Music / Jazz
The week in Jazz December 12 – 19
If there’s one jazz instrument that bespeaks of cool it’s the vibraphone and if there’s one vibes player that also made it groovy it’s Roy Ayers (Spiegeltent, Tuesday 13). An early adopter of jazz-funk he became known in the 70s for film score work in the ‘blaxploitation’ world, while his live performances would take him to work with Fela Kuti in Nigeria. Naturally the Acid Jazz people were quick to identify him as a Godfather and samples of his distinctive easy-going music slipped into records by Jill Scott and others. The man even features as a character in Grand Theft Auto – how cool is that?
You probably wouldn’t call Paul Dunmall’s music easy-going – he definitely wouldn’t thank you for it – but following a recent visit from his quintet the veteran improviser (above) returns to The Fringe (Wednesday 14) and his Paul Dunmall Trio also includes Fringe favourites trumpeting bass player Percy Pursglove and Tony Orrell on drums. It’ll be a fiery melange of spontaneity, no doubt, but don’t expect any Christmas carols. If you’d prefer some more straightforward grooving, however, the excellent JP3 organ trio are at the Canteen on the same night.
Festive favourites are also unlikely to figure when the Yard Flying Funk Orchestra takes over the LeftBank (Friday 16). This mighty jazz-funk and soul big band is pulled together from time to time by Pushy Doctors keyboard maestro Dan Moore and benefits from some of the city’s finest jazz players as well as the no-nonsense driving power of a double drum kit rhythm section. By contrast there’s a more subtle offering at The Bebop that night with vocalist Victoria Klewin and her jazz quartet featuring the irrepressible trumpet of Jonny Bruce and Jim Blomfield’s empathetic piano.
You might want to pop into No 1 Harbourside on your way home from the Bear where you’ll catch the street-jazz Brass Junkies in late evening action, or you could save yourself for Sunday evening’s session at the Alma (18) when Dakhla’s baritone sax star Charlotte Ostafew appears with the post-swing outfit Bartoune. Or you could do both, of course!
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