Music / contemporary jazz
Jazz week September 11-17
Bristol’s week in jazz September 10 – 16
Apologies for late arrival of this bulletin: technical issues, naturally, which makes it also somewhat truncated. Hopefully not too late to alert you to Eyebrow’s appearance at The Exchange (Tuesday 11) See below for more details.
Saxophonist Alex Garnett has been a regular visitor since the days of the (still missed) Coronation Tap jazz sessions and his hard bopping style and compositional originality are always welcome hereabouts. For his session at The Fringe (Wednesday 12) the Alex Garnett Quartet includes guitarist Dan Waldman, Hammond organist Jonny Hammond and Matt Brown on drums: a line-up that tells you to expect a fine driving night of upbeat blues and jazz.
A player who moved here some while ago, Florida-born Craig Crofton has given local jazz a great deal over the years. His muscular tenor (and occasional lyrical soprano) sax has featured in bands from soul and funk to reggae and jazz and he’s also brought on many players through the Blowout Sax school. He’s appearing in power-packed quartet Crofton, Hopkins, Brown & Moore at the Bebop Club (Friday 14).
Guitarist Nick Costley-White (Future Inn, Thursday 13) has no immediate plans to relocate here, as far as we know, but the invitation would surely be there. Though part of the young London jazz scene (his band includes members of Laura Jurd’s Dinosaur) he has a classic, swinging approach to jazz guitar reminiscent of forebears like Wes Montgomery.
Contemporary jazz duo Eyebrow (Exchange, Tuesday 11) make only occasional appearances, being almost as unobtrusive as their music at times, but there’s a compelling economy to Pete Judge’s electronically processed trumpet underpinned by Paul Wigens’ drumming that deftly subverts the familiar without ever losing the rhythmic plot. It can be cinematic at times, as most definitely is the music of piano-led Andrew Christie Quartet (Salt Cafe, Friday 14).
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