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.
No comments:
Post a Comment