Bristol’s month in jazz – April 2024

It seems the (highly successful) Bristol Jazz Festival has opened the floodgates  for 2024, with no fewer than three festivals hoving into view this month. First up Monochrome – a new DIY ‘ugly music’ festival (Cube/Strange Brew, 5-6) kicked off by an AV night featuring uber-improv drummer Dan Johnson. Then it’s the return of Bristol New Music  (various venues, 26-28) – more of that later – and immediately the month ends there’s Cheltenham Jazz Festival (May 1-6) with many top acts selling out in advance.

This will be the tenth anniversary of the biennial Bristol New Music event, bringing together a wide range of musical and cross-media explorers and innovators from around the globe. Events include ‘ultrasonic’ composer Ryoji Ikeda’s audiovisual presentation (Beacon, Fri 26), immersive Afrofuturist turntablist NikNak (Dareshack, Sat 27), seismic audiovisuals in a crypt from Kathy Hinde (St John on The Wall, Sat 27/Sun 28), neo-classical innovations from Quatuor Bozzini (Victoria Rooms, Sun 28) and Parisian experimentalist Aho Ssan (Lantern, Fri 26). But that’s just a small taster of what is an extremely crammed and relentlessly interesting weekend, tempting you to dash from Spike Island to the Victoria Rooms and back to Strange Brew. Better check your bike lights!

But there’s plenty of good ol’ jazz happening of course, with the visit of ex-Jazz Messenger saxophonist Jean Toussaint (pictured at top) an obvious highlight (Lantern, Fri 19). Long settled in the UK he has carried the hard-bop jazz style into more contemporary grooves and for this gig he’s bringing a hot new quartet of young players. As ever, there’s plenty of fine reed players on offer this month starting with the contemporary originality of the highly stylish Jon Lloyd’s Quartet (Jazz at Bristol Music Club, Wed 3), swiftly followed by hard-bopping tenor player Martin Kern paired with Jim Blomfield’s tight piano trio (Bebop Club, Thur 4). Top young bass player James Owston brings rising star tenorist Alex Western-King to the Bebop (Thur 11) in his quartet playing Songs From an Imaginary Childhood, a project mentored by Trish Clowes who herself appears in her duo with Ross Stanley’s keyboards at the latest St George’s lunchtime jazz session (Fri 19). Earlier that week at St G’s you can catch another sax/piano pairing as Craig Crofton and Martin Jenkins explore the work of Thelonious Monk (Wed 17), an unfortunate clash with Iain Ballamy’s latest quartet (Jazz at Bristol Music Club) which includes Rebecca Nash’s distinctive Bill Evans inspired contemporary piano.

You can catch the great John Law’s piano with Jon Lloyd (see above) and then he brings his Re-Creation project back to the Bebop Club (Thur 25) with their set of transformed ‘cover versions’. The club also welcomes back popular Irish pianist John Donegan (Thur 18) bringing his latest original sextet material for Luke Annesley’s alto and Ben Waghorn’s tenor to joust over, while Fringejazz hosts keyboard favourite David Newton (Jazz at Bristol Music Club, Wed 10) in an intriguing trio with Riaan Vosloo (bass) and Tony Orrell (drums).  There’s an interesting afternoon of jazz piano at Mickleburgh’s shop (Sat 13) with Polish keyboard fusioneer Tomasz Bura offering masterclass and Q&A session as well as a quartet performance featuring jazz-rock guitar wielder Guthrie Govan.

It should be quite the party when the Down For The Count Roadshow brings the full lushness of great swing arrangements to St George’s with the last date of their UK tour (Wed 17) – a marked contrast to the stripped-down simplicity of Hopkins and Oliver’s duo treatment of classic old-school jazz and swing (Fringe, Sun 7): you takes your choice! The Bell, meanwhile, has the elegantly witty musette-inspired Around About Dusk (Mon 22) and St George’s hosts the timelessly cool chanteuse Ute Lemper (Wed 24) showcasing her latest waxing Time Traveller. Versatile vocalist Victoria Klewin hosts April’s first Stag & Hounds session of the month (Sun 7) followed by the mighty tenor of Ben Waghorn (Sun 14), Jonny Bruce’s mercurial trumpet (Sun 21) and saxophone star of the Cardiff scene Joe Northwood (Sun 28).

Hard grooving energy outfit from Leeds Vipertime show up at Ill Repute (Fri 26) and The Bell (Mon 29) – one for fans of Run Logan Run perhaps who make a rare re-appearance at the Jam Jar (Sun 14) headlining ‘a night of climate activism’ with psych-folksters Jakobol. The Bell also has The Free Four (Sat 20), a tasty reuniting of Justin Adams and John Baggott and other Strange Sensations veterans going for ‘Can-style grooves’, Canteen has cosmic jazz-funk from Muttnik (Sat 13) and jazz-infused hip-hop merchants Lazy Habits come to Old Market Assembly (Sat 27). More straightforwardly funky stuff abounds: Jack Mac’s Funk Pack (Mr Wolf’s, Sat 6), Stone Cold Hustle (Golden Lion, Sat 6), Clusterfunk (Mr Wolf’s, Fri 19) and the great Manfredi Funk Initiative (The Bell, Wed 24). Plus, of course, the hard-working Brass Junkies who show up at Canteen (Fri 19) and Mr Wolf’s (Fri 26). And fans of classic manouche style French swing guitar should flock to catch the Jonny Hepbir Trio (Bell, Sun 14), three acknowledged top-ranking players in the style.

Improv’s Greatest Hits return with guests Leatherhead and foot.foot (Bristol Cruising Club, Fri 5) the latter also showing up supporting ‘agitated no-wave’ singer Bingo Fury, appearing with an extended band to launch his debut album at the Jam Jar (Sat 20). DIY electronicist BIPED hosts a CUD (Collaboration Un Denied) event of semi-improvised music and spoken word (St Stephens Church, Sun 14). That’s another unfortunate clash with a Schwet Club night featuring avant-folk minimalists The Shovel Dance Collective (Strange Brew, Sun 14) and there’s another Schwet night at Strange Brew (Thur 18) featuring Fiesta en el Vacio ‘the greatest Flamenco cold wave artist on earth’ apparently. Great to see the return of the sparkling Athea duo (St George’s, Wed 10) comprising Paul Bradley’s waywardly spontaneous guitar and vocals and Emma Holroyd’s impeccably creative drumming. There’s a triple bill of solo performances at Cafe Kino (Sat 20) with Tina Hitchens’ flute also pairing with Rhodri Davies’ harp, while Emmy Broughton’s harp is at the heart of the Written on Water duo who launch their debut album at The Old Library in Eastville (Thur 25). Their sound is a nicely unclassifiable blend of contemporary jazz, folk and minimal classical music, as is that of Dead Space Chamber Music who feature in a Dark Alchemy  night of Dark Folk at St John on the Wall (Sat 27).

While the Bristol New Music programme has loads of contemporary classical moments – check Maria Vermaulin’s piano/electronics (Victoria Rooms, Fri 26) for instance – there’s a few more left field treats to be had, notably The Attacca Quartet (Strange Brew, Fr 5) with a programme including recent collaborations with the wonderful Caroline Shaw. The abstract electronica of Ben Tunnicliffe is at the heart of The Nowhere Ensemble (Tobacco Factory, Sun 7) which also features composer/saxophonist Sophie Stockham and the Beacon has the looping piano of ambient classical composer Sophie Hitchens (Mon 29). Intricate minimalists Pete Judge (trumpt) and James Gow (cello) aka JOW push the boat out this month with two different collaborations, firstly combining with poets Jan Edwards and Jon Hamp (El Rincon, Thur 18) and then the latest in their collaborative nights at Orchard Coffee Co (Wed 24) brings Get The Blessing/Portishead/Radiohead drummer Clive Deamer.

Idris Ackamoor began his musical journey in the 70s alongside the legendary Cecil Taylor, evolving a brand of Afro-jazz in a series of bands called The Pyramids and he brings the latest evolution of this to Strange Brew (Mon 8). It’s the super coolest of Afrofuturism with a proper heritage in the struggle of black people in the US over the decades. There’s a day party based around more contemporary African styles like amapiano and afrobeats at Gravity (Sun 21) featuring the unpronounceable Nigerian BNXN (formerly known as Buju, apparently) and DRC-rooted jazz singer Liz Ikamba comes to the Canteen (Sun 7). The Jam Jar starts a month of Afro-Latin dance extravaganzas with French Afro-disco outfit Voilaa Sound System (Fri 12) in a double bill with the contemporary samba-jazz of Brazilian multi-instrumental producer Diogo Strausz. The venue goes on to feature Argentina’s super-hip ‘Queen of Digi-Cumbia’ La Yegros (Mon 15) and electro-Brazilian star Lucas Santtana (Wed 24) followed by the very groovy Berlin-based Highlife/Afrobeat septet Jembaa Groove (Thur 25) with support from brass-buttressed Afro-Brazilian band Soma Soma. Bristol’s own Salsa explosion Dockside Revolutions will be partying at Old Market Assembly (Fri 26) while Cuban trumpeter Michel Padron fronts the pan-Latin party music of acoustic trio Mariachi Wey (No 1 Harbourside, Sat 27). And it’s good to see a couple of Welsh-affiliated acts crossing the Severn with the (actually Leeds-based) Awen Ensemble’s blend of contemporary modal jazz and Welsh traditions (Crofters Rights, Thur 18) and the fusion of Gambian kora playing and Welsh traditional music from Bunja Conteh’s AfroWelsh Connection (Cotham Club, Fri 26).

And the jams … Mr Wolf’s has the weekly Donut Filler session on Wednesdays plus the JFS fortnightly session (Tue 16/30). The Stag & Hounds run their jam on Sunday afternoons. Strange Brew has the fortnightly Bounce Jam (Mon 15/29). The Fringe has variously named weekly Monday sessions, including the Hot Club Jam (Mon 1). The Eldon House has weekly ‘experimental’ jams on Tuesdays. Canteen has a jazz session (Wed 3), the Stone Cold Funk Jam (Tue 2), Slapdash hip-hop jam (Tue 9) and a Latin Session (Wed 17). And Greenbank launches the Cove Jam (Tue 30).