Music / Jazz
The week in jazz – May 2-8
Unsurprisingly it’s a quiet week after the bank holiday weekend but one return visitor from the US stands out. Like the UK’s Martin Taylor (whose gig at this year’s Bristol jazz festival was an early sell-out) guitarist Howard Alden (Future Inn, Thursday 5) has developed dazzling solo skills on the jazz guitar. He combines melodic lines, chord accompaniments, bass undertow and solo flashes in a virtuoso style that drops jaws wherever he plays. Whether the fact that he uses a seven-string guitar makes this more or less difficult is hard to say but it’s seriously impressive stuff.
Bristol-based guitarist Dan Waldman learned much of his style in New York and it often shows in hard-edged bursts between more atmospheric waves. He’s playing twice this week, firstly with ever-exploratory contemporary sax player Jake McMurchie’s quartet (Fringe, Wednesday 4) alongside the great bass player Riaan Vosloo and Andy Hague drumming.
By contrast he then brings his own Dan Waldman Trio (No 1 Harbourside, Friday 6) which also includes Hammond organmeister Jonny Henderson and the mighty Matt Brown on drums. And if those pumping organ grooves are your thing there’s another new trio at Canteen (Wednesday 4) with Anders Olinder swirling the keys for guitarist Matt Hopkins and Toby Perrett’s drumming. Anders turns up again at the Bebop Club on Friday 6 as part of the Julien Alenda Quartet playing fast bopping jazz with the rhythm section of Pasquale Votino (bass) and drummer James Vine who’s recently arrived in Bristol’s scene.
There’s lively Latin action at the Old Market Assembly when trumpeter Joe Longridge kicks off the Descarga Bristol session (Wednesday 4) while No 1 Harbourside offers cooler Brazilian vibes courtesy of Balança duo Cathy Jones & Tristram Cox (Thursday 5), with Cathy’s cool authentic bossa vocals a treat. Cool jazz vocals come from Tammy Payne’s trio at the Colston Hall Foyer (Saturday 7) while Molly & The Kings showcase soulful swing singing at Tobacco Factory (Sunday 8).
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