JazzLeeds - review of 2021.
Sunday, January 02, 2022
Steve Crocker of JazzLeeds has written a short review of the organisation's activities during 2021, which saw them present 70 gigs and two festivals, despite the ravages of the pandemic.
Steve Crocker writes;
The 2021 JazzLeeds year - some highlights.
2021 wasn’t all bad – in fact it has been a good year for JazzLeeds despite all the restrictions. We’ve managed to put on over 70 live jazz gigs since lockdown lifted in May. Many thanks to all the fantastic musicians who have brought good music, and good cheer, to our audiences in Leeds. This is a snapshot of some of them!
The gig of the year - no debate - was Nikki Iles and her Jazz Orchestra - wonderful arrangements, brilliant band led by the most respected jazz leader in the UK bar none
The Jazz & Blues Sunday picnic at Gledhow Sports Club in Gledhow Valley Woods came a close second though - 500 people came, the sun shone, lovely music - perfect!
The JazzLeeds Reset Festival was enjoyable too - no big festival in the city centre for obvious reasons but we had lots of fun in the venue and courtyard of Seven Arts with an eclectic mix of 12 live bands over a sunny weekend in July.
The one big loss was being unable to put music on in Inkwell - but we’ve found another venue instead. The very welcoming Meanwood Valley Urban Farm Barn is proving just the place for our jazz jams and workshops, maybe gigs too in the New Year.
Our evening concerts kept the international jazz flag flying –trumpeter Byron Wallen, US saxophonist Greg Abate, and US drummer Ari Hoenig were all superb, as were pianist Liam Noble, vocalist Ian Shaw, sax player Josephine Davies and pianist Andrew McCormack not to mention Leeds’s trumpeter Malcolm Strachan’s and his band “About Time”. Then of course singer Liane Carroll and pianist Brian Kellock - a gig we’ll never forget!
Other concerts that linger in the memory were some of our smaller ones – for example the intimate Rush Hour evenings that allow musician to stretch out and enjoy themselves as Alex Fisher, Eliot Richards, Will Howard all proved. Our Sunday jazz afternoons were lifted by the energy of Nic Svarc’s quartet, the fun of Caroline Boaden’s new quintet, the wackiness of Adam Fairhill and Johnny Hunter tribute “Winifred Atwell Revisited” , the songs of Nishla Smith and the swansong performance of the Ancient Infinity Orchestra. During August we had music outside in the Seven Arts courtyard again – with notable performances by Backchat Brass and John Settles’s “Vibeology”.
Lots of new Leeds groups too, including Mangorata, Amy Clark’s Quintet, the Jonah Evans trio, and two duos- Joel Stedman and Greg Vincent. also Edison Herbert and Ben Gilbert – Leeds is such a cool place for jazz of all descriptions.
Thanks then to our volunteers, our interns, trustees, the staff at Seven Arts, Jon Chamberlain for his photography and livestreams, Arts@Leeds and Leeds Inspired for keeping us afloat to Jazz North and Music:Leeds for their advice and of course to you, our lovely supporters!
See you in 2022 (we hope!)
Steve Crocker
http://www.jazzleeds.org.uk
JazzLeeds is an independent voluntary music promoter based in Chapel Allerton Leeds. Our aim is to promote high quality contemporary jazz and related musics. 2017 is our tenth anniversary year and we are pleased that we won the 2016 Parliamentary Jazz Award for venue of the year.