Review: One Night Only, The Mount Without

Well THAT worked, didn’t it? Lacking the means to run a full weekender the Bristol Jazz Festival team offered this jam-packed five-band evening. The idea – apart from raising some much-needed finance for next year’s event – was to keep the BJF profile in the public eye by reminding everyone of the welcoming community vibe and top quality music that it has always generated. It’s fair to say that this sell-out minifest ticked all those boxes rather nicely.

One Night Only – The Brass Junkies (pic: Tony Benjamin)

In 2024 the Brass Junkies opened the festival with a New Orleans style procession down North Street, Bedminster, drawing the crowd into the Tobacco Factory. First up tonight, they were spread across the stage but this static set-up did nothing to dent their upbeat second-line grooves, whether on the Dirty Dozen’s Blackbird Special or Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody. It’s a fine pumping sound driven by twin percussion and Alistair Stewart’s tireless sousaphone with an all-star four-horn frontline putting in sharp and stylish solo work over tight harmonic arrangements.

One Night Only – The Good Stuff (pic: Tony Benjamin)

The Junkies’ tenor sax player Ruth Hammond reappeared behind the keyboard for vocal group The Good Stuff, very much a favourite from last year’s festival for their urban gospel blend of classic spiritual stylings and tight R’n’B arrangements. The tight discipline of tonight’s six singers (they can be bigger) under musical director Louise Victoria was immediately impressive, and despite lacking a drummer the timing’s were immaculate. The sound moved easily from the Afro-reggae feel of All Day Long through a soulful reading of How Deep Is Your Love – yes, that one – giving depth to what is probably an underrated song. Closing with Kirk Franklin’s devotional My Life, My Love, My Own in the Mount’s Gothic church setting left something genuinely spiritual hanging in the air.

One Night Only – Rebecca Nash & Raph Clarkson (pic: Tony Benjamin)

The duo of pianist Rebecca Nash and trombonist Raph Clarkson had never played the festival before. In fact, they had never played together before anywhere but both are courageous and inventive improvising musicians. Their set was a masterclass in duet playing as each tune was shaped and reshaped. The melodic responsibility flowed seamlessly between the two players, the harmonic developments so empathetically shared it was hard to believe this was their first performance together. There were moments of deep spirituality in Ralph Towner’s Celeste, fulsome vocalising trombone urged on by thickening piano chords, and a fine audience-rousing South African roll to Raph’s Wise and Waiting. It’s to be hoped that they will do this again in the future.

One Night Only – The Jazz Defenders (pic: Tony Benjamin)

By contrast, headliners The Jazz Defenders are pretty well-established having been around a couple of years before releasing debut album Scheming in 2019. Originally a tribute act to the classic Blue Note hard bop sound they soon began developing original material in that style. Scheming, which they revisited in its entirety tonight, was its showcase. The band’s membership has evolved over time and pianist/bandleader George Cooper is the only surviving regular player from that first recording though original drummer Matt Stockham Brown was sitting in for Ian Matthews. Whatever, the new line-up was more than comfortable with the material whether the ethereal ballad Rosie Karima or the seriously hard-bopping Hawkeye Jorge, the latter featuring dizzying trumpet from Jonny Bruce (another Brass Junkie) over Matt’s tight Art Blakey drumming. George’s fluent piano added increasingly hard-edged chord slams, Jake McMurchie gave it his full Sonny Rollins making for great music with plenty of fire.

One Night Only – Katya Gorrie (pic: Tony Benjamin)

And it wasn’t all over, by any means as we headed downstairs to for the afterparty with Moscow Drug Club. The band had some familiar faces – Jazz Defender’s bass player Andy Crowdie and, yes, Jonny Bruce for a third set, plus front woman Katya Gorrie who had already appeared a few times upstairs as compere in her role as Artistic Director of the festival. Their blend of loungecore sleaze and French café swing perfectly suited the crowded crypt, notably in Scott Walker’s louche version of Jacque Brel’s The Port of Amsterdam. New guitarist Daryl Kellie has fitted into the music with ease and Katya’s crisply theatrical vocals iced that cake. By this point we were well and truly back in the Bristol Jazz Festival vibe and full credit must go to Katya and her team for getting us there so successfully. Hopefully the sums will work out and they will have some useful readies towards next year’s Real Thing.