 2014.

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