Will Barnes Quartet, Brecon Jazz Club, The Muse Arts Centre, Brecon, 12/11/2024.

Will Barnes – guitar, Jack Gonsalez – keyboard, Clovis Phillips – double bass, James Batten – drums

Brecon Jazz Club’s November event saw a welcome return to the town by the guitarist and composer Will Barnes.

Based in Mid Wales Barnes has been a regular visitor to Brecon for both Club and Festival events, appearing alongside such musicians as violinist Sarah Barnwell and fellow guitarists Deirdre Cartwright and  Jean Guyomarc’h. He appears on Barnwell’s eponymous début album, which was released in 2017 and is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/sarah-barnwell

Other musicians with whom he has performed are saxophonist Alan Barnes (no relation, as far as I know), violinist Dan Cassidy and fellow guitarists Frank Vignola, Gary Potter and John Etheridge.

Barnes worked for a while with the highly successful gypsy jazz / crossover band Gypsy Fire, performed with function bands and even turned his hand to reggae and to heavy metal. 

He has also worked extensively with the Shropshire based singer-songwriter Beth Prior, making vital contributions to her album “Little Acts of Kindness” and to the EPs “Nomad” and “Cult”.

He has appeared on the Jazzmann web pages on numerous other occasions.  I first saw him perform with the trio Inspector Gadjo, a group that featured Sarah Barnwell in its first incarnation and which played a mix of Django Reinhardt inspired gypsy jazz and American bebop inspired by the likes of Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery.

Inspector Gadjo worked regularly with saxophonist Casey Greene and in 2010 released the album “Samba 48”, which is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/inspector-gadjo-trio-featuring-casey-greene-samba-48

After a while off the scene concentrating on his ‘day job’ as an agronomist Barnes has returned to the jazz fold with an exciting new quartet featuring four talented twenty-somethings based in his own Mid Wales neighbourhood. Pianist Jack Gonsalez and bassist Clovis Phillips are music graduates while self taught drummer James Batten, who also performs elsewhere as a pianist and vocalist, has learnt his trade playing across a variety of musical genres. 

In 2022 I saw this quartet play an excellent set as part of the “Family Jazz & Dance Day” at that year’s Brecon Jazz Festival. My review of this performance can be found as part of my Festival coverage here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/features/article/brecon-jazz-festival-family-jazz-dance-day-brecon-county-showground-brecon-07-08-2022

The current quartet is clearly a labour of love for Barnes and the band has begun to acquire a reputation as an excellent live act. The set list at the Family Jazz and Dance Day had included a mix of jazz and bebop standards plus a sprinkling of original compositions written in the same general style, these eventually finding their way on to the quartet’s debut album “Source of the Severn”.

A number of the jazz standards that feature in the quartet’s repertoire can be heard on the digital EP “Time Capsule Vol. 1”, which was released in October 2022 and is available via the quartet’s Bandcamp page.
https://willbarnesmusic.bandcamp.com/music

By the time that I caught up with the quartet again at Kidderminster Jazz Club in June 2023 there was a greater focus on original material, with most of the tracks from the “Source of the Severn” album appearing alongside a clutch of standards. My review of this performance can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/will-barnes-quartet-kidderminster-jazz-club-45-live-venue-kidderminster-worcs-01-06-2023

Released in October 2023 in vinyl and digital formats the “Source of the Severn” album features nine original compositions inspired by the landscape and places of the Welsh Marches, the beautiful area that all the members of the group call home.

The physical version of the recording is presented on two twelve inch, 33 rpm discs pressed on very thick vinyl.  The album packaging features the artwork of Erin Hughes, who created nine original illustrations in response to the music. These are featured in the handsome album booklet and there is clearly a great deal of mutual respect between the artist and the musicians, making this a very successful collaboration. Hughes has accompanied the band on tour and the musical performances have been complemented by Hughes’ live visuals,

The “Source of the Severn” album is favourably appraised here.;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/will-barnes-quartet-source-of-the-severn

In January 2024 I enjoyed a performance by the quartet, plus Hughes, at the STOP Cafe venue in Shrewsbury. This was a very enjoyable event and the standard of the playing was exceptional throughout.. .However the small size of the venue meant that Hughes’ real time visuals couldn’t be seen at their best, which was something of a disappointment. My review of The Shrewsbury performance can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/will-barnes-quartet-stop-cafe-shrewsbury-12-01-2024

I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed that Hughes wasn’t here with the band this evening. The Muse, which had screened two jazz related films as part of the 2024 Brecon Jazz Festival, would have been far more conducive than the Shrewsbury venue for the visual aspect of the “Source of the Severn” show. It looks as if I will have to wait until 2025 to finally catch the full audio-visual experience when the quartet’s current tour reaches Presteigne.

At the request of the Brecon Jazz Club organisers tonight’s performance harked back to the 2022 Family Jazz and Dance Day and featured a number of well chosen jazz and bebop standards among the original material.

The event was presented as part of Arts Council Wales’ Noson Allan, or Night Out, scheme and drew a full house to The Muse, which was great to see.

The quartet began with a segue of an original, as yet untitled piece, that they have developed during the current tour, and “Lle Mae Trefaldwyn”, a track from the “Source of the Severn” album.
The new piece was ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied guitar, with bass, drums and keys subsequently added. The gently rippling arpeggios of the intro gradually developed into something more lyrical, episodic and ultimately anthemic, with Barnes acting as the featured soloist. This was an evocative piece that fitted neatly into sound-world of “Source of the Severn”, the narrative arc of the work suggesting that it too might have been inspired by the Marches landscape.
A Blakey-esque drum roll from Batten signalled the change into “Lle Mae Trefaldwyn”, a title translating as “Where’s Montgomery”, and as such representing a tip of the hat to one of Barnes’ jazz guitar heroes. This was a more upbeat piece with more of an obvious jazz and bebop influence. Barnes delivered a more conventional jazz guitar solo, followed by Gonsalez at his Nord Grand electric keyboard. Phillips added a touch of sly musical humour to his bass feature before Barnes returned to solo again, his playing featuring a mix of plectrum and finger picking.

Next up was an effective jazz arrangement of the Stevie Wonder composition “I Can’t Help It”, a song made famous by Michael Jackson on his “Off The Wall” album. Lithe guitar melodies were accompanied by an insistent keyboard vamp and the clatter of Batten’s sticks on rims. Solos came from Barnes on guitar and Gonsalez at the keyboard, with Gonsalez and Batten subsequently adding a Latin-esque flourish via a lively series of keyboard and drum exchanges.

The success of “Source of the Severn” has seen the quartet reaching out beyond their Mid Wales heartland and beginning to acquire a national reputation. An appearance on BBC Radio 4’s “Loose Ends” programme, recorded at the 2024 Hay Festival, would have done them no harm in this regard. A successful appearance at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club has recently been documented on the digital only album release “Live at Pizza Express, Soho”.
The opening track on that recording is “The Dragon’s Tail”, a piece first recorded on “Source of the Severn”. A bebop style ‘head’ saw Batten deploying brushes, with Phillips sometimes leading from the bass. Batten switched to sticks as the music gathered momentum, progressing via solos from Barnes an Gonsalez. Phillips’ bass solo developed into a dialogue with Batten, this eventually evolving into a neatly constructed drum feature.

There was a deviation from the planned set list when Barnes called the John Coltrane composition “Impressions”, dedicating the tune to Lynne Gornall and Roger Cannon of Brecon Jazz. Fuelled by Phillips’ propulsive bass lines and Batten’s crisp drumming this was a high octane,  fast moving performance that featured Barnes’ lightning fingered guitar soloing and a hard hitting drum feature from Batten in a fiery series of exchanges with guitar and keys.

Following this burst of energy it came as no surprise as the quartet slowed things down again with “Up On The Hill”, another composition from the “Source of the Severn” album. Subtly blues tinged and embracing something of a gypsy jazz melodic influence this piece commenced with a series of gently lyrical guitar and piano exchanges, with Batten deploying brushes. Thoughtful and lyrical solos from Gonsalez and Barnes led to a melodic bass feature from Phillips, after which the music changed direction, gathering momentum as Barnes returned for a second solo, his approach now much more playful as he inserted a number of humorous musical quotes into his playing.

The first set the concluded in upbeat, energetic fashion with “Mad March Hare”, the opening track from the “Source of the Severn” album. This fast moving piece is a musical depiction of the frantic antics of the titular hares and here acted as the jumping off point for suitably lively solos from Barnes on guitar, Gonsalez at the keyboard and Batten at the drum kit. The latter has recently been acquired by Batten and was custom made for him in Welsh oak by Tarian Drums from Pontyclun. It looked good and sounded great.

Set two commenced with “Machia Wallia”, another piece from the “Source of the Severn” recording. With a title representing the Latin for “Welsh Marches” and a composition collectively written by all four group members this is a song about the feelings of mixed identity that arise from growing up in a border area. “It’s a tune with an identity crisis” remarked Barnes, not entirely facetiously. Perhaps initially rooted in a group improvisation this was an atmospheric and evocative piece that included melodic solos from Gonsalez and Phillips.

The Dizzy Gillespie bebop standard “Groovin’ High” was given what Barnes described as “a manouche twist”, a nod to his earlier involvement in the world of gypsy jazz. But this was still very much a bebop performance, with lively, agile solos from Gonsalez and Barnes, plus a further series of guitar and piano exchanges.

The quartet slowed things down again with “Echoes of Spring”, another Barnes original from “Source of the Severn”.  This is a tune written during the winter months that looks forward to the arrival of spring and it represents one of Barnes’ most melodic and evocative compositions. Featuring Batten deploying a combination of brushes and mallets this incorporated the gently lyrical soloing of Gonsalez and Barnes.

The pace picked up again with “Stepaside Oscar”, a Barnes original written in the bebop style. The fact that the piece was introduced by a passage of unaccompanied double bass, played by Phillips on a veteran instrument gifted to him by his grandmother, suggested that the ‘Oscar’ in question is probably Pettiford rather than Peterson, but I forgot to ask. Phillips’ dexterous, resonant intro was joined by Batten’s drum commentary, with Barnes and Gonsalez subsequently joining the fray and featuring as soloists as the piece developed. There was also renewal of the earlier bass / drum dialogue as Barnes and Gonsalez temporarily dropped out. It all points to Pettiford.

There was a return to the standards repertoire with “Someday My Prince Will Come”, which Barnes dedicated to his wife Zoe and his two daughters, the youngest of which had arrived only the night before the gig! Congratulations to Will, Zoe and family.
Introduced by a passage of unaccompanied guitar this gently swinging piece included solos from Barnes, Gonsalez and Phillips in an arrangement that also added something of a contemporary, and very welcome, twist to this much played standard.

The set concluded with a performance of the title track from “Source of the Severn”. It represents one of Barnes’ most episodic compositions, perhaps intended to mirror the journey of the river itself as it flows through the landscape. Here it incorporated fluent, melodic solos from Barnes and Gonsalez, with Phillips and Batten again providing sympathetic, well judged rhythmic support.

It was gratifying to see the audience responding equally enthusiastically to the original writing as they did to the standards and pop tunes. Following the conclusion of this last piece the clamour for an encore was overwhelming and the band remained on stage for a rip-roaring run through of the classic bebop standard “Cherokee”. Introduced by bass and drums the propulsive grooves prompted a dazzlingly agile guitar solo from Barnes, this followed by Gonsalez’s equally eye catching keyboard pyrotechnics. Batten took a short solo at the drum kit and also entered into a series of exuberant exchanges with Barnes and Gonsalez. A terrific way to round off an evening that represented a triumph both for the Will Barnes Quartet and for Brecon Jazz Club. Vinyl sales were brisk, always the sign of a good gig.

Although I was disappointed that Hughes’ visuals weren’t part of the package this was a hugely successful event on its own terms, and I suspect that most of the audience probably weren’t even aware of Hughes’s absence. The music spoke for itself and did so effectively and eloquently, with the original material proving to be just as popular as the standards. It was great end to a very eventful twenty four hours for Will Barnes.

My thanks to Will, James and Jack for speaking with me at the interval and after the show. Cheers guys, hope to catch you again at Presteigne in the New Year.

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