Friday at Titley Jazz 2011

The Rodd Farm Estate, Titley, Herefordshire, 29/07/2011

I related the tale of how David Masters successfully transplanted the spirit of the old Appleby Jazz Festival from Westmorland to Herefordshire in my coverage of the inaugural Titley Jazz Festival in 2010. That first festival was a remarkable success and Titley returned in 2011 with an expanded line up, a greater degree of musical variety and a new location.

The festival’s first home had been the privately owned Titley Junction Station where steam locomotive rides on the mile or so of operative track had been an enjoyable addition to the music. However constraints of space and health and safety issues forced the move to the nearby Rodd Farm Estate, owned by the Sidney Nolan Trust. The new site provided a flatter, safer location, more adjacent car parking and much more room to move around. Surrounded by the glorious countryside of the Welsh Borders I thought it worked very well although persistent rain could have been a problem.

The success of the inaugural festival had encouraged David Masters to add an extra day to the festival and jazz fans turned up in force for the new Friday session which saw many of the stars of Titley Jazz 2010 returning to the fray. A light drizzle failed to dampen anybody’s enthusiasm, and more pertinently didn’t cause any logistical problems, and the music kicked off at 3.00 pm with the Titley Jazz Quintet led by Alan Barnes. Further sessions came from the Stan Tracey Quartet, who memorably performed the whole of the famous “Under Milk Wood” suite, and from the brilliant alto saxophonist Peter King’s quartet.

TITLEY JAZZ QUINTET

The TJQ proved to be something of an all star ensemble fronted by the twin horns of Alan Barnes (alto and baritone saxes), Don Weller (tenor sax) and featuring a stellar rhythm section in the form of pianist Dave Newton, bassist Andy Cleyndert and drummer Steve Brown. They tore joyously into “Just One Of Those Things” with Barnes on alto and Weller on tenor trading phrases over Brown’s subtly Latin inflected rhythms before the solos kicked in. Weller went first, followed by Barnes and Newton with Brown subsequently trading choruses with both horns and piano before Barnes masterminded a teasing false ending, no doubt just making sure the audience were on their toes.

Besides being an excellent tenor soloist Weller is also a fine composer. His frequently quirky compositions often have idiosyncratic or amusing titles. “Gribleys”, named after a culinary concoction involving sausage meat and breadcrumbs, managed to be both at once. The tune itself, a riffy little number in a broadly hard bop style was the framework for solos from Barnes on baritone, Newton, Weller and bassist Andy Cleyndert. 

Barnes left the stand for Weller to take centre stage for a tenor sax ballad feature entitled (I think) “Together Again”. Solos by Newton and Cleyndert were bookended by two warm but inventive tenor solos from Weller. Cleyndert’s exaggerated movements and facial expressions suggested that he wasn’t taking his role entirely seriously. However a sense of fun and humour is a constant undercurrent at Titley with the razor sharp Mancunian wit of Alan Barnes frequently invoking uproarious laughter during his tune announcements. 

The first half closed with a rousing “9.20 Special”, a tune written in 1938 by Count Basie’s alto saxophonist Earle Warren. It was therefore fitting that Barnes should lead off the solos followed by Weller and Newton and with Brown rounding things off with a flurry of scintillating drum breaks.

Set two commenced with the quintet’s version of the Cole Porter classic “Love For Sale” with solos firstly from Barnes on alto, then from Weller on tenor, the latter effortlessly ranging across the tonal possibilities of his instrument. Newton’s piano solo was inventive and exuberant, like much of his playing throughout the weekend, and Brown once again enjoyed a series of drum breaks before the twin saxophonists played things out.

Weller’s original “Round The Twist” swung quirkily with Barnes switching to clarinet, often soloing with only Cleyndert’s bass for company. Following Weller’s tenor solo the bassist again came to the fore in a lengthy dialogue with drummer Brown.

Barnes is a remarkably fluent soloist on whichever instrument he turns his hand to. Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan” was a demonstration of his ballad skills on the alto as Weller left the stage. Brown’s delicate brushwork was excellent throughout and further solos came from Newton, lyrical at the piano, and a more serious Cleyndert, moving and resonant on the bass. 

The Quintet closed with “Hey There, You With The Stars In Your Eyes” with Barnes sticking to alto and with each member of the group featuring in turn. This had been a good quality start to the festival with some excellent playing from an all star band, plenty of variation of mood and pace and a good mix of standards and originals. Topped off by Barnes’ skills as a raconteur the Titley Jazz Quintet quickly gained the affection of the audience and got the festival off to a cracking start.

STAN TRACEY QUARTET

Although billed as “Under Milk Wood” pianist and composer Stan Tracey’s quartet saved the famous suite for their second set and played some other sections from Stan’s vast repertoire before the break. Joining Stan on piano were tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins, who played on the iconic 1965 recording, plus bassist Andy Cleyndert and Stan’s son Clark at the drums.

Stan introduced the first number as “I’ve Got Those Old Sat Nav Blues”, a wry reference to Wellins’ nick of time arrival. Buoyed by Stan’s rumbling left hand piano figures and Clark’s rhythmic drum pulse the veteran Scottish tenor man soon hit his stride with the first solo with Stan, Cleyndert and Clark eventually following suit. Wellins plays with a brooding intensity and clearly wasn’t happy with the sound, leaving the bandstand and striding to the back of the marquee to remonstrate with the sound engineers. However I don’t think many of the fans noticed a problem, I certainly didn’t, and on the whole I think the sound guys did an excellent job throughout the weekend.

“Bright Mississippi” followed a similar soloing pattern with Wellins’ short, sharp, punchy tenor phrases followed by Stan’s chunky, Monkish piano and finally by bass and drums.

The third piece was unannounced by Stan but was a gospel tinged ballad that began with his unaccompanied piano, moving into an exquisite duo dialogue with Wellins’ tenor sax before conventional soloing from tenor, piano and bass.

A different edition of the Tracey quartet played a version of “Afro Charlie” at Titley last year. This year’s take on the tune differed again with Tracey’s jagged piano runs sometimes recalling his former collaborator Keith Tippett as well as the more familiar influence of Thelonious Monk. The by now obligatory solos from Wellins, Cleyndert and Clark Tracey helped round off the first set.

After the break came what was, for many, the real event. Tracey’s 1965 album “Jazz Suite inspired by Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood” is one of THE iconic British jazz recordings and has been revived on numerous occasions since. However this was to be the first time I’d seen it performed in its entirety. Stan and Bobby Wellins were, of course, present on that initial recording. Drummer Jackie Dougan (d.1973) and bassist Jeff Clyne (d.2009) are sadly no longer with us.

Interestingly Stan re-arranged the running order of the original album with the quartet commencing with the choppy, riffy “No Good Boyo” with solos from Wellins, Stan Tracey and Cleyndert. Next came “Pen Pals”, the title sounding shockingly dated in the internet age, here performed with a short solo piano intro and featuring solos from Stan and Bobby Wellins and with a nice piece of mid tune dialogue between Cleyndert and Clark Tracey.

As on the original album “I Lost My Step In Nantucket” with its idiosyncratic chord progressions was performed as a trio item with Clark Tracey featuring as a soloist alongside his father.

Wellins’ contribution to the “Under Milk Wood” recording is mainly remembered for his sumptuous playing on the ballad items. His superbly controlled solo on the atmospheric “Starless And Bible Black” rolled back the years, fluttering delicately above the low register murmuring of Cleyndert’s bowed bass, Stan’s minimalist piano and Clark’s subtly detailed drums.

The next piece was unannounced but was almost certainly the hard swinging “Llareggub” (Dylan’s little joke-it’s bugger all spelt backwards) with appropriately playful solos from Wellins and Stan Tracey. “Cockle Row”, the opening track from the original album, kept the pot simmering with Clark’s solo drum intro and further solos from Bobby and Stan.

“Under Milk Wood” itself offered another sublime example of Wellins’ ballad playing following on from Stan’s solo piano intro. Wellins’ lyrical gifts were matched by a superb demonstration of the gentler side of Stan’s playing with Cleyndert and Clark Tracey offering suitably sympathetic support.

The suite ended with “A.M. Mayhem”, also the concluding piece on the record. As the title suggests it’s a fast and furious piece with Clark Tracey driving things forward from the back. His scalding swing fuelled fine solos from his three colleagues and he also enjoyed a substantial feature himself.

At eighty five years of age Stan Tracey’s stamina and sheer musicality is quite remarkable. There’s obviously a question mark about how long he can carry on with this level of live performance but there’s no doubt that for the Appleby/Titley faithful this performance of his most famous work with his old mucker Bobby Wellins was something very special.

PETER KING QUARTET

Now in his early seventies alto saxophonist Peter King can also be regarded as a British jazz veteran. One of a handful of British musicians to be acknowledged as world class by the Americans he was THE outstanding soloist of the 2010 Titley Jazz Festival.

King was back with a similar quartet line up to last year with his right hand man Steve Melling at the piano, Geoff Gascoyne on the bass and with Mark Fletcher a new face in the drum chair. Sadly Tony Levin who filled this position last year is no longer with us having followed the previous incumbent, Martin Drew, to the great gig in the sky. Not that this seemed to worry the irrepressible Fletcher who threw himself into his work with relish. His powerhouse playing proved to be ideal for this hard driving group.

King played a very similar set to last year but it was all still hugely enjoyable. Chick Corea’s “Inner Space” proved to be a fertile breeding ground for the soloing abilities of King and the always inventive Melling with Fletcher also enjoying a series of drum breaks in which his flashing cymbal work was particularly impressive.

Melling’s “B’s Groove” with it’s bluesy, hard bop styled hook was equally effective with more fine solos coming from Melling, King and Gascoyne, the bassist also entering into engaging dialogue with drummer Mark Fletcher.

Initially inspired by the super fast improvisations of Charlie Parker King plays a lot less these days but he makes every contribution count and still summons up a searing intensity. However it wasn’t a total surprise when he left the stand to allow Melling and the rhythm section an opportunity to perform Billy Eckstine’s ballad “I Want To Talk About You” as a trio. This showed a more sensitive side to Fletcher’s playing as he took up the brushes to support lyrical solos from Melling and Gascoyne.

With King back in harness the quartet concluded their first set by storming through Wayne Shorter’s “Yes Or No” with powerful solos from King and Melling and with a major drum feature for the ebullient Fletcher.

Although first inspired by Parker, King has increasingly been drawn to the music of John Coltrane in more recent years. King’s piece “The World Of Trane”, which was also performed at Titley last year, explores Coltrane’s legacy and quotes liberally from his repertoire, most notably from “A Love Supreme” and “My Favourite Things”. Described by King as a “mini suite” it’s something of a marathon for the players with a fiery saxophone/drums dialogue and a torrential McCoy Tyner style solo from Melling plus a lengthy passage for solo piano. It was fascinating to hear Coltrane’s solos transposed for the alto and the piece was warmly received by the Titley audience. 

King’s largely solo alto rendition of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” is a long standing staple in his repertoire but is one that continues to absorb both musician and listeners with Melling and the rest of the band only returning to the stage for the closing moments.

The quartet finished their set with a hard hitting version of Victor Feldman’s “Joshua”, the bustling theme acting as the springboard for fiery solos from King, Melling and the explosive Fletcher at the drums.

Inevitably the similarities to last year’s set lessened the impact of this year’s performance slightly but this was still excellent stuff from a very high class band.

King was selling copies of his critically acclaimed autobiography “Flying High”. I decided to treat myself to a copy and although I’m still in the early stages of reading it the book promises to be a fascinating insight into the life and mind of one of British jazz’s brightest talents. King is an interesting character, there’s far more to him than just his saxophone playing but I won’t steal his thunder. If you’re reading this why not buy his book for yourself?   
 

 

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