Brian Payne is entranced by the first Llandudno Jazz Festival, seeing the start of something big despite the damp weather. Brian Robinson seconds the idea 100%
Llandudno’s first jazz festival took place 24-26 July in Bodafon Fields overlooking the Irish Sea. The summer weather had taken an unexpectedly damp turn and this affected footfall. Even so, spirits remained high and the bands played on. The main gigs were in the festival’s marquee. A separate outdoor stage hosted jam sessions backed by saxophonist Ed Kainyek and his house band. These were interspersed with scheduled sets by a string of jazz singers including Esther Ambros, Doreen Edwards, Orli Nyles, Kirsty Almeida and Terry Shaltiel. Various fringe events were also held at venues across town.
The Jim Mullen Trio opened the festival with a diverse set of originals and re-arrangements of standards by the Glaswegian guitarist with Mike Gorman on keys and Luke Flowers on drums. Next up was Peter King’s quartet (King pictured right). Following King’s soloing of Strayhorn’s Lush Life, Gorman featured with his own arrangement of Loesser’s If I Were a Bell. His majestic piano interlude in King’s tribute to John Coltrane – World Of Trane - was particularly well received. As ever Geoff Gascoyne was commanding on double bass throughout and Mark Fletcher was on fire on drums.
Darius Brubeck is normally seen in smart suits on stage which seems to befit the lineage so he looked somewhat unusual in casual attire and a baseball cap. However, his set was anything but casual. It was professional to a tee. With apologies to the waiting audience Brubeck required several adjustments from the sound technician before he was happy to commence but once he was satisfied the band was off like a rocket. With Dave O’Higgins on sax sounding uncannily like Paul Desmond, the excellent Matt Ridley on double bass and Wesley Gibbens driving the drums, they took the audience on a flawless ride through a catalogue of original compositions and Dave Brubeck back numbers.
Over at the jam stage Kirsty Almeida also looked different. Known to some as the “Lady Gaga of Jazz” she’s usually seen eccentrically dressed in Victoriana on quirky stage sets with chirping toy birds and the like. Today she appeared quite normal - maybe it was the sea air. Even so her mix of guitar-led Latin, jazz and blues was as distinctive as ever.
The Jazz Worriers’ line up comprised Dean Masser on tenor sax, Neil Yates trumpet, Alan Barnes alto, Brian Archer trombone, John Donaldson piano, Tom Hill bass and Mark Fletcher drums. What a band! Their hard bop delivery of the Messengers’ legacy was spectacular. Understandably, Moanin' was chosen as the climax to the set. It left people hummin’ long after they’d finished. As well as playing in this septet Alan Barnes featured strongly in several other permutations over the weekend. He co-led the Barnes/Adams Quintet, wrote the charts and ran the Festival Octet and played in the Big Band at the close. He also jammed in several sessions with other musicians on the outdoor stage.
read more: http://www.jazzjournal.co.uk/jazz-latest-news/946/review-llandudno-jazz-festival
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