Upton Upon Severn Jazz Festival 2026 Part Four

 

I woke at a reasonably early time (for me), made myself a cup of tea and proceed to indulge in the S's ritual a gentleman participates in to start to his day. Once completed, I dressed and opened the curtains and was greeted by a gloriously sunny day which would no doubt bring increased jollity about the festival crowd, so no doubt it was going to be a good day. I consulted my programme to make a rough list of bands I was going to see today, I had already committed myself to Ms Maggie & the Cat's Pyjamas in the late afternoon, so there was going to be a little bit more planning going ahead than perhaps I usually would. Having made my decision I headed down to the Jazz office to pickup my wristband and have some general chit chat with other festival goers and just get a bit of a general vibe. I was greeted by one of the festival organiser's, John, with whom I have had a light correspondence with over the last few years or so. Amusingly he thought I had changed musical allegiances as upon observing the T-shirt I was wearing he at first believed the illustration to be depicting music legend Bob Dylan, but on closer inspection realised it was in fact Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor Who. We had a quick talk about which bands I was looking forward to seeing and generally how I thought the festival was shaping up,  I said thought the atmosphere was already better then it was last year and I think people are being to adapt to the new set up now. He had duties to attend to, so went on his way and I found myself drawn to the stall that had been setup in the lobby area of the Swan Hotel. It was a stall selling off a vast number of Jazz CDs from across the entire spectrum with a good selection of RVG Blue Note albums, and a number from the Telrac label, including a good number of 90s Dave Brubeck albums, the couple hosting were offering a special deal of 5 CDs for £20. Being a small stall it was obviously cash only, and I had limited funds on me at the time (I had yet to visit the cash point) so opted for three albums. I toyed with purchasing The Amazing Bud Powell Vol. 2 as I have had vol. 1 for years and had yet to come across a copy of vol. 2 (and 3!), but then remembered that I had purchased the Bud Powell: Tempus Fugue-It box set released by Proper Records about 15 years ago and I was fairly certain that it contain all the master takes of his Blue Note sessions. So rather than risk duplication, I purchased Dave Brubeck: So What's New, Jackie McLean: Capuchin Swing and Joe Lovano: Streams of Express. I did toy with getting Dave Brubeck: the Crossing as it was an album that was always lurking on the shelf at my local HMV when I was first getting into Jazz, but it never quite managed to reel me in. I figured I would draw out some extra cash and if the stall was still there on Sunday morning I would add some more albums to my collection. I had a reasonable conversation with the stall holder where we debated the merits of Tom Baker and Patrick Troughton's respective turns as Doctor Who, and then the conversation turned to Jazz festivals I have attended, and once again the subject of Bude Jazz Festival was raised and it appears I may have sparked some interest there.... perhaps the Bude Jazz Committee should start paying me commission if I end up continuing on that path... or at the very least buy me a pint when I'm there. There was a little time before the official opening of the festival by local councillor Martin Allen and the decorated brollies competition, so I headed over to the Warner's supermarket to withdraw some cash, pick up a few items from the car, and also get some nail clippers as I was concerned that my fingernails were beginning to look more like talons rather than nails. To my disappointment I found that the cash point was out of cash so would have to make a withdrawal from either the Upton Co-Op or see if any of the local hostelries did cash back, but at least I was able to get my nail clippers and gain my items from my motor, namely my hat and sunglasses. I did toy with getting my tweed jacket out, but it was far too warm to wearing tweed at this part of the day. I made a casual stroll back to the Swan Hotel for the opening and quickly calling in at the local mini mart to get myself a  takeaway latte, and also to a quick recon to see what 'on the go' food options they were selling, as eating on the go would likely be the MO for food as the day went on. 

I arrived in good time at the Swan, just as John, the host with the most, was setting up and having a casual chat with a guy who turned out to be councillor officially opening the festival. There were a few people in the audience with decorated brollies but very few, with the heat being a reason the local primary school had declined involvement late in the day. The brolly competition is the last vestige of the Jazz parade that would open the Saturday's festivities back in the day, when a crowd of people with highly decorated brolly's would follow the marching bands and the dancers as they would descend towards what was Jazz city, and out of this context I feel it looks a little out of place, but I guess it gives your everyday Joe a chance to be creative.  John called for attention, and had his guest make his grand opening speech, once this was completed John went through the bits and pieces about this year's festival and also paid tribute to "Sir" Alan Buckley, the man who organised and ran the festival for many year's up to 2012, whom had passed away couple of months prior to this year's festival. The judging of the brollies came up next, can't recall that results were. I spotted that not-David Bradley had approached the councillor and appeared to be making inquiries about allowing camping up on the Rugby Club ground for future festivals, evidently our conversation at the Rugby Club the previous night had struck a chord with him, as he had enquired at the bar that night and it seems to have boiled down to local politics, so I supposed approached a member of the council seemed a good starting point to make inquiries. I have no idea of the outcome, I supposed I will find out the answer in June 2027. I managed to have a quick conversation with John about bits and pieces, and I am guessing he had had a number of moaning Myrtles rabbiting on to him about how they should bring back the marquees etc, as he dropped a little hint of something he quickly backtracked on and changed the subject. I'm not going to cast assertions, but the hint certainly reinforced a suspicion I have been entertaining for a few years now, just based on observations here and there. With the conversation completed, I politely moved on and started my way to the Parish Church, where the first wristband only gig of the day was due to take place. The church is a good venue as it has a very large seating capacity and very good acoustic, so no matter where you sit in the church you always will get good sound, and on the whole the audience behaves a bit more and aren't busy chit-chatting about, well anything...

On my way up, I called in at the Upton Co-Op and took advantage of their meal deal options for a light snack before the gig, I purchased a Jalapeno Cheese Wrap, a small chocolate brownie, and a bottle of Coconut water, and as I don't think it is proper to eat in a church, had a mini-picnic sitting on the stone wall in the churchyard. This bought back a quick memory of my schooldays when if you dared sit on a wall for more than .0001 of second one of the dinner ladies would appear in front of Mrs Danvers style and growl at you to move or you'd get piles, I made a quick check of my surroundings and was rest assured that dinner ladies weren't coming to badger me from beyond the grave. With it almost start up time, I made my way into the church to see the band, who were called Dixie Mix and this would be their first gig of the day.

UPTON UPON SEVERN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2026: PART THREE

 I left the Rugby club and headed down past the Crown and noted it was still very busy with some of the patrons spilling out on to the adjacent pavement, and not because they had popped out for a cough and a drag. I briefly considered popping to Mojitos cocktail bar to order a pizza but I rightfully suspected that there would be quite a backlog on food orders due to a combination of festival goers and regular Friday night revelers. A curious thing I have found over the years I have been going to the festival, is that the Fish & Chip shop closes remarkably early of an evening, even at weekends and despite it being festival, or at least this has been the case post-Covid, so my option was limited to either a takeaway from the Chinese or one of the multiple Curry Houses on the high street, or pop down the Upton Kebab & Pizza takeaway. My lack of eating irons pretty much ruled out the a Chinese or a Curry, so it was off to the Kebab & Pizza takeout for some food. I purchase a Veggie Burger and some cheesy chips and sat on one of the many public benches to consume my modest meal as I think it would be a bit cheeky to head to the Swan and stuff my face with food purchased from another venue. The burger was ok, but the chips were possibly the greasiest and soggiest chips I have ever had the misfortune of consuming. This little shop is not a patch on the takeout I favour on Portland street in Manchester when visiting my beloved Wheelie One or the Kebab Shop in Bude which I discovered at last year's Bude Jazz festival. After forcing my way through the greasy mess pretending to be Cheesy Chips, I made my way to the third gig of the evening, the second set of the Malvern Jazz Jam at the Swan Hotel. As I arrived the events weren't quite kicking off so I headed to the bar to purchase a pint of the football theme ale they were serving. I headed to the stage which was situated in the courtyard/beer garden and over the next two days this would serve as the venue for the Upton Jazz Fringe over the next two days, more on this when the Fringe begins. There was a generous audience turn out for the set with practically every seat occupied and a fair few people watching from over the wall and on the street, I imagine a number were just Friday revealers indulging in a bit of curiosity, but since many seemed to stay- or at least had the good grace to move on between numbers and personnel change overs. While some may lament the 60/40 ratio of free entry gigs to paid wristband only gigs but it is important to have a shop window as it were to attract and engage new audiences and give people a taster of what the Upton Jazz Festival is all about, and how it is changing and evolving as time moves on. 

The second set of the Jazz Jam was just about to start and host Ray Snook introduced a couple of players who were joining the rhythm section on stage, who were key members of the Touch of Jazz band who would performing on the Fringe stage on Saturday afternoon. The rhythm section consisted of Kate Hill on the keys, Steve Galligan on bass, and Andy Clarke on the Drums, and they are the regular house band for the monthly Malvern Jazz Jam that takes place at the Malvern Social Club on the first Friday of every month. I wasn't sure what to expect from this session because my idea of what a Jazz Jam Session is like is probably clouded by the stories put forth my various musicians over the years through anecdotes in magazines, books, and documentaries, and of course the Norman Granz Jam Session album featuring Charlie Parker and a whole host of stars of the day; and then contrasted by the few Jam sessions I have attended over the years which have been somewhat contrary in their approach. I have attended a couple of the weekly Jam Sessions at the Manchester based jazz club Matt and Phred's, which leans a little bit into the projected image of a Jazz session, even down to the club being a little bit of a dingy venue down a seedy looking back alley. It seems a bit more free for all there with a lot of people, including a lot of students, just turning up to play and/or watch. They do have a rough idea of a theme for the Jam each week, first time I went there was e-jazz/ jazz funk aesthetic with a lot of the music having a early 70s Miles vibe, in particular the Cellar Door sessions and the album Live-Evil, and the other times I went there was a Bluenote theme, and later a New Orleans theme, so a movable feast there. Hopefully when I next pop up to  Manchester and see the Wheelie One I will able to call by at Matt and Phred's again. The other Jam session I have attended is the daily Jam at the Falcon Hotel in Bude which is the precursor to the main music on each day of the Bude Jazz Festival and this seems, to me at least, a little more orchestrated and more focused on ensemble playing rather then exploring the music. In fact it does kind of have a vibe of the music class at school playing to the town... and come to think of it, the first one I attended did have of the musicians sing a rendition of "The Sheik of Araby" in costume, which no doubt he thought made him look like Valentino but looked more like he'd raided the costume department for the local school's nativity play!   

The Malvern Jazz Jam was not as free and loose as those at Matt and Phred's but was most certainly more creative and ambitious than the players on the Terrence at the Falcon, there was a certain degree of orchestration with players to give a balanced programme and show a variety of styles, ensembles and players. Being a more public facing gig, I do wonder of it they were being more restrained in comparison as to how it would run on the regular Jam night back in Malvern. Due to the limited space available in the audience I wasn't able to make notes for this occasion so I could not tell you who went up to play and what music was played, but I can tell you it was a good entertaining evening. As the session drew to a close I went out down by the riverside to take some snaps of the rive at dusk. Once my snaps were taken I headed back to the Swan had myself a little nightcap at the bar before heading up to my room, somewhat reassured that the overall vibe and atmosphere of the festival was a dramatic step up from last year.