We were treated to two songs from her new self-titled album: “Closer” and “In The Moonlight”. “In The Moonlight” in the second half was by far the most successful. How courageous to take something as iconic as the Moonlight Sonata and turn it into a completely new work. Guy Barker’s arrangements really helped carry this off, with the full weight of the orchestra making this rendition even more impactful than that on the album itself.

This theme would continue, with each of the vocalists showcasing more of their vocal prowess and heart in the second set. Lucy Ann Daniels (photo above copyright Tatiana Gorilovsky) delivered a theatrical vocal over a challenging arrangement of “Obsession”, which felt a little harmonically confusing at times. Her rendition of “I’m Hip” in the second half was more successful, delivering a unique take, with a smoother, heavier and more soulful vocal than the iconic Blossom Dearie version.

British Canadian R&B artist IAMTHELIVING brought real energy into the room with his own composition “Rockin’ London City” from his new album released yesterday; “Nebra Sky”. This funk-laden feel-good track had most of the audience on their feet by its closing notes. Tony Momrelle, who closed out the first set with a rousing rendition of the soul classic “Knock on Wood”, really delivered with his classic R&B vocal on his own tune “Remember”.

Singer songwriter Kyra’s astonishing range was showcased in her original number “Grown” and the notoriously challenging “This Will Be” – runs and belting aplenty. Peter Edwards, musical director of “Nu Civilisation Orchestra” joined as a special guest conductor, delivering an interesting take on the classic “Don’t Let me Be Misunderstood”, written originally for Nina Simone. Jazz and Soul singer Cherise took on this number, impressing with very acrobatic vocals.

Alongside these many relative newcomers, the lineup featured Damien Lewis, Carmen Lundy and Marisa Monte. Damien Lewis surprised with polished performances from his thoughtful debut album “Mission Creep”. Carmen Lundy really came to life in a power-filled rendition of “Daughter of the Universe” – showcasing some truly breathtaking low notes. Marisa Monte was the real star of the evening, showing the reason behind her incredible record sales and multiple Latin Grammys. Both “Vilareju” and “Infinito Particular” were heartfelt and hauntingly beautiful, her crystal-clear tone soaring over the orchestra.

The evening ended with a medley of Motown tunes, prompting one neighbouring audience member to question if it’s really jazz if you’re being asked to jump out of your seat every other number – discuss. Regardless, this was a joyful evening filled to the brim with talent.

The post Jazz Voice first appeared on UK Jazz News.

But what I wasn’t expecting was quite how phenomenal the opening act would be. The 81-year-old Madeline Bell, with Ian Shaw at the piano, made the grand Buxton Opera house feel intimate and personal. Bell’s ability to engender a sense of community and togetherness in the stalls, to ‘shrink the room’, was astonishing. She remarked that she was more used to venues in which she could physically close the distance between herself and the audience – regardless, she moved the audience greatly, especially with a melancholic and reflective rendition of Lennon and McCartney’s “She’s Leaving Home”. Perhaps it should not be surprising that the performance craft of a singer who’s shared the stage with Dusty Springfield and Ray Charles should be so remarkable and memorable.

Day two, and an excursion to the Assembly Rooms to watch the Scottish-Italian JKL Duo (guitarist Jacopo Lazzaretti and flautist Kerry Lynch) perform a set of music from their album “The International Poet”. Their music merged cultural identities from around the world to breathe new life and interpretation to the poetry of Robert Burns. I wished that we could have had copies of the poems.

The evening brought yet more new music, this time in the form of string arrangements commissioned for the festival by Andy Stamatakis-Brown, fronted by singer Nishla Smith. Jazz with strings can be beautifully emotional, although there is an ever-present risk of pastiche. This was highly inventive string writing, including a section of trading fours in “Tea For Two” with the rhythm section – which, with the quartet sat opposite the band, came across as something of a musical boxing match won out by the strings. By far the most impactful tunes of the night were the arrangements of two back-to-back Judy Garland classics, “If I Only Had a Brain” and “Trolley Song”. Particularly enjoyable were the strings-as-revolving-wheels-of-train.

Saturday night and a different feel entirely – Mica Millar performed a set of original soul music, save for a rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready”. Millar’s stripped-back set was missing some dynamic and textural range necessary to bring out the best in her material. Though the band were obviously very capable, the arrangements didn’t feel fleshed out enough to carry the long set. Mica herself has a stunning singing voice, but at times came across as uncomfortable on stage. The audience was forgiving: she had many on their feet by the final notes.

This weekend of Jazz and soul music at the Buxton Festival was a real success – the programming choices made for a varied and thoroughly enjoyable few days of music in some beautiful surroundings.

Becky Alice is a London-based singer

The post Jazz at the 2024 Buxton International Festival first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Established last year (it coincided with Mitchell’s 80th birthday), the 7-piece ensemble celebrates the music of Joni Mitchell, or more specifically, the music of Joni Mitchell from the late 70s. Does it makes sense to concentrate a specific era of an artist with such a lengthy and genre-spanning career? Any apprehensions I had were lifted the moment I heard the opening lines of “Coyote”.

Hattie Whitehead’s voice is strikingly like Joni’s – pitch-perfect and pure – though with her own unique vibrato that added a sense of the unfamiliar to tunes, many of which the audience and I knew very well. The band were incredibly strong musicians and there were real moments of flair. Chris Eldred struck me by surprise in the middle of “Blue Motel Room” with an unexpected piano solo, as moving and ethereal as the overlaid vocal section on the original record. Another surprise, the Pat Metheny tune “Phase Dance”, showcased Pete Oxley’s guitar playing very well and was an excellent choice of material to fit the band’s classic late 70’s jazz sound. With three chordal instruments on stage, it’s a testament to the arranging skills of Oxley that they were all able to create space for one another. I greatly admired Dave Jones (bass) and Ollie Weston (tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet) for failing to fall into the trap of being imitations of Pastorius and Brecker, instead bringing different approaches to the music – I particularly liked the textural additions of the bass clarinet.

The occasional lack of balance in the sound from the stage was forgivable – moments where Hattie’s voice was nearly drowned out, particularly on tunes like “In France They Kiss On Main Street” and “Free Man In Paris”. To some extent this is inevitable, the exciting array of percussive instruments and technique on display from Mark Cecil and the vibrancy and joyous abandon of Rick Finlay showed undoubted musicianship and skill, but I was troubled by a wish that I could have heard more of the long arcs of the confessional lyrics that characterised this period of Joni’s music.

By far my favourite piece of the afternoon was Amelia. I’m biased – this is perhaps my all-time favourite song of Joni Mitchell’s, particularly the live version from Shadows and Light. But it was here I was struck by the real power of Hattie’s voice – I heard every word with a slightly different inflection, and new life in the lyrics.

Their tour continues with dates in London (the Forge, 3 Aug), Cambridge, Birmingham, Belfast and more. Go and see this music performed live – with all the musicality, intensity and passion it so richly deserves.

BAND: Mark Cecil (percussion), Rick Finlay (drums), Dave Jones (bass), Pete Oxley (guitar), Chris Eldred (keyboards), Ollie Weston (tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet) and Hattie Whitehead (guitar and vocals)

Becky Alice was the guest of Buxton International Festival

The post Hejira at the 2024 Buxton International Festival first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Judi Jackson‘s appearance at Buxton International Festival will primarily feature material from her newest album, “My American Songbook”. This represents a departure for her, away from releasing her own striking compositions to making an album consisting of well-crafted American standards and popular songs. She explains:

“I just wanted to revisit my roots… I grew up listening to jazz music and performing it in night clubs from the age of 14 really. I would go to clubs, I wouldn’t be able to drink, they would have to sneak me in the back – and then I would have to wear a special wrist band. I loved it though, I was there for the music and nothing else.“

The album does not just draw on traditional “Tin Pan Alley” or “Songbook” repertoire, her choices are consciously and deliberately far wider ranging. True to form for such an emotive singer, the material is reflective of her life now.

“I wanted to go with the songs that resonated with me… because I knew if they spoke to me, they would speak to the audience… I wanted to tell the story of come rain or come shine because I’m engaged now. And I felt as if it rang true for me that I’m going to love this person no matter what kind of weather or what we go through, that I will always love this person. So, there were songs that resonated with me in the story that I wanted to tell.”

I dig a little deeper and soon we’re discussing the connection between love and art, frenetic creativity and the kind of music that can come from, as Judi describes it, “inner peace and confidence – that’s what this love has bought me”.

She humbly waxes lyrical about pianist Jamie Safir, who’s sensitive musical playing rings throughout the record and who she credits with many of the interesting arrangement choices. “Stormy Weather” stands out on the record for a particularly striking vocal rendition by Jackson, and despite being such a well-known standard feels freshly unfamiliar with the inclusion of the verse – “we went back to the legend, Judy Garland and listened to how she did it”.

She also includes Carmen McRae and Blossom Dearie as some of her greatest vocal influences, casually remembering Wynton Marsalis sending her a box of Blossom’s music. Her pool expands wider still as she speaks of a love for Sarah Vaughan, “a giant with her tone and her breath control” which she links to her own training in classical repertoire.

I ask her how it feels now, to perform at a festival with such a mixed programme of opera, chamber music, jazz and literature, and she speaks of being excited “to be a part of that versatility” – and that she is. She’s learned from Italian Operas, from Sondheim and Bernadette Peters and before I know it has broken out into a brief but beautiful rendition of an aria – the name of which she has long forgotten, but the melody she often finds herself singing in supermarkets. Above all, it’s Nina Simone who she speaks of with the greatest passion. Undoubtedly, she feels affinity with Simone’s love of classical music as well as her own powerful song writing but it’s clearly deeper than that – “I respect her immensely, and I will always love her and thank her for giving me the career that I have. I wouldn’t have a career without Nina Simone. I think that she’s the epitome of class and strength, and musicianship and womanhood”.

She recommends me “I Put a Spell On You”, Nina Simone’s autobiography and I thought it only right to ask for some recommendations of other books she loves ahead of her performance in Buxton. She speaks of her relationship with the Jefferson Centre through mentor Cyrus Pace who told her “You cannot be a great writer unless you are a great reader” – I couldn’t agree more. Her recommendations; “100 Selected Poems of E.E Cummings”, “Lady Sings the Blues” by Billie Holiday and William Dufty and “Moving to Higher Ground” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Wynton Marsalis.

I feel even more excited to watch Judi’s performance following this interview. Some final thoughts from Judi:

“I hope that people walk away from the performance feeling energised, having high feelings of empathy, sympathy, peace, happiness, and inspiration, just overall being inspired by the beauty that is music and the arts; the work, the craft.”

Singer Becky Alice will be covering the Buxton Festival for UKJN as a guest of the festival.

The post Judi Jackson (Buxton Opera House, 11 July) first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Becky Alice writes: Anita Wardell is a special force in jazz music; not only for her scatting, her tone, or her emotional connection to an audience but for the inspiration and mentorship she provides to so many other musicians, particularly jazz singers. While I expected this to be an event to celebrate Anita’s music and raise money for her recovery, I was also reminded of an invaluable lesson Anita taught me; that sharing your passions with others who love to do what you love to do, and leaving ego at the door, is the greatest way to study this craft.

It was a unique experience for me to share the stage with two other singers, even more to do so in a room filled with other music lovers and musicians who’d turned out to show support for a major force in contemporary jazz.

Louise Balkwill writes: Performing alongside such wonderful musicians for a cause as dear to my heart as Anita’s fundraiser reminded me once more of the deep strength of the jazz community, musicians and patrons alike. Anita has always cared deeply about young musicians and is a role model to all of us, so being able to give back in the form of song, and to see such a fabulous turnout of supporters, was deeply moving!

Immy Churchill writes: Growing up around Neet and her beautiful energy is something I treasure! Her joy and love for people and for singing is infectious and it is no secret that my love for jazz and improvising is tied up in her. This gig with Becky and Louise was totally in Anita’s style: great tunes, lots of improvising and most importantly lots of laughing. Celebrating Anita should be a regular occurrence but certainly now more than ever!

All three: A huge thank you to Sam Leak, Jeremy Brown and Tim Sampson for performing with us, and to all who came and/or donated!

UPDATE. Sylvie Noble has written from Cardiff about another event on 17 May, which is being livestreamed :

Here at RWCMD, where Anita is a treasured faculty member, we will be celebrating her music and sending her our best wishes on 17 May, with a performance in the Carne Foyer. The vocalists of the jazz department will be performing tunes that Anita has worked with us to develop, as well as many from her vibrant and distinctive discography. We have all benefited from her creativity, playfulness and dedication to her art, and it’s an honour to be able to help in some way towards her recovery.

This event begins at 5:30pm in the Carne Foyer, is free, and does not require a ticket. Here is the link to watch the livestream.

The post Anita Wardell fundraising evening at Oliver’s Jazz Bar / with UPDATE from Cardiff first appeared on UK Jazz News.

The post The Tea Hive Ep. 3 first appeared on UK Jazz News.

Becky and Rebecka chat about everything from carving out roles for singers in bop to writing lyrics, with recommendations on records old and new.

(*) There was a Christmas break… UKJN is a supporter of this series

The post The Tea Hive video series, Ep.2 first appeared on UK Jazz News.