Forty Years On

An exhibition this month in the Beacon’s Kennedy Room and three gigs in The Lantern celebrate one man’s forty year commitment to developing Bristol as one of the hubs of UK jazz development. As landlord of legendary Bristol pub The Albert Inn Ian Storrer established himself as a crucial UK promoter of contemporary jazz, a role he has maintained for some twenty years since small-minded brewery politics forced him out of the pub in 2005. After a number of different residencies around the city he still organises monthly jazz gigs at The Lantern under the name Jazzata – the shortened form of Jazz At The Albert.

Ian Storrer with Acker Bilk (pic: Doug Hamilton)

When 21 year old ex-printer Ian Storrer started managing his friend’s pub in Bedminster he soon realised there would be a hidden cost. After years of catching as much live jazz as possible around Bristol and beyond he was suddenly trapped behind the bar of The Albert Inn. The answer, he recalls, was obvious: “The only way I could experience live music was to put it on myself.” Fortunately lunchtime regular Martin Genge was also a great tenor sax player and he helped bring in local players for free jazz nights at the pub.

Adrian Utley at The Albert (pic: Vic Hallett)

The popularity of those fortnightly sessions drew in a good crowd and began attracting stars from further afield. Local jazz guitarist Adrian Utley (who later formed Portishead) brought US-ex pat star Jean Toussaint down from London and many others followed. International jazz star (to be) Andy Sheppard was a regular player back then who watched the place blossom in the 80s: “(Ian) single-handedly built the place into a really special venue and he managed to get so many incredible musicians to come and play. Because everyone just knew – word of mouth I suppose – that it was such a great gig and a joy to play there. There was always a great audience and you felt welcomed and respected.”

The Albert Inn became a landmark venue on the UK jazz scene, with weekly gigs featuring the cream of UK, European and international jazz talent happy to play in the back bar of an unprepossessing Bedminster pub. Ian’s commitment was simple: “My motivation always was to get these great guys to come to Bristol because they weren’t coming to Bristol on their tours. My mission always was – still is – to provide a place for them to come and play in Bristol and not miss Bristol out.” This was recognised by local ITV company HTV who staged a series of one hour programmes from the Albert, as well as live BBC Radio 2 broadcasts.

David Murray and Andy Sheppard (pic: Doug Hamilton)

Over the years the pub saw great jazz names such as Stan Tracey, Keith Tippett, David Murray, Julian Joseph, Courtney Pine, Wayne Krantz, Norma Winstone and Louis Moholo Moholo play to cramped sell-out audiences. Legendary club owner Ronnie Scott came down and was immediately impressed with Ian’s achievements. The place was officially licensed for 78 people but Ian now admits “I used to tell people it was 90 but we had over 110, 120 in there some nights. We flouted that official figure quite badly, really.” Nobody minded the crush, however, because the music was always worth it. His personal ambition was focused on the legendary 80s jazz supergroup Loose Tubes: “I had an ambition early on to get all their sax players – Tim Whitehead, Iain Bellamy, Mark Lockheart, Julian Arguelles … and I did get all those. I just wanted to get the best of the best.”

Ronnie Scott (pic: Vic Hallett)

That commitment to bringing the best of the best to Bristol also drew more and more players to come here to live, adding new talent to a local live jazz scene that has long been the envy of many other UK cities, despite Bristol’s lack of a conservatoire or jazz training academy. Most nights of the week in Bristol you can catch live jazz of a quality equal to the best in the country – often for free – with many local names commanding a powerful national reputation. There’s no doubt that Ian Storrer’s tireless respect for the music and acute sense of quality has been a crucial factor in developing that scene both here and beyond. As Andy Sheppard says: “People like Ian are the backbone of the music in the UK. He’s just been a rock – he’s a wonderful human being. And he really knows his music and what he’s talking about. He’s not blinkered, he’s open to all kinds of music. That’s the thing about places like the Albert – there seems to be some kind of special window that lets the music in.”

The exhibition celebrating Ian Storrer’s 40 years as jazz promoter in Bristol is in the Bristol Beacon Kennedy Room from Sun 27 October – Sun 8 December. There will be an all-star anniversary Jazzata event in the Lantern on Sun 27 October featuring Denys Baptiste, Ed Jones, Jonathan Gee. Former Albert regulars The Perfect Houseplants will play on Sun 10 November and the Albert All-Stars Big Band close the year on Sun 8 December.