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Site Map Home Page September 2005 Sophie Bancroft Sue McCreeth Martin France Geoff Eales Musicians Play List Pat Metheny - Live Blue Note Book Review Appleby Jazz Festival 2005 > Built using 123web	Appleby Jazz Festival 2005
	Report by Steve Baxter Another year, another Appleby Jazz Festival, and driving into the campsite up against the festival marquee in the dip between the road and the River Eden, we could see immediately that little had changed. In the setting-up procedure, everything has its place and everyone has his or her role. In terms of the audience, the same hard core punters return year after year, and some even appear to pitch their tents in the same place every time. For people committed to a form of music that places such a high value on improvisation, jazz fans can be a pretty conservative bunch. The line-up too reflects an ?if it ain?t broke don?t fix it? mentality: organiser Neil Furber shuffles his well-worn pack every year to produce various old and new combinations, occasionally slipping in an unexpected ace from under the table. It?s a matter of tradition. In keeping with tradition, then, Thursday night?s opening concert was aimed at helpers, locals and those hard core Appleby fans who?d driven from all directions to get there early. It?s a chance for everyone to let their hair down - oldies, kiddies, couples, simultaneously overdressed and underdressed young girls, shy/brash young lads. Sometimes it feels like being an outsider in that Peter Kay wedding reception routine. The acts are obviously carefully chosen to appeal to this crowd but at the same time have credibility in jazz/world music terms. This year it was a Cuban band led by Omar Puente, followed by Mabulu from Mozambique. The hot Afro-Caribbean rhythms were in stark contrast to the distinctly damp weather outside. A critical opinion of the music is pretty irrelevant, but for what it?s worth I would have preferred the running order to be reversed: the Africans were fine when playing African-style but had a less appealing (to me, anyway) shouting/rapping side, while the Cubans had the marginally more infectious rhythms, more variation of tempo, plus the considerable advantage of guest trumpeter Steve Waterman. More of him later - quite a lot more in fact. We really knew we were at Appleby when we were awoken by the sound of the piano being tuned on Friday morning. It?s actually quite a pleasant way to wake up, but at 7.00am?? The reason for this early plink plink plonk only dawned on me some time later. The main event started at noon when Arnie Somogyi?s band of young bloods, operating under the name of Ambulance, started work on what he described as ?the graveyard shift?. It didn?t help, he admitted ruefully, that their set was mostly made up of music more suited to Ronnie Scott?s at around 11.00 pm. Still it was a good opener, and a gratifyingly large number of people had occupied their seats to appreciate it. The warm-up continued steadily through the afternoon courtesy of Stan Sulzmann?s Quartet, featuring guitarist John Parricelli and the excellent young pianist Gwilym Simcock, then the first appearance by Appleby stalwart Don Weller, individual as ever and this time partnered by the underrated trumpeter Dick Pearce. As another example of the importance of tradition, the programme pointed out that this was the same quintet who?d played a memorable set here back in 1994. An early highlight for me was the teatime appearance of Tim Garland with Gwilym Simcock (again) and Asaf Sirkis on drums and ?udu? (a percussion instrument that looks rather like a pair of earthenware pots you might see at your local garden centre. Together they negotiated the complexities of Garland?s recently composed Music for Lighthouses, a series of intricate and atmospheric pieces that mix composed, almost classical themes and exhilarating improvised passages. At the end, there was barely time to draw breath before heading up the hill to St. Michael?s Church, Appleby?s alternative venue, generally reserved for the more experimental stuff. I?d never made it up there in previous years (things I wanted to catch in the marquee or just time out to attend to the necessities of life) but this was unmissable. If, like me, you used to go to rock concerts and festivals in the late 60s and early 70s, you?ll no doubt remember those seemingly interminable drum solos. They could be pretty exciting if it was someone like Ginger Baker, but very tedious in the hands of lesser technicians (and there were many). Now imagine two drummers improvising for over an hour. Dull, right? No, in fact definitely wrong as the two in question were Bryan Spring and Tony Levin. Together they sustained a phenomenal level of not just interest but absorption, ebbing and flowing like tidal surges and responding to each other with a sympathetic intuition clearly based on mutual respect. Back at the marquee it was pretty much time for the evening?s events to begin with another duo, this time Brian Kellock and Dave Newton (that was when the reason for the 7.00 am piano tuning finally became clear - two pianos!). Like the drummers, this partnership was based in co-operation and interplay rather than competition, and the two are well matched. What they share, apart from their Scottish nationality, is a broadly-based approach that goes all the way back to stride and boogie styles and extends up to post-bop and beyond. This was to be the first of three piano duos (therefore more early mornings for us campers) and it was, I thought, the best. Next up was a quintet co-led by Kenny Wheeler and German tenor player Gerd Dudek. The music combined structure and freedom; it was interesting but I found it didn?t engage me. This wasn?t helped by the arrival of a blue-light ambulance just outside half way through. There were rumours that someone had suffered a heart attack, and I reflected rather sourly that a) it wouldn?t be too surprising in an audience with this average age and b) it was unlikely to have been a result of the excitement generated by Kenny Wheeler. I?m sorry, but he?s one of those musicians (and maybe most of us have them) that I?ve got a bit of a block on. He?s clearly highly rated but there?s something about his style that fails to connect with me - it seems to alternate between an extreme version of the Miles Davis melancholy ?falling off? at the end of notes and high register runs almost squeezed reluctantly out of the instrument. To be fair, I obviously missed him in his prime, and he is after all now in his mid-seventies. It was an impressive line-up, though: Parricelli making his second appearance of the festival, Chris Laurence, a bass player I remember admiring when I saw him play with John Taylor over thirty years ago, and Tony Levin managing to play free and in time simultaneously (as well as acting as an amiable spokesman, elected because no-one else wanted to do it). Co-leader Dudek, meanwhile, proved to be a fine player with a warm, expressive tone and a lively, adventurous approach to improvisation. In terms of impressive line-ups, though, you couldn?t beat Friday night?s bill-toppers, an octet led by Peter King. It was basically his regular quartet (Steve Melling, Jeremy Brown and Stephen Keogh) beefed up considerably by the addition of Iain Dixon?s tenor, Alan Barnes on baritone and clarinet, Andy Wood on trombone and star trumpeter Guy Barker. Together, they breezed through the intricate themes, sounding at times like a driving big band (or medium at least). There was even a straight blues towards the end of the set on which everyone had a good old-fashioned blow. For the most part, though, it was Peter King?s music. By common consent he is the best bebop alto player this country has ever produced, but this doesn?t do justice to his range as a player and composer: these days he?s influenced not so much by Charlie Parker as Coltrane (a point emphasised by his use of soprano sax) and classical music (one piece, ?Tristan?s Tune?, was based on part of Wagner?s ?Tristan und Isolde?). It was a fine way to end the evening, and I have to admit I spent the last bit lying in the tent, aware of the fact that the piano tuner would be starting up again seven hours later. Saturday promised to be the best day of the three, so it was a quick nip into town for supplies (we kept almost literally bumping into Evan Parker and his wife in the market), then back in time for Bobby Wellins with the Mark Edwards Trio, a warmly received set in which the rejuvenated tenor player breathed new life into old warhorses like ?Fascinating Rhythm? and ?When I Grow Too Old to Dream?. Nice, unpretentious stuff, and the weather seems to be getting a bit warmer. Is it too early for a pint? Next up was Brian Kellock?s trio, marginally less pulverising than their debut last year, when maybe they felt they had something to prove, but still forceful enough to make everyone sit up and take notice. They were joined on trumpet for a couple of numbers by one of my long-time favourites Henry Lowther, who would otherwise have made the long trip up from London just to stand at the back in a big band. Then Mark Edwards returned for the second of the festival?s piano duos, accompanied by John Donaldson on a series of Jarrett-like improvisations, all rippling runs over rhythmic left-hand vamps. It was a busy afternoon for Mark Edwards as he then had to make it to the church on time in order to fulfil his duties as part of the Bryan Spring Trio. This presented a bit of a time management dilemma for me too: I wanted to see my favourite drummer but didn?t want to miss two of my other favourites: Alan Barnes and Steve Waterman playing a Horace Silver tribute. In the end I managed to catch quite a lot of the former (dynamic was the word that came to mind) and still make it back for the start of the latter. The combination of the two front men, a top notch rhythm section of Dave Green and a batch of Silver?s best compositions was pretty much unbeatable. As entertaining as the music itself - tight, hard-swinging ensembles plus blistering solos - was the patent Barnes patter between songs. Introducing ?Baghdad Blues? (?another blues that isn?t a blues?), he warned us to ?look out for some Gilad Atzmon tonguing between me and Steve - and that?s before the piece starts.? Showing that the tonguing isn?t the only Atzmon feature that?s rubbed off on him, he dedicated it to George Bush ?in the hope that something truly awful happens to him very soon?, adding, after a perfectly judged pause, ?I know - I?ll send him the album.? In many ways, Alan Barnes is the heart and soul of Appleby Jazz, while Steve Waterman himself appears to have (quite rightly) gained promotion into the inner circle. After this unashamed populism, the afternoon session closed with an hour of free improv from Evan Parker?s sextet, or to be more precise two simultaneous trios, each with a sax player (Parker and the indefatigable Paul Dunmall), a drummer (Tonys Levin and Marsh) and Paul Rogers and John Edwards on bass (double bass!). Many predictably took the opportunity for a stroll but this time I decided to stick it out along with a reassuringly large part of the audience. We were rewarded with a display of musicianship, commitment and sheer stamina that was sometimes gripping and at other times frankly quite gruelling. It didn?t make for easy listening of course, but full marks to Neil Furber for showcasing this minority taste year after year (for the hard core, there was a whole afternoon devoted to it up in the church on Sunday afternoon too). And so, with just enough of a break to get a bite to eat, we were into the evening. After the third piano duo, this time a predictably fine one featuring Stan Tracey and Steve Melling, things suddenly started going big on us. First it was an octet led by Art Themen playing the music of Mike Gibbs (who was there to help play it and occasionally conduct). Kenny Wheeler featured prominently again, but for me the one who really stood out was trombonist Andy Wood. At first, the music seemed a bit meandering until they did part of the Gibbs 60s magnum opus ?Tanglewood ?63?, when things really took off and rocked. Then it got bigger with the night?s headliners. Introducing the Don Weller Big Band, Neil confessed that he?d been on the verge of saying ?we?ve saved the best till last? before he realised that it wouldn?t be fair on all the others. Still, he had a point. With such a star-studded personnel, this band is a powerful battleship bristling with heavy guns, with a grizzled but benevolent veteran at the helm. On saxes the leader was joined by Barnes, Themen, King, Iain Dixon and Martin Speake, with Andy Wood, Adrian Fry and Sarah Williams on trombones and a stellar trumpet section of Dick Pearce, Henry Lowther, Tony Fisher and the wonderful Mr Waterman, all powered along by Dave Newton, Andy Cleyndert and Dave Barry. You don?t need me to tell you it was a huge sound - swinging, bluesy and funky with that unmistakably quirky twist the leader brings to everything he does. Nearly all the tunes were Weller?s own, with typically enigmatic titles like ?Glowsy Roe?, ?The Bearded Gravy? and ?Four by Three?, ?inspired by a piece of wood?. And now I have a confession to make: I took Sunday lunchtime off, thus missing a session with Stan Tracey, Bobby Wellins and Norma Winstone - dereliction of duty maybe, but there was a danger of getting ?jazzed out?. For one thing it was the best weather of the weekend and a good time for a little walk in the countryside, and for another I have to admit that Norma Winstone is another of my personal blocks. We were back in time to sit outside with what my wife calls ?the Sunday afternoon Glyndebourne types? and listen to Martin Speake?s Constellation playing their re-interpretation of Charlie Parker legacy. There are those who don?t respond to Martin Speake?s music (even the programme notes seemed to have a slightly negative subtext), but it?s a set I?ve seen and heard before, and I really like his restrained, sometimes rather aloof, approach to this material. He?s not a showman or a great communicator, but together with Mike Outram on guitar and his excellent regular rhythm section, he produced an understated masterpiece of a performance. After a nice set from the Clark Tracey trio with Gareth Williams alternating between piano and guitar, the afternoon was programmed to finish with an octet led by Alan Barnes (fine so far) featuring his musical settings for various poems (OK, maybe) and lyrics written and sung by Norma Winstone (Hmm). Frankly, I was sceptical. In the event, however, it was really enjoyable. The poems were by Yeats (?When You Are Old and Full of Sleep?, which Alan cheekily said applied to 75% of the audience), Walter Raleigh and, predominantly, e e cummings, and the composition was so skilful that you?d never imagine that they weren?t written as jazz songs (if rather arty ones). I?d been worried that the context would cause Alan Barnes to go serious on us, but it was not to be. He pointed out that sax players have it easy compared to singers because they have buttons to press, whereas ?there are no buttons on Norma?. ?There might be,? she countered, ?you just haven?t worked out how to press them.? So, respect to Norma Winstone - there aren?t many who can cross verbal swords with him and get away with it. Towards the end, Art Themen strode to the microphone and said of his old sparring partner: ?He thinks I?m going to say something nice about him but I?m not.? Then suddenly he came over all sincere and stated that he?d actually never been able to find a flaw in ?the diamond that is Alan Barnes?. It was a touching moment. We?re nearing the end, and they really had saved the best for last. The first part of Sunday evening belonged to Stan Tracey and his trio (son Clark and the magnificent Andy Cleyndert), fronted in turn by Peter King, then Guy Barker and finally Don Weller. Each one is a master of his trade, and they were frankly superb. The standout for me was a duet between Stan and Don, the two great individualists of British jazz, vindicated after a lifetime of dogged commitment. Then all three frontmen came together in a version an old Tracey band, Hexad. They packed a mighty punch: stirring themes, great solos (obviously) and a rollicking rhythm that at times was virtually straight R&B. At one point I spotted the younger Tracey (Clark?s son) standing just outside, nodding their heads in unison; others were dancing. If the last lot are effectively the Appleby house band, then what about the next grouping? I guess you could call them the other house band: Themen, Weller, Barnes and Newton backed by Arnie Somogyi and Dave Barry. They kicked off with an energising run through the bop classic Wee and never looked back. ?Alice in Wonderland? featured three solos that highlighted the contrasting styles of the sax players, the old Rollins/Coltrane collaboration ?Tenor Madness? showcased the interplay between them, and a ?ballad medley? featured each one in turn on three numbers (the clear standout was Barnes playing ?You Do Something to Me? to a hushed audience). They closed with Horace Silver?s ?Sister Sadie?, then encored with an untitled blues. Talk about finishing on a high. Great music, then, but Appleby isn?t just about the music. A couple of Sunday evening snapshots will give a flavour: Alan Barnes?s daughter Molly performing cartwheels on the grass to an appreciative audience of jazz veterans while her dad was on stage playing, and a little earlier Arnie Somogyi attempting (not very successfully) to get his kids to come and eat their tea outside the camper van half an hour before he was due on. It?s that kind of event: family-friendly, foodie-friendly, dog-friendly - well, basically just friendly. OK, as I said at the start, they keep shuffling more or less the same pack, but it is an extraordinary pack in that it contains lots of aces. In the end, that?s what keeps the regulars (and me) coming back for more.
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