Tammy Payne Quartet, Brecon Jazz Club, The Muse Arts Centre, Brecon, 11/03/2025.

Tammy Payne – vocals, congas, Ruth Hammond – keyboard, Al Swainger – double bass, Liz Exell – drums

Brecon Jazz Club’s March event was a slightly late celebration of International Women’s Day, which had taken place on March 8th. It was presented in association with Brecon Women’s Festival and with Jazz Heritage Wales, the Swansea based institution founded by the late pianist, composer, educator, author, historian and archivist  Jen Wilson (1944-2023).

Wilson was also the founder of the Women in Jazz project, so tonight’s event was both a ‘Celebration of Women in Jazz’ and a ‘Remembrance of Jen Wilson’. It featured a largely all female quartet led by the Bristol based vocalist and percussionist Tammy Payne that also included Ruth Hammond on keyboards and Liz Exell at the drums. Cast in the role of ‘token bloke’ was double bassist Al Swainger.

Born in Smethwick in the West Midlands Tammy Payne relocated to Bristol in 1989. She is a singer, songwriter, drummer and percussionist who leads her own groups as well as appearing in the bands of others, her sidewoman duties usually in her drummer / percussionist role.

As a vocalist Payne has been a regular presence on the Bristol music scene for many years, singing across a variety of music genres, among them jazz, soul and folk. In 2010 she led the Bristol based quintet Tamco, featuring bassist Jim Barr, organist Dan Moore, guitarist Neil Smith and drummer Dylan Howe, releasing the album “Don’t Think Twice” on Edition Records.

In 2014 she released the album “Viva Outsider” on the New York based Ninetyandnine record label, also the home to a number of other Bristol music acts. She has also featured as guest vocalist with the cult Bristol band Get The Blessing.

As a drummer / percussionist she has worked with many leading figures on the Bristol music scene including Adrian Utley (guitar) of Portishead and Will Gregory (keyboards) of Goldfrapp.

Payne is also the percussionist with Jingu Bang, a funk and fusion  quintet founded by Jethro Tull drummer Scott Hammond and fronted by his wife, Ruth, on a variety of reeds and occasional keyboards. The band also includes Dale Hambridge on keyboards and Greig Robinson on electric bass. Jingu Bang is no stranger to Brecon Jazz, having performed at the Castle Hotel at both the 2021 and 2024 Brecon Jazz Festivals.

In her role as a keyboard player Ruth Hammond has also visited Brecon with the group Starlings, an all female quartet that played the March 2024 International Women’s Day gig at Brecon Jazz Club. Starlings also features saxophonist Sophie Stockham, drummer Emma Holbrook and percussionist Lisa Cherian, who sometimes ‘deps’ for Payne in Jingu Bang. The Starlings performance is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/starlings-brecon-jazz-club-the-muse-arts-centre-brecon-12-03-2024

Al Swainger is a West Country based jazz and session bassist who also works as a producer and leads his own band Pointless Beauty, which is scheduled to visit Black Mountain Jazz in Abergavenny on 30th March 2025. I hope to be able to report on this event in due course.

Formerly a leading presence on the London jazz scene Liz Exell is essentially the ‘house drummer’ for Brecon Jazz and her versatility, adaptability and great technical ability have made her a firm favourite with Brecon audiences.

Although Payne and Hammond have worked together regularly this was the first time that this particular quartet had performed together as a unit but they quickly hit their stride, with Payne promising us a performance that would mainly be comprised of” Jazz standards played in a Latin way”.

This was borne out by the opening number, a suitably Latin-esque arrangement of “April in Paris” that saw Payne standing at the vocal mic to deliver the verses before moving to the congas during the course of Hammond’s keyboard solo, the controls of Hammond’s Nord keyboard on an acoustic piano setting. Swainger’s double bass solo was accompanied by congas and piano only as Exell temporarily sat out, rejoining as Payne returned to the vocal mic towards the close.

This was a pattern that was to feature for much of the evening as Payne continued to alternate between vocals and congas, specialising on the latter rather than deploying any other forms of percussion. “I Only Have Eyes For You” was explored in similar fashion with Hammond on piano and the impressive Swainger at the bass again the featured instrumental soloists.

A playful, mainly instrumental, version of “Tea For Two” was introduced by Exell at the drums, subsequently joined by Payne on congas and Swainger on bass. These three combined very effectively, their interlocking rhythms later augmented by Hammond’s keyboards. Solos came from Hammond on piano and Payne on congas, the latter evolving into a dialogue with Exell at the kit, the two women quickly striking up an impressive rapport. It was only towards the end that Payne finally approached the vocal mic.

The Payne original “I Want To Be” featured a mix of Afro-Cuben and samba rhythms and incorporated both lyrics and wordless vocals, with instrumental solos for piano, congas and bass.

The samba “Batucarda” featured English language lyrics, with Exell’s rapid brush work propelling solos from Hammond, this time deploying an electric piano or ‘Rhodes’ sound, and Swainger. The performance also included a second drum and conga workout, with Payne and Exell continuing to warm to their task.

The first set concluded with a performance of “Embraceable You”, ushered in by a voice and piano duet, subsequently joined by Exell’s cymbal shimmers.  As the tempo of the music increased Payne moved to congas as she and Swainger underpinned Hammond’s piano solo, with Exell again sitting back, something she continued to do during Swainger’s bass solo, which was accompanied by congas and sparse piano chording only. Exell then rejoined for another dialogue with the leader’s congas, their rhythmic conversation tersely punctuated by bass and piano. Payne then returned to the vocal mic at the close.

Set two commenced with a second Payne original, the breezy “Singing Samba” featuring her wordless vocals, Hammond’s electric piano and Exell’s brisk brush work, the group sound reminiscent of that of the acoustic version of Chick Corea’s Return To Forever featuring Brazilian vocalist Flora Purim.

Acoustic piano and voice ushered in a beautiful interpretation of the Hoagy Carmichael ballad “Stardust”, with Payne’s emotive but assured vocals complemented by Hammond’s lyrical piano solo.  Swainger and Exell provided sympathetic support on double bass and brushed drums respectively.

A further Payne original, “Love Love”, explored Payne’s soul jazz leanings with autobiographical lyrics making reference to both drumming and dancing. Hammond reverted to an electric piano sound in her role as the featured instrumental soloist.

There was a return to more familiar territory with “I Get A Kick Out Of You”, with Payne alternating between voice and congas, her percussion underpinning solos from Swainger on double bass and Hammond on acoustic piano. Exell’s skilfully constructed drum feature received judicious punctuation from Swainger’s bass.

The final Payne original was “Morning Bird”, another song to feature an electric piano sound as the leader again moved between voice and congas. Instrumental highlights came with Swainger and Exell’s bass and drum dialogue.

The quarte concluded with the standard “My Foolish Heart”, with Payne again giving an emotive vocal performance as well as contributing on congas as she helped to support solos from Hammond on acoustic piano and Swainger on melodic double bass.

This was a gratifyingly well attended event and the large and supportive audience were quick to encourage the quartet to remain on stage for a well deserved encore. This was a joyous version of “One Note Samba”, with Payne tapping out the rhythms with her feet in addition to singing the English language lyrics and playing congas. Hammond was featured with an electric piano solo and Payne and Exell enjoyed a final drum and conga workout.

This one off quartet had delivered a highly entertaining and enjoyable evening of music featuring a well chosen selection of familiar standards plus a generous serving of Payne’s original songs. It was good to hear the latter and to appreciate Payne’s abilities as a songwriter. These items brought something different to the performance and complemented the more familiar material very well.

Payne’s playing of the conga drums also brought something different to the music in a performance that went beyond the usual ‘singer plus backing trio’. The way in which she and Exell quickly forged a musical understanding was very impressive, aided and abetted by Swainger and Hammond, both of whom also impressed with their contributions as accompanists and soloists.

All in all an excellent and enjoyable way to celebrate International Women’s Day and Brecon Women’s Festival and to remember the late Jen Wilson.

 

 

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