Now in it’s twenty second year Hay Festival is an international phenomenon and is beyond doubt Britain’s leading festival of literature. In recent years the festival has extended it’s remit to include a selection of musical events encompassing jazz, folk, world and rock music. A remarkable performance by Ian Dury shortly before his death remains a vivid personal musical memory.

Since I last attended the festival it has expanded considerably, moving to a larger site just outside the town. The physical set up remains the same, a combination of marquees and covered walkways, as does the relaxed, congenial atmosphere. In the main the events themselves remain good value for money. Surrounded by the beautiful countryside of the Anglo/Welsh border it’s clear why people love it and return year after year.

Jazz has always featured in the festival’s musical portfolio, an appearance by Andy Sheppard a few years ago being a particular highlight, but with Hay having recently taken over the running of the stricken Brecon Jazz Festival this year’s jazz content was stronger than ever before. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the concerts by Kyle Eastwood, Amit Chaudhuri and Hugh Masekela but the prospect of Thursday’s combination of Arve Henriksen followed by living legend Jimmy Cobb was too good to miss.

Cobb was of course the drummer on Miles Davis’ seminal “Kind Of Blue” album, originally released in 1959. Now aged eighty Cobb is the only survivor of the sextet that recorded this jazz milestone and to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the recording he has assembled his own sextet of brilliant soloists, the So What Band and taken them on the road playing “Kind Of Blue” to 21st century audiences. Naturally it still sounds absolutely wonderful but more on that later.

Henriksen is the brilliant young Norwegian trumpeter who has created a unique vocabulary for his instrument by means of a combination of astounding vocalised techniques and modern sampling and electronic methods.

The back to back combination of Cobb’s “classic” jazz and Henriksen’s genre pushing eclecticism made for a fascinating contrast. Kind Of Blue’s experimentation with a modal framework for improvisation was daring and radical when it was first released but the album is now very much part of the established jazz orthodoxy. Henriksen’s techniques, especially the use of electronics are sometimes frowned upon by the more purist members of the jazz police. It’s unlikely that his recordings will grow to have the same kind of hallowed status that “Kind Of Blue” now enjoys-but you never know…

Before any music was heard Cobb took part in a conversation chaired by Hannah Rothschild, the new artistic director of Brecon Jazz in the Oxfam Studio. Initially Richard Williams, the distinguished jazz critic but now sports editor of The Guardian was to be Cobb’s fellow guest. Unfortunately Williams had been retained in Rome following Manchester United’s defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League final and his place was taken by film maker Dick Fontaine.

As a television journalist Fontaine helped establish World In Action, once ITV’s flagship current affairs programme and as a jazz documentary film maker he worked with Ornette Coleman and Art Blakey among others as well as being a personal friend of Miles Davis.

Naturally Davis loomed large in the conversation, most of which revolved around the recording of “Kind Of Blue”. A brief film clip was shown of the KOB sextet appearing with a big band on the US TV programme “The Sound” offering a tantalising glimpse of Davis soloing on trumpet whilst backed by Cobb’s exquisite cymbal touch-“like butterfly wings” to quote the absent Williams. A later clip showed Davis working with those other two giants of the bebop era Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Cobb spoke of Davis’ writing and recording methods for “Kind Of Blue”. Much of this is already familiar to jazz followers. There were no rehearsals prior to the recording, Davis encouraged his musicians to use no more then three chords and gave them the briefest of sketches as to his intention rather than using full written parts. He chose musicians who could think on their feet and bounce ideas off each other. Here these included Cobb, John Coltrane (tenor sax), Julian “Cannonball” Adderley (alto), Paul Chambers (bass) and pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly. The presence of Evans, who had a hand in the writing process had a profound effect on the sound of the finished record.

Fontaine spoke of the way Davis led a band by creating space and tension between the players. The only formal instructions he was to give on “Kind Of Blue” were to growl at Kelly “Wynton don’t play that there”. Cobb spoke of how he was drafted into the Davis band by Adderley , replacing Philly Joe Jones who had proved to be an unreliable timekeeper- in the organisational sense that is,I don’t think anyone would question his abilities as a drummer. Cobb played on Davis’ “Porgy And Bess” before appearing on “Kind Of Blue”.

Cobb went on to talk of his upbringing in Washington DC, of the fact that he was essentially self taught apart from a few lessons from a respected orchestral percussionist. He spoke of seeing the Ellington and Dorsey big bands back in the 30’s and of how the Second World War provided him with gigging opportunities as more experienced musicians were away in the forces. He contrasted this auto didactic approach with the current tendency for all college educated jazz musicians to sound the same-“supermarket jazz” he branded it somewhat dismissively.

Still Miles remained the hot topic. Cobb spoke of Davis’ restlessness and of how he continued to hire musicians he could bounce ideas off. Tenor player Sam Rivers didn’t fulfil Davis’ exacting standards and was replaced by Wayne Shorter who was also a talented writer. Shorter’s composing abilities helped take Davis on to his next great phase.

Fontaine talked of Davis’ “guerilla war” on rock music, how he infiltrated Bill Graham’s Fillmore venues and played to rock audiences whist taking to driving a yellow Lamborghini. Tantalisingly Davis was slated to record with Jimi Hendrix but Hendrix felt intimidated by Davis’ reputation and sadly died before the project could be completed. Fontaine also spoke of the effect Davis’ electric era music had on the current generation of drum’n'bass artists such as Goldie.

Rothschild asked Cobb to name his personal super group but rather than name the obvious Davis, Coltrane, Parker etc he chose long term associates such as saxophonists Earl Bostic and Charlie Rouse, Wynton Kelly on piano, and singer Dinah Washington.

A question and answer session involving members of the audience retrod some of the ground already covered but perhaps the most pertinent point that emerged from this was that Cobb stayed resolutely clean back in the days when virtually jazz every musician seemed to have a narcotics problem. He also spoke of the toughness and harshness of ghetto life in those days and of the racism musicians encountered, plus the way they were exploited by unscrupulous agents and managers. These are aspects of the “jazz life” that are difficult for white, affluent, middle class jazz fans-and I include myself here-to truly understand.

Afterwards Cobb remained behind chatting to fans and signing autographs. Jimmy Cobb is a survivor, a gentleman and a bona fide living legend. It was a pleasure to meet him, if only briefly, and later a pleasure to see him play.

Hardcore jazz fans had probably heard much of this before but given that Hay is not primarily a music festival many listeners may have been hearing these stories for the first time. For those of us who were more or less familiar with the KOB story there were still some new nuggets to enjoy plus the bonus of meeting the great Mr Cobb himself. It was a privilege to be there.

On to the enigmatic Mr Henriksen who played in the same venue to a capacity audience seated cabaret style. The concert was delayed by half an hour as the engineers struggled to find the right sound balance. This was a little inconvenient but the queueing crowds acted with equanimity and once the concert started it was easy to appreciate just how vital it was to get the sound balance exactly right.

In many ways Henriksen is a painter in sound, his trumpet combining with collaborator Jan Bang’s electronics to give a wide-screen sonic canvas. The pair combined to create six brief soundscapes in a show lasting a little over the hour. After the disappointment of missing the duo’s show at Cheltenham I was very pleased to be here.

An ECM recording artist the elfin Henriksen could almost pass for Bjork’s twin brother. Remaining seated for the entire performance he promised us tunes from his latest album together with a series of improvised sequences. “Have A Nice Journey” he said, temporarily signing off. Henriksen commenced by producing vocalised sounds through his trumpet before switching to a tone almost like a flute. Bang sampled phrases to create an echoing, wide-screen effect. So far the music had been typically “Nordic” conjuring up bleak images of icy tundras and all the other clich?s applied to Norwegian musicians from Garbarek onwards. As the piece drew to a conclusion Bang’s electronic pulses and Henriksen’s deep low register notes began to hint at something else.

That “something else” came out in the second piece, an introduction to Henriksen’s extraordinary singing voice. Wailing like a muezzin he introduced an Arabic element to the proceedings, his voice shadowed by Bang’s electronic pulsings. The flute like trumpet tone later returned before Henriksen took up the mute, the clearest link between him and Davis thus far, as Bang provided a synthesised backwash.

Henriksen’s use of pocket trumpet at the beginning and end of the third piece was a reminder of the late, great Don Cherry. The folk and middle eastern influences heard here were also reminiscent of Cherry’s pan cultural approach. When Henriksen switched to the full size trumpet this was the nearest thing we had heard to an orthodox jazz ballad thus far but Henriksen’s remarkable “choirboy” vocals then took us somewhere else again, the rarefied atmosphere of European church choral music.

The fourth piece saw both Henriksen and Bang deploying electronics before Henriksen actually picked up the trumpet. The phrase “Miles Davis meets Kraftwerk” crossed my mind at this point. Henriksen deployed an almost oriental sound on this charmingly melodic number.

The next item seemed to cover all Henriksen’s bases. Opening with solo trumpet he followed this with “choirboy” then “muezzin” vocals before moving on to a style of throat singing redolent of Siberian or Inuit styles which Bang sampled to provide the backdrop to Henriksen’s mournful trumpet. Then came breathy, vocal percussion that mimicked a steam locomotive before the trumpet brought about an elegiac close. It struck me that for all his eclecticism Henriksen exercises an incredible amount of control and technique in the creation of this extraordinary and frequently spellbinding music. Bang, who some have dismissed as mere “knob twiddler” responds to Henriksen’s every move with acumen and conviction. This show left one in no doubt as to his “genuine musician” status.

The closing piece incorporated solo flute- style trumpet, live sampling, and mellotron like choirs and strings from Bang’s bank of electronica. It was sweetly melodic and the gurgles of a young child in the audience drew a smile from Henriksen and almost seemed to be part of the piece.

After an hour or so this was a good place to call a halt. One or two people had walked out but this was a very small percentage and most listeners had been spellbound throughout. The audience response was overwhelmingly favourable and I suspect that many of these were hearing Henriksen’s music for the first time. A longer set may have found the attention of some starting to wander and I think the length of the show was just right.

As ever it was fascinating to watch music being created “in the moment”, it certainly wasn’t easy to differentiate between the written and the improvised, plus the quality of the sound itself was first rate. This was the first time I’d seen Henriksen perform since his tenure with Iain Ballamy’s Food group some six years ago and he has certainly expanded his sonic palette since then.

Quite how good this music would sound at home I’m not sure but given ECM’s recording quality it should stand a better chance than much free improv. The only future danger I see for Henriksen, in this format is the danger of mannerism and falling into standard set pieces and effects.
Certainly he has a unique vision on the trumpet, nobody else sounds remotely like him and his extraordinary singing voice adds another powerful arrow to his bow.

If Miles were still around he’s no doubt be trying some of these techniques. He certainly wouldn’t shy away from computers and samplers but I don’t think he’d be going in for singing! Nevertheless if he were looking down from way up high on Hay-On-Wye he’d probably give a nod of approval.

Whether Davis would approve of Cobb’s So What Band is a moot point. Davis was never much of one for revisiting his own material. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Kind Of Blue Cobb has assembled a sextet of inspired contemporary soloists with the drummer being joined by Wallace Roney ( trumpet), Pee Wee Ellis (tenor sax), Vincent Herring (alto), Larry Willis (piano) and John Webber (bass).

Appearing on the Guardian Stage the band played the five tracks that make up “Kind Of Blue” in sequence, back to back. The familiar bass riff of “So What”, taken at a slightly faster tempo than on the record ushered us in. The solos appeared in the same sequence as on the original, but this was not mere repertory, each member of this all star band stamped something of their own personality on the proceedings. Roney has sometimes been spoken of as the “heir of Miles Davis” and here, resplendent in shades, even looks uncannily like him. Appropriately he took the first solo, Milesian enough but with enough to say on his own account to make it interesting. Ellis is best known as a funk player but his big tone allowed him to step comfortably into Coltrane’s shoes and to prove that he is also a gifted improviser. I was particularly looking forward to hearing alto saxophonist Vincent Herring having seen him at Sweet Basil on a visit to New York City back in 1996. He didn’t disappoint with the first of several excellent solos over the course of the evening. Willis, a Blue Note label veteran with Jackie McLean among others contributed an inventive, rollicking piano solo before bassist Webber brought the famous piece full circle. As for Cobb this remarkable veteran drove his band forward throughout the evening, his playing as crisp and as sharp as ever. A tremendous performance for an eighty year old, playing with the energy of a man half his age.

The blues of “Freddie Freeloader” kept things on the boil with solos from Willis, Roney sounding coolly Milesian, followed by Herring and Ellis. Webber’s swinging, well articulated bass playing was a particular delight.

A beautiful version of the ballad “Blue In Green” saw the band pared down to a quartet. Something of a tour de force for the excellent Roney we also heard and saw evidence of Cobb’s legendary “butterfly wings” cymbal touch. It was also good to hear the lyrical side of Willis’ playing, this giant of a man is one of the unsung heroes of jazz piano.

If “So What” is probably the best known tune on “Kind Of Blue” then “All Blues” isn’t far behind. It was a delight to hear the three horns in unison playing the theme before the soloists took off. Distinctive statements came from Roney, Ellis, Herring and Willis, all subtly but firmly propelled by Cobb and Webber.

“Flamenco Sketches” was bookended by solos from Roney, arguably his best so far with Ellis, Herring and Willis vying with him for excellence on this wonderful ballad.

To close the band romped through an unannounced uptempo number that provided the framework for dynamic solos from Herring and Ellis plus the amazing Cobb himself. Roney produced some stunning high register trumpet. Was it “Straight, No Chaser” or maybe “Oleo”?- perhaps someone reading this will enlighten me.

Rapturously received by a crowd that comprised of a curious mix of older jazz fans, some of whom might have heard “Kind Of Blue” first time round, and enthusiastic youngsters who are probably listening to it as students the band returned for an encore.

This was the old Davis stalwart “If I Were A Bell” with joyous solos from Roney, Herring and Ellis still urged forward by the irrepressible Cobb. Only at the very end as he gingerly left the stage did Cobb’s demeanour belie his age.

If this was a “tribute band” it was certainly the classiest one I’ve ever seen and in Cobb it had a living link to a glorious musical past. On this fiftieth anniversary surely nobody would begrudge Cobb making Hay while the sun shines. One senses that even that even that celebrated old curmudgeon Miles Davis might approve of his legacy being in such capable hands.

Enjoyable as it was the “Kind Of Blue” material sometimes felt old fashioned, just a string of solos alongside Henriksen’s ultra modern approach. But jazz keeps changing, it’s a broad church albeit one with a “tradition” and for me if played well all branches of the music have validity, that’s the beauty of jazz as an art form.

Finally a word of praise for the festival organisers for holding back the start of the Cobb concert when Henriksen was running late. It’s good to know that someone was perceptive enough to know that much of the audience for one would also be interested in the other.

Now that Hay and Brecon are interlinked lets hope for more music ( and organisation) of this quality at Brecon 2009 and Hay 2010.

In the meantime Cobb’s So What Band is due to play in London as part of the Tower Festival on Thursday 17th September 2009. The advertised line up sees Javon Jackson replace Ellis with Buster Williams coming in for Webber. See http://www.towerfestival.com

blog comments powered by Disqus