Jazz musician Chris Ingham and folk musician Chris Wilbraham cast their expert eyes over the local music scene
JAZZ with Chris Ingham: cjr.ingham@outlook.com/www.chrisingham.co.uk
Friday, October 25
ALLISON NEALE QUARTET (Hunter Club Arts Centre, Bury, 7.30pm, £18, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009) US-born, London-based saxophonist Allison Neale is a fine exponent of the melodic, West Coast style. She evokes the exquisite 1960s collaborations between altoist Paul Desmond and guitarist Jim Hall with the experienced, expressive and empathetic Colin Oxley (guitar), Jeremy Brown (bass) and Matt Fishwick (drums).
DIXIEMIX (Dereham Memorial Hall, 7.30pm, £20, ticketsource.co.uk) Expertly performed jazz music of the traditional and swing variety with the recently refreshed Norfolk-based favourites featuring Simon Nelson (trumpet/vocals), Chris Wigley (trombone), Karl Wirrmann (clarinet/alto sax), Kevin West (banjo/guitar), Maurizio Borgna (double bass) and Tony Wilkins (drums/vocals).
Sunday, October 27
JE SUIS SWING (Maddermarket Theatre Bar, Norwich, 7.30pm, £17.30, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) French and American standards with a Hot Club feeling featuring Julie Hewitt (vocals), David Rees (vocals), Zak Barrett (clarinet), Simon Hurley (guitar), Robert Ford (guitar), Andy Staples (bass), Simon Brown (piano), Alex Best (drums).
Friday, November 1
ELECTRIC ALCHEMY (St Peter’s By the Waterfront, Ipswich, 7.30pm, £17.30/£14.50, stpetersbythewaterfront.com) A dynamic fusion of classical, jazz, Indian and gypsy music with Marianne Olyver (acoustic & electric violin), Oliver Steggles (electric guitar), Tristan Stocks (vocals), Jeffery Wilson (saxophone), John Human (piano/keyboard), Jonathan Woolston (bass) and Sirishkumar Manj (table).
FOR THE DIARY
Friday-Sunday, November 8-24
CAMBRIDGE JAZZ FESTIVAL (Various venues in Cambridge, cambridgejazzfestival.info) Concerts, workshops, hangs, jams and more, for over two weeks. Highlights include Pat Metheny, Tim Garland’s Lighthouse Trio & Britten Sinfonia and Dennis Rollins with the Cambridge University Jazz Orchestra.
Sunday, November 10
PETE LONG SALUTES BENNY GOODMAN (Venue 16, Ipswich, 2.30pm, £15, ipswichjazzandblues.com) An electrifying romp through the classic Benny Goodman small group repertoire of the 1930s and early 40s, plus an opening set from FNY with Yula Andrews (vocal), Felix Serrano (guitar) and Neil Bateman (sax).
Wednesday, November 13
SIMON SPILLETT QUARTET (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £20, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) Reliably exciting hard bop from author/saxophonist Spillett with Rob Barron (piano), Alec Dankworth (bass) and Pete Cater (drums).
Saturday, November 16
ARBENZ X (Hidden Rooms, Cambridge, 2pm, £15 & £20, cambridgejazz.org, 01223 514777) An exhilarating, hand-picked multi-generational combo fronted by drummer Florian Arbenz and featuring Immy Churchill (voice), Nick Smart (trumpet/flugelhorn), Ivo Neame (keyboards), Jim Hart (vibes/perc) and Szymon Mika (guitar).
Tuesday, November 19
MARTIN HALLMARK’S Q3 ((Maddermarket Theatre Bar, Norwich, 7.30pm, £16/£8, norwichjazzclub.co.uk) Original contemporary jazz with Martin Hallmark (piano), Kevin Flanagan (tenor), Tiago Coimbra (bass) and Derek Scurll (drums).
Friday, November 22
ALAN BARNES (Hunter Club Arts Centre, Bury, 7.30pm, £18, headhunterslive.org, 07799 650009) Multi award-winning multi-reedsman Barnes joins Chris Ingham (piano), Malcolm Creese (bass) and George Double (drums) for high-end modern swing and droll anecdote.
Wednesday, November 27
ART THEMEN ORGAN TRIO (Stoke By Nayland Golf Club, 8pm, £20, fleecejazz.org.uk, 01787 211865) Part of the Art Themen at 85: Live in Soho tour, the indestructible Themen leads with mischief and aplomb, strikingly supported by Pete Whittaker (organ) and George Double (drums).
FOLK with Chris Wilbraham: chris.wilbraham@tinyonline.co.uk
There was much to enjoy musically for me last week. I attended a great daytime session at The Rose and Crown, Bury St Edmunds, and on Friday played a set in Pakenham church in support of all female folk trio Lady Maisery.
The Rose and Crown Folksesh happens between 4pm and 7pm on the third Tuesday of each month. Most participants are of retirement age with a few, like me, joining after hurrying away from work. Tuesday’s session featured banjo and slide guitar playing, beautiful unaccompanied singing and a fine rendition of Little Pot Stove, with harmonies from the congregation. When Amy Pearl sang Lowlands, accompanied by Toby Mills on bazouki, I felt TV cameras should have been present to record the session for wider viewing.
I have previously mentioned a series of concerts in Pakenham church, curated by Dave Reece. With little experience of staging musical events he persuaded some of his favorite artists to perform in his village. He requested help staging the events and I responded with the loan of a PA system and convinced him that a local support act was a good idea. When Lady Maisery sent him their PA requirements it was several levels above what I had lent, but The Larks retained the support slot.
As we observed the sound check for an hour before setting ourselves up, it became clear why such a specification was needed. Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheingans sang together and individually over and over again so that the sound engineer could optimize the way they sounded in the echoey church, sometimes playing the instruments that crowded the stage. They sounded glorious. Eventually, they declared themselves satisfied and Dave hurried them away to be fed by a local family.
Our sound check was brief but successful, with a more simple set-up and soon the church was filled to capacity, a tribute to Dave’s promotional skills and Lady Maisery’s pulling power.
Our songs, chosen with the venue’s reverberence in mind, were well received and as people relaxed with locally-produced ale, I had to depart to catch a train, so I give you my singing partner Liz’s account of the impressive main attraction’s sets: “I’d seen Lady Maisery years ago in the club tent at Cambridge Folk Festival, so I knew watching them in a church would be a treat. I was delighted to see how they have developed since then. They have released an album of self-penned songs, with three carefully chosen covers (Bjork, Tracy Chapman and Lal Waterson). I loved the fact their songs covered meaningful subjects, which they introduced us to before each song. Echoes, about dementia, was particularly moving. The stage was awash with instruments - accordion, melodeon, foot percussion, viola, violin, banjo, harp, bells. . . to which they added body percussion. They were charming, amusing and their vocal harmonies were absolutely stunning and inventive. The musicianship was impressive. Pakenham church proved a perfect sparkling venue for the event, and the audience sat silent and spellbound, but between songs there were whoops and cheers.”
Dave’s next Pakenham church concert happens next March.
Here are gigs happening next week:
Friday, October 25
John Peel Centre, Stowmarket, 7pm, Fairport Convention. £32.
Wingfield Barns, 7.30pm, Hannah Scott. £14.
The Swan, Needham Market, 8pm, Jeremy Harmer.
Golden Hind, Cambridge, 8pm, Cambridge Folk Club: Open Stage with special guest Tom Ling. £5.
Saturday, October 26
Canopy Theatre, Beccles, 7.30pm, Dan McKinnon, support from Peter and Jane. £12.90.
Monday, October 28
The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, 7.30pm, Seckou Keita Homeland Band. £25.
Colchester Arts Centre, 8pm, Jack Rutter, support from Songs of the Folk. £16.50.
Wednesday, October 31
Banham Barrel, 8pm, Later with James Veira, Hallowe’en Special.
Friday, November 1
Risbygate Sports Club, Bury St Edmunds, 8pm, The Milkmaid Folk Club, Tom McConville. £12.
Hadleigh Folk Club, Ansell Centre, 8pm, Hunter Muskett, support from Gwendal Moele. £8.
