Music / Jazz
Bristol’s week in jazz, August 13-19 2018
He may not have been born in the BS postcode area but, after 45 years here it’s surely time to bang the drum for percussionist Tony Orrell as a local hero. Drawn here by the city’s 70s music scene, the sometime Birdman of Alkijazz emerged as a key player in the exploratory jazz of the 80s, playing alongside Keith Tippett, Andy Sheppard, Paul Dunmall and others.
His open-minded and playful approach to music has ranged from lounge-core smoothness to the freest of free jazz, and this week sees a brace of Orrellism that makes the point.
It kicks off with a gig at The Fringe (Wednesday 15) with Tony Orrell’s Big Top, a fine double-drum quintet featuring Jake McMurchie on sax, Dan Moore’s keyboards and Riaan Vosloo on bass all competing with the thunderous combination of Tony and Matt Brown behind their respective kits. It will be powerful stuff and nothing like the whimsical electro-acoustic music of The Jellilalas (El Rincon, Thursday 16), Tony’s equally entertaining duo with fellow Gas Giant veteran Vyv Hope-Scott.
Riaan, Jake and Matt all appear again at the Canteen (Sunday 19) in Riaan Vosloo’s Uphill Game, the quartet made up by Pete Judge on trumpet and playing Riaan’s thoughtful contemporary jazz compositions. The gig rounds off a fine jazz week at The Canteen, with London’s incendiary electro-jazz trio Strobes taking the stage on Thursday and Metheny-influenced Brazilian jazz guitarist Rafa Dornelles bringing his trio on Wednesday (15). And while they’re being ultra-tightlipped about Tuesday’s Secret Special Guest gig, given the venue’s form as a jazz promoter then syncopation-seekers might do well to take a punt on that evening, too.
Ever since that other adopted local hero Pee Wee Ellis and friends worked with James Brown to give birth to funk the music has continued to evolve and remains a staple of much jazz and dance music alike. Californian producer and performer DĀM-FUNK (Thekla, Tuesday 14) nailed his colours to that mast some thirteen years ago, since when he’s worked with De La Soul, Flying Lotus and even Snoop Dogg to develop his own highly electronic update on the funk groove.
SALTINGS contemplates his next move
And, finally, the new generation of spontaneous wildness continues to boldly go into spontaneous places at Crofters Rights on Sunday (19) when sax vs guitars band Repo-Man join ambient minimalists Yellow6 and moody soundscaper SALTINGS in a triple bill of unexpectedness.
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