Photograph of Kim Cypher by Tim Dickeson

MONDAY AT CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL, 05/05/2025.

BUENA VISTA ALL STARS, BIG TOP

My first visit to the Big Top venue for a performance by the Buena Vista All Stars, a twelve piece ensemble dedicated to keeping the spirit of the original Buena Vista Social Club recording alive in the 21st century.

Directed by conductor and occasional vocalist Demetrio Muniz the band line up included charismatic vocalist Angel Aguiar, trumpeter Manuel Machado, vocalist / percussionist Amanda Gaviria, pianist Sergio Gonzalez and laoud (Cuban lute) virtuoso Barbarito Torres, the only member of today’s ensemble to have appeared on the original “Buena Vista Social Club” album.

My Spanish is pretty non-existent, so I didn’t catch the rest of the names. The All Stars seem to feature a pool of musicians, particularly in the percussion chairs, so I’m not going to rely on the ‘musicians’ list on the band’s website.

The original Buena Vista Social Club album,  released in 1997, was a recording industry phenomenon, a surprise runaway success that capitalised on the ‘world music boom’ kick started in the 1980s by Paul Simon’s “Grace lands” album. Sure, BVSC had the obligatory ‘white rock star’ on board in the shape of guitarist Ry Cooder but with all respect Cooder was never as bankable a name as Simon. Instead this record featuring a bunch of elderly Cuban musicians, stars at home but generally unknown to the wider western world, took off on its own terms, entirely on the strength of the music and the quality of the performance. At a time when the internet was still in its infancy it was a word of mouth success. I first heard about it from my brother in law, who although not a regular world music fan loved it. I bought myself a copy and was also hooked. More than a quarter of a century on the music still speaks to people and resonates with audiences. Listeners who bought the BVSC recording didn’t tend to part with it, it’s not one of those albums you always see turning up in charity shops.

Today’s line up featured the musicians actually named above plus a four man horn section featuring two trombones plus Machado and one other trumpeter. There was also double bass, kit drums and percussion. For such a large group the sound was remarkably clear, so congratulations to the sound engineers in the Big Top.

If I didn’t get the names of the musicians I had even less chance with the tune titles, but I’ll try to describe the music as best I can. Part of a lengthy European tour under the banner “Une Noche En la Habana” (“ Night in Havana”) the All Stars hit the ground running, the opening number a high energy mix of infectious Cuban rhythms and blazing horn playing, including some dazzling lead trumpet and further fiery interplay between the two trumpeters.

The second piece was less frenetic, a song featuring the assured singing of Aguiar and the virtuoso piano soloing of Rodriguez, a real master of the choppy,  highly distinctive Cuban piano style that Ruben González (1919-2003) introduced to the wider world on the original BVSC album. There was also a Rico style solo from one of the trombonists.

The next item was a feature for Torres on the laoud, who shared the solos with trumpeter Machado, the pair later entering into a series of exchanges that escalated into something of a duel. Both featured musicians gave truly virtuoso performances.

Unaccompanied piano introduced the next piece, which was also vehicle for vocalist Aguiar and trumpeter Machado, the rest of the horn section dancing along in solidarity.

Machado was the composer of the next piece and the venerable trumpeter came to the front of the stage. A passage of unaccompanied trumpet was rudely interrupted by sound leakage from the nearby free stage, which actually seemed to amuse Machado and his bandmates, who used it as the trigger for a little musical humour that clearly delighted the sell out audience. The rest of the piece was a tour de force that embraced a virtuosic and highly percussive piano solo, the crisp attacking soloing style of Torres on the laoud, the trading of solos by the two trombonists, an energetic drum and percussion workout and a blistering trumpet solo that reached into the kind of virtuoso high register playing that jazz listeners associate with Dizzy Gillespie, a musician who was profoundly influenced by Cuban music.

Amanda Gaviria, who had hitherto been restricted to vocal harmonies and percussion now came to centre stage to sing a Cuban style arrangement by director Muniz of the Coldplay song “Clocks”, featuring the English language lyrics. I don’t much care for Coldplay so this was a vast improvement on the original, although I believe the band have also recorded a version with Coldplay too.

Gaviria also sang a song with Spanish lyrics that sounded like an adaptation of “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps”, on which she encouraged a little audience participation.

Described by Ry Cooder as “the Buena Vista’s calling card” the Compay Segundo song “Chan Chan”, which opens the BVSC album was introduced here by Muniz as “another historical song”. It’s the outrageously catchy and evocative song that captured the ears of every first time listener to the BVSC album and persuaded them to stay with the record to the end. It remains an audience favourite and was greeted with a massive cheer here. In an updated arrangement Aguiar’s vocal lines were echoed by Machado’s trumpet and Torres’ laoud, with both featuring as individual soloists as well as entering into a further series of exchanges.

We were into the home straight by now and the set closed with a high energy salsa style number featuring punchy horn lines, vibrant rhythms and exuberant vocals, with the whole audience getting to its feet. Machado was the featured instrumentalist as Aguiar invited a member of the audience onto the stage to dance with him, also giving her a pair of maracas to play. The young lady concerned certainly seized the moment and finally exited the stage to great applause. The horn section then led the band off stage in street parade style, but they retuned to play some more. However by this stage I was on my feet and dancing with the rest and was enjoying myself too much to bother taking notes.

I wasn’t quite sure what I’d make of what was essentially a tribute band but this was a superb performance that was very much in the spirit of the original BVSC. It was energetic and entertaining but in no way condescending and the standard of the playing was exceptional throughout, aided by a quality sound mix.

The members of the All Stars seemed to love their visit to Cheltenham and some were later observed around the Festival site, soaking up the atmosphere and taking photographs. They can rest assured that their audience loved them too.

NEIL COWLEY TRIO, JAZZ ARENA

Neil Cowley – piano, Rex Horan – double bass, Evan Jenkins – drums

I’ve been a fan of pianist and composer Neil Cowley and his trio for nearly twenty years,  in fact since I first began writing about jazz.

The Cowley Trio, then featuring Cowley, drummer Evan Jenkins and bassist Richard Sadler made a big impression with their highly charged debut album “Displaced” (2006), a high energy, very British brand of post E.S.T piano jazz.

They followed this with “Loud, Louder, Stop” (2008) for the Cake label,  at that time also home to the similarly iconoclastic Get The Blessing. The title was a dig at a critical description of the trio’s already distinctive style. I remember a gig around this time at Shrewsbury School where the sheer force of Cowley’s playing actually broke the piano!

The Jazzmann subsequently reviewed the next three albums, Radio Silence (2010), The Face of Mount Molehill (2012) and Touch and Flee (2014), all of which exhibited signs of continuous artistic growth within the distinctive NCT house style. The Australian born bassist Rex Horan replaced Sadler on the “Molehill” album ad has remained with the group ever since.

I also covered a live performance at The Edge Arts Centre in Much Wenlock in 2010 but also attended a number of the trio’s shows as a ‘punter’, including two gigs in Cardiff, one a successful ‘with strings’ collaboration,  plus a barnstorming appearance in the Pillar Room at the Town Hall at an earlier Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

Following the trilogy of recordings reviewed by myself the trio issued “Live at Montreux 2012”, which was actually released in 2013, “Spacebound Apes” (2016) and the remix EP “Spacebound Tapes” (2018) before finally calling it a day.

During the seven year hiatus Cowley has recorded prolifically as a solo artist, much of it electronic music exploring the possibilities of modern musical technology, including six albums in this vein for his “Building Blocks” series of recordings.

Following several years of working in this sphere Cowley decided to reconvene the trio to make “Entity”,  “a warts and all human sounding record”. He also describes the recording as “three people conversing, supporting and metaphorically dancing together. It is a society of friends all looking out for each other”.  He sees the album and the reformation of the trio as a “human push back”  against the dominance of modern technology and the isolation of the Covid years.

Here’s Cowley’s take on the choice of the album title;
 “We hope we represent a small example of that spirit and in contrast to the machines we seem slave to, present something that is unmistakably human. Communal, supportive, flexible, reactive, instantaneous and flawed; and perhaps, when we are at our most elevated and selfless, what you might call an entity!
Entity: an organization that has an identity separate from those of its members.”

Released in 2024 the album was recorded, mixed and produced at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio by Ethan Johns, son of the legendary producer Glyn Johns. When talking to the audience during this afternoon’s gig Cowley was effusive with his praise in regard to Ethan’s contribution to the new record.

The return of the trio and the release of “Entity” has been warmly welcomed by fans, and the new album has even been well received by the critics. The NCT has always been a band that has inspired something of a cult following and there was a good audience turnout at the Jazz Arena to welcome their return to Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

In many respects it was if nothing had changed. There was Cowley’s famous dinosaur mascot perched on the top of the piano while Horan’s equally famous beard was as distinctively hirsute as ever. Cowley’s stage patter was as sharp and witty as ever and the playing was as dazzling and dynamic as we all remembered. This was an exciting performance to match that Pillar Room show of old, largely centred around the new “Entity” album, bit with a few “old hits”, thrown in for good measure, particularly towards the closing stages.

A deceptively quiet solo piano intro ushered in album opener “Marble”, with Horan’s bass subsequently joining in duet, his playing light and dexterous. Next came Jenkins’ mallets, softly at first, but eventually building to an impressive momentum as Cowley’s playing gradually became more animated and dynamic. This was a composition that displayed an impressive command of dynamics, steadily and subtly ramping up the tension in a tightly controlled performance that demonstrated the almost telepathic rapport that this trio has developed, climaxing with the sound of Jenkins’ mallets alone.

Jenkin’s rapid, E.S.T. style drum grooves, together with Cowley’s strong left hand rhythmic figures helped to propel the playful, quirky “Lemon Meringue”, with its nagging melodic hook.

The fast paced and energetic “Adam Alphabet”, with its driving rhythms was the most danceable piece thus far and set heads nodding and bodies swaying at this now all standing venue.

“Now we’re going to play a ‘hit’” declared Cowley, with a roll of the eyes and with tongue firmly in cheek. This proved to be “Governance”, from the “Spacebound Apes” album, with its playful staccato rhythms providing a framework for a dynamic drum feature from the brilliant Jenkins, the New Zealand born drummer relishing the opportunity of being welcomed back into the fold of the Cowley trio.

“Fable” from the “Mount Molehill” album, also represented a further dive into the back catalogue, a pounding romp powered by the drumming of the indefatigable Jenkins. The crowd loved this exhilarating outpouring of energy too. The members of the Cowley Trio have lost none of their trademark vitality while they’ve been away.

From “Touch and Flee” came “Sparkling”, a slightly less frenetic offering based around Cowley’s shifting piano arpeggios that offered more space to the bass playing of the consistently impressive Horan.

This run of ‘hits’ culminated with “The Sharks of Competition”, another track from the “Spacebound Apes” album that absolutely rattled along and was an absolute ‘banger’, with Cowley pounding the keyboard like a futuristic Jerry Lee Lewis.

The title track of the “Entity” recording, which actually closes the album, represented a pause for breath. A quieter, more atmospheric piece this actually saw the trio making greater use of space, and doing so very effectively.

“Vice Skating”, from “Radio Silence” upped the energy levels once more with its dynamic grooves and catchy hooks. But even here there was a moment of reflection during a brief solo piano interlude, before the rhythm section crashed back in again with Jenkins unleashing some genuinely volcanic drumming. The use of such quiet / loud dynamics is reminiscent of the grunge era, or even the mind boggling prog rock of King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator for those of us who go back a little further.

Both Cowley and Horan are the fathers of daughters and the tune “Father Daughter”, from the new album, explored this relationship. Playful and anthemic by turns it was an effective instrumental meditation on this sometimes troubled, but always loving, relationship. It’s a tune that seems destined to become a Cowley classic.

“Meyer”, from the “Mount Molehill” was another piece to combine anthemic melodies with dynamic rhythms.

Next one of Cowley’s most popular ‘hits’, the irrepressibly catchy “How Do We Catch Up, a riff based tune dating all the way back to the “Displaced” album.

Next a comparative ‘chill out’ moment with the gentler, more atmospheric “V & A” from the “Entity” album.

“We’ve got time for two more tunes” declared Cowley, although I have to confess that I’m not entirely sure what these were. I managed to get a photograph of the set list after the show and up to this point the trio had followed it faithfully, but five more tunes were listed, and of course we only got two. I guess audiences at a stand alone date on the still ongoing “Entity” tour get the whole lot. Anyway, I can tell you that one was slow and one was fast, but I’m pretty sure that they rounded off with the pummelling “Dinosaur Die” from the   “Loud Loud Louder Stop” album. The audience absolutely loved it.

This was a terrific performance from the Neil Cowley Trio, who played with all the customary energy and brio of old, but who also included moments of subtlety and sophistication among the sound and fury. The playing was dynamic,  finely honed and both highly skilled and hugely exciting. Despite the seven years away they seemed to be playing better than ever and the “Entity” album, which is admirably varied, is a worthy successor to past glories. It’s great to have them back.

For a long time Cowley fan this was one of the gigs of the Festival. I know all the arguments that serious jazz listeners level against this band – the tunes are too simplistic, not enough improvisational content etc. etc. - and can appreciate where their detractors are coming from. But nevertheless I love this band, whose performances are undeniably exciting and whose recordings are rather more subtle and varied than they are often given credit for. No other piano trio sounds quite like the NCT, they’ve definitely transcended that E.S.T. influence and developed a sound that is very much their own, and despite the fact that there are two antipodeans in the band it also sounds very British. Much of this is down to Cowley’s quirky, self deprecating humour which finds expression both in his tune titles and his on stage demeanour. In his own way Cowley is a showman and a crowd pleaser. Like all of the acts on this final day of the 2025 CJF.

I’m now looking forward to seeing the Neil Cowley Trio again, this time as a paying customer, when they come to Cardiff in June as part of the “Entity” tour. This time round I’ll have immersed myself in the new album. I’m expecting another terrific performance. Looking forward to it already.

MACY GRAY, BIG TOP

Monday afternoon at CJF usually features a Big Top performance by a non jazz artist, Oh alright, a ‘pop star’ if you will. It’s kind of like CJF’s equivalent to the ‘Legends’ slot at Glastonbury.

With no programme at the PAC on a Monday there is no ‘serious’ jazz alternative, so taking advantage of my journalistic status I’ve attended quite a few of these performances, shows that I would never even consider paying to see as a ‘punter’.

Over the years I’ve positively enjoyed shows by Elkie Brookes, Paul Carrack, Paloma Faith, UB40 and Squeeze and others, but I have to confess to feeling totally like a fish out of water when exposed to the pure pop of Gabrielle.

I have to confess that today was more like the Gabrielle experience. Macy Gray is an artist whose music has largely passed me by, although I had heard good reports about her as a live performer. I was vaguely aware of “I Try”, the massive hit that appeared on her 1999 debut album “On How Life Is”.

Gray’s current tour, of which this was the first European date, is still celebrating the 25th anniversary of that debut release, an album that broke her into the pop music mainstream worldwide. She’s since released a further nine studio albums but her greatest commercial success was in the early 2000s.  However she still retains a loyal following, as this near capacity audience at the Big Top demonstrated.

Gray is more than just a ‘pop star’, she writes her own material, has diversified into acting and with her famously husky and raspy voice is more generally referred to as an r’n’b or soul singer.

Originally from Canton, Ohio but now based in Los Angeles, the city in which she first came to prominence, Gray possesses a soulful voice that suggests gospel origins, but her songwriting is rather more secular, as emphasised by the disturbing lyric of the song “Relating to a Psychopath”, one of her darker (and better) offerings.

It was the members of her band who took to the stage first, allowing Gray to make the grand, diva-like entrance and this was a role that she continued to perform throughout, exhorting the audience to get up and dance and reminding us all rather too often that she and the band “had flown in from Los Angeles, California just to be (or dance) with you”. To me she seemed to be trying a little too hard, there was more of this kind of crowd inciting behaviour than there was actual music. I have to admit to finding it all a little erdious and far too ‘show bizzy’ for my personal tastes, although others in the audience clearly loved it, especially the Gray ‘uber fan’ seated just in front of me.

I regularly go to jazz gigs where I don’t know the music and I don’t know the players, but usually the rest of the audience are in the same boat and it doesn’t matter as we share the voyage of discovery together. Pop shows are different, if you don’t know the songs you’re an outsider, and for me that was the case at both the Gray and Gabrielle shows.

Thus it was that I was actually pleased to hear Gray announce a cover of the Bobby Hebb song “Sunny”, a tune that I normally detest, thinking “at last! something I know”. Imaginatively arranged as a brooding slow blues it was a genuinely impressive re-interpretation and I really did enjoy this. Less successful was a later dip into “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. Gray seems to have a reputation for choosing unusual covers, but some of them are just bizarre.

A short and snappy version of the raunchy 2003 single “When I See You” followed, as did the similarly frank “Sexual Revolution”.

A solo feature by Gray’s female lead guitarist / backing vocalist allowed our dive to make a costume change and she returned looking even more glamorous and dispensing feather boas to some of the ladies in the audience. Far too ‘Hollywood’ for my tastes I’m afraid.

And then we were into the final leg, this section including the inevitable performance of “I Try”, which had the whole audience on its feet, even me, albeit somewhat reluctantly and as a very detached observer.

I’m sure that there were many in the audience who absolutely loved this, especially the ‘uber fan’ in front of me, but I was left curiously unmoved, a victim perhaps of my own musical snobberies. But I really didn’t like the overt show biz trappings and didn’t actually think that Gray’s singing was THAT good, as distinctive as her voice was. Also, despite individual features for the guitarist / vocalist, plus the bassist and the drummer, I found the band a bit too functional and characterless, merely foils for the diva that is Macy Gray. I’d seen far better musicians elsewhere during the Festival, and not just in the hardcore jazz acts.

It’s interesting that it was the ‘show biz’ stuff that really put me off, given that every act that I saw on this final day featured a degree of showmanship. I know EVERY performance does to an extent, even heavy duty free jazz and impov, but this was just too much.

Buena Vista were showmen and entertainers and Neil Cowley too in a more subtle, self deprecating, very British kind of way, and we still had Kim Cypher and Roger Daltrey to come, both charismatic stage performers and great crowd pleasers. Yet none of these grated with me in the way that Gray’s antics had done, although its hard to say just why that should be. Maybe it was just too glitzy, too Hollywood, too American. My fault or that of the performer? Discuss.

For the record here’s the Macy Gray set list for Cheltenham Jazz Festival as listed on line;

1. The Way
2. Thinking of You
3. Relating
4. Sunny
5.When I See You
6.Sweet Baby
7. I’m in Between
8. Sexual Revolution
9. Why Didn’t You call
10. Do Something
11. I try / Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
12. The Letter

KIM CYPHER, JAZZ ARENA

Kim Cypher – tenor, alto & soprano saxophones, vocals, Chris Cobbson – guitar, Alex Steele – piano, keyboards, Rob Rickenberg – double bass, electric bass, Mike Cypher – drums
guest; Ashley Slater – trombone, flugelhorn, vocals, percussion

This gig represented a triumphant home-town show for Cheltenham based saxophonist, composer and vocalist Kim Cypher, a musician who has been regularly featured on the Jazzmann webpages.

All of Kim’s bands include her husband, Mike Cypher on drums.  The Cyphers’ story is an interesting one. Despite sharing a lifetime’s love of jazz the couple came late to the professional ranks. They first met as fifteen year olds in the ranks of the Gloucestershire Youth Jazz Orchestra. After eventually “getting together” both held professional ‘day jobs’ for some thirty odd years, Kim as a primary school teacher and Mike as an employee of one of the major banks. Throughout this time they pursued their shared love of music, performing on the local jazz circuit. I seem to recall first seeing them at one of the regular ‘Saturday Jazz Cafés’, free lunchtime events in the foyer of the Courtyard Arts Centre in Hereford, more than a decade ago now.

By their own admission Kim and Mike both felt like ‘outsiders’ in their respective day jobs and eventually took the brave decision to become professional musicians, a decision neither has ever regretted. Free to concentrate on music full time their playing and stagecraft improved by leaps and bounds. They have since enjoyed success with Kim’s albums “Make Believe” (2016), “Love Kim x”  (2019)  and “Catching Moments” (2024), recordings that have given their music a national reputation, and they have since toured successfully throughout the UK and performed in many of the leading London jazz venues, such as Ronnie Scott’s, the 606 Club and the Pizza Express Jazz Club.

I have reviewed numerous live shows by he Cyphers, including the “Catching Moments” album launch at the Dunkerton’s Taproom venue in Cheltenham in November 2024. Inveterate collaborators the Cyphers frequently work with guest musicians, among them saxophonist / vocalist Ray Gelato and The US guitarist B.D. Lenz, the latter a frequent visitor to the UK. “Catching Moments” includes a guest appearance by former Loose Tubes trombonist Ashley Slater, who Appears on “Catching Moments” and who had travelled to Cheltenham from his current base in Germany specifically for today’s event.

The Cyphers have frequently performed at CJF on the Free Stage and as part of the Around Town programme, but today was their first official concert appearance at one of the Festival’s major venues. Finally being invited to play such a major show in their home town was a fitting award for the Cyphers, a couple who have really ‘paid their dues’ on the British jazz circuit and who have put so much back into the scene. They’ve worked hard for their success and it has been very richly deserved.

A large crowd including many of the couples’  family and friends, local dignitaries including the Mayor of Cheltenham, plus a host of discerning jazz fans helped to give this event a great atmosphere, with Kim regularly name-checking audience members from the stage.

The band was Cypher’s regular group with Cheltenham based Alex Steele on keys, plus Chris Cobbson on guitar and Rob Rickenberg (replacing Mike Green) on bass.

The core quintet kicked things off with Kim on bug miked alto sax roaming the stage as Steele adopted a Hammond sound on his Nord Stage 2 keyboard and sharing the solos with Kim and guitarist Cobbson. A lively start.

Slater joined the band for the next piece, an energetic Latin flavoured number that featured solos from Slater on trombone, Kim on tenor, Steele at the piano and Mike Cypher at the drums. Rickenberg had switched from electric to acoustic bass and Slater was also observed tapping a rhythm out on claves. The titles of these two tunes were unannounced, although I should probably have known what they were.

Kim now spoke to the audience for the first time to announce the song “Uniquely The Same”, a celebration of self and self determination,  but also of a wider humanity and collective consciousness. This featured the first singing of the evening, a vocal duet between Kim and Slater, with both also delivering instrumental solos with Kim on alto sax and Slater on trombone.

In view of his being primarily a jazz audience at a jazz festival the main focus seemed to be on Kim the instrumentalist rather than Kim the singer. Next up was the Carla Bley tune “The Lord is Listening To You, Hallelujah!”, a tune that featured the raunchy, bluesy tones of her tenor sax but which was primarily a feature for Slater on trombone. “it’s a tough one”, remarked Slater, “having to follow Gary Valente!” Nevertheless he made a great job of it, his trombone rasping fruitily. 

Exhausted by his efforts Slater left the stage as the core quintet performed Cobbson’s composition “A Time to Reflect, A Time to Forget”, a tune that appears on the “Love Kim x” album as well as in a different form on Cobbson’s own 2022 release “My Favorite Things”. This is a piece that has become something of an audience favourite, a joyous, highly melodic tune packed with African flavourings, and particularly those of Cobbson’s native Ghana. Featuring Steele on acoustic piano and Rickenberg on electric bass this was a highly rhythmic piece that featured solos from Kim on soprano sax and Cobbson on guitar, followed by a series of scintillating instrumental exchanges between the pair.

Equally vibrant was “Bertie, Bertie, Bertie”, a tune written for one of Kim’s pet rabbits and a tune that featured her on tenor sax, sharing the solos with Steele on piano and Cobbson on guitar, with Rickenberg also enjoying a brief cameo on double bass.

“Gonna Be Alright, Gonna Be OK”, a ‘cheer up’ song written by Kim to help reassure herself during the lockdown period represented only the second vocal item of the set. Kim sang and soloed on tenor sax as Slater returned, this time playing flugelhorn, a very rare occurrence, at least in public.

The tenor sax / trombone duet “Highland Mike”, a tune from the “Love Kimx” album boasted a reggae groove and the sounds of organ and electric bass. The performance included solos from both Kim on tenor and Slater on trombone, plus Cobbson on guitar. It certainly set an already enthusiastic crowd bouncing.

The dancing continued with “Chitlins Con Carne”, a sturdy slice of Blue Note style hard bop /soul jazz / funk with solos from Kim on tenor, Cobbson on guitar and Slater on trombone.

Kim is an exuberant performer and her on stage banter had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. Her enthusiasm is warm and natural, an unpretentious extension of her natural personality – it didn’t sound forced, unlike Gray’s.

In a well paced show she now followed two genuine crowd pleasers with another piece guaranteed to delight the audience as she sang Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, also doubling on tenor sax as she shared the solos with Steele on organ. There was even time for a little audience participation.

Slater returned for the lively West African influenced “Osibisa” with solos from Slater on flugel, Kim on soprano sax and Cobbson on guitar. Rickenberg was on electric bass, combining effectively with Mike Cypher, as Steele adopted an electric piano sound. Kim’s soprano solo really took off on the outro, screaming into the stratosphere as the band signed off in triumph, remaining on stage for an encore that saw Kim switching to tenor and Steele to grand piano as they shared the solos with Slater on trombone.

The home-town crowd went crazy and this truly was a triumphant home-town gig for the Cyphers. Since first meeting them in person in 2022 I’ve come to regard them as personal friends and I was just so pleased for them, as were the many people from their own town who know them so much more closely. Their delight was obvious, but there was more to the success of this gig than just home town sentiment, the playing, and such singing as there was, was absolutely terrific, with every band member rising to the occasion. Both Kim and Mike were visibly moved by the response, as was Alex Steele, another Cheltenham resident and a stalwart of the local scene.

Obviously Kim is the band’s focal point, but it’s the often unsung Mike who is the glue that holds it all together, his drumming always right on the money, unfussy, uncluttered but always propulsive, supportive and, crucially,  ‘just right’. As befits an ex banker he always ‘takes care of business’.

The quality of the music added to the energy and joyousness of the occasion, plus the sight of seeing my friends so happy and excited gives this the nod for gig of the day. Seeing the Neil Cowley Trio for the first time in many years and playing such a terrific set comes close, as does seeing the rock legend that is Roger Daltrey. But home is where the heart is, so the Cyphers take the gold.

 

ROGER DALTREY, BIG TOP

Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, Simon Townshend: acoustic guitar and backing vocals; Billy Nicholls: mandola, acoustic and backing vocals; Jody Linscott: percussion; Doug Boyle: electric guitar; John Hogg : bass and backing vocals; Katie Jacoby: violin and backing vocals; Steve Weston: harmonica; Geraint Watkins: keyboards/accordion; Scott Devours: drums.

CJF has given me the opportunity to see two of the greatest rock vocalists this country has ever produced. In 2022 I enjoyed a Big Top performance by former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace. I never got to see Zeppelin back in the day, so this represented a very enjoyable way of compensating for that.

Similarly, I never got to see The Who either, so following that excellent show from Plant I wasn’t going to pass up the chance of seeing Daltrey.

In many ways the current projects of both singers are similar, the songs and arrangements are more stripped back and rootsy, with acoustic instruments often predominating. But where Plant’s show focussed on folk and blues covers and totally ignored the Led Zep legacy Daltrey was more than happy to throw in plenty of Who classics, presenting them in a very different style with new and consistently interesting arrangements. There were also covers of songs by other well known rock songwriters, a nod to the blues and a number of original songs co-written by Daltrey and band member Billy Nicholls.

Right from the start it was apparent that eighty one year old Daltrey still has ‘the voice’. The first song was “Let My Love Open The Door”, a Pete Townshend composition from the guitarist’s solo catalogue, rather than that of The Who.

Next a tip to Daltrey’s blues roots and a cover of Taj Mahal’s “Freedom Ride”, a song about the building of the railroads and the white expansion into the American west.

The first Who song was “Who Are You?”, which delighted many in the audience, including myself. It’s not my favourite Who song but at least I now knew that he wasn’t afraid to dip into the back catalogue. More importantly he was going to do something fresh with it, not just trying to recreate the sound of his old band.

“Waiting For A Friend”, a co-write with acoustic guitar / mandola player Billy Nicholls introduced a touch of country rock to the proceedings and included a violin solo from the impressive Katy Jacoby.

This was followed by a powerful rendition of “After The Fire”, a song from Daltrey’s 1985 album “Under a Raging Moon” that was written for him by Pete Townshend. The distinctive vocal harmonies supplied by Daltrey’s band mates, among them Simon Townshend, younger brother of Pete, were a notable feature here.

There were more harmonies on a rollicking version of “Days of Light”, song that saw Daltrey looking back with fond nostalgia on his youth and the short time he spent working as a sheet metal worker. It was a rousing tune that also included a guitar solo from Doug Boyle and a further violin excursion from Jacoby.

Daltrey’s between song chat was both witty and informative and still imbued with a London working class sensibility. “If it wasn’t for you lot I’d still be a fuckin’ sheet metal worker” he informed the audience by way of a thank you.

He also explained to us that he’d been a pioneer of home recording, having built his own home studio in 1971. Among his first customers was a young Leo Sayer and his song writing partner David Courtney. These two, with some input from Adam Faith,  ended up writing nearly all the songs on Daltrey’s first solo album (“Daltrey”, 1973). Both Sayer and Daltrey recorded “Giving It All Away” and a seated Daltrey delivered a stunning version of it here, also accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.

Then it was back to The Who repertoire for a terrific new version of “The Kids Are Alright”, a song dating all the way back to 1965.

Next a cover of Paul Simon’s “The Boy in The Bubble”, a song that suited this partly acoustic ensemble, driven along by the sound of Geraint Watkins’ accordion. Watkins, a session veteran who has recorded and toured with many leading names and moved between keyboards and accordion throughout the evening.

A trio of Who songs followed with the audience singing along unprompted to “Substitute”. Then we heard “Squeeze Box”, with Watkins’ accordion prominent again, something of a novelty song that somehow managed to be a huge hit in the US. Here Daltrey lead the audience in a more structured, and obviously pre-planned, men vs women sing-along.
Last in this crowd pleasing sequence was the mighty “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, with violin and accordion replicating the sequenced synth drones of the recording. Jacoby and harmonica player Steve Weston were the featured instrumentalists in a powerful performance that was different from the original, but just as effective. Daltrey explained that he has now “retired” the famous scream at the end of the song, leaving it for the audience to do instead. And of course it took a kit drummer AND a percussionist to replace the percussive hurricane that was Keith Moon. Finally Jacoby treated us to a “Baba Riley” style outro, a taste of what was to come.

Daltrey served up a reminder of his hugely successful project with former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson with bluesy and rootsy “Keep It To Myself”, another song to feature harmonica specialist Weston.

Daltrey is a huge admirer of John Fogerty, lead guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He has a repertoire of Creedence songs and tonight’s choice was a country tinged arrangement of “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”.

“Without Your Love” was a beautiful new song written by band member Billy Nicholls and the show ended with a momentous version of “Baba O’Riley”, a Who classic given a fresh lease of life thanks to its use as a theme tune in a US crime series. With the crowd finally on its feet only now did Daltrey indulge in a bout of his famous microphone twirling as his well drilled, hand picked band took things storming out.

They remained on stage to deliver a blistering rendition of the Mose Allison song (“well, it is a jazz festival”, declared Daltrey) “Young Man’s Blues”, a piece that had received a similarly incendiary rendition on the classic Who album “Live at Leeds”.

This really had been an excellent show that had exceeded expectations. Daltrey’s singing was as strong as ever, even he didn’t jump around as much as he used to, and the playing of the band was excellent all round. The programme was an intriguing mix of solo material, Who numbers and inspired covers, all given arrangements perfectly conducive to the skills of this hugely accomplished band. Daltrey was an engaging stage presence, witty, informative and reassuringly down to earth.

With performers of this age you always worry that they may have turned into parodies of themselves. This was emphatically not the case here. Like the name of this tour Roger Daltrey is very much “Alive and Kicking”.

FESTIVAL OVERVIEW

Some jazz commentators were initially a little underwhelmed when this year’s line up was first announced. Those fears turned out to be ungrounded as CJF delivered some terrific performances. I enjoyed virtually everything I saw with the Marco Mezquida Trio my discovery of the Festival and my absolute favourite performance.

The PAC programme continued to deliver exciting new music and seems to be in good hands with Alexandra Carr.

Elsewhere the decision to transform the Jazz Arena to a standing venue largely worked. However I do feel that the new format will discourage some fans, especially those not able to stand up for ninety minutes without feeling some discomfort, or not able to do this more than once a day. I’d like to think a compromise could be reached for those who are not registered disabled but who still find standing for that long difficult. How about a flat standing / dancing area at the front with raked seating behind. I rationed myself at this venue this year, only seeing acts that I KNEW I really wanted to see. With the new format I wasn’t prepared to try anything unfamiliar on the off chance.

Also there were a couple of unfortunate scheduling clashes, notably Joe Armon-Jones in the Jazz Arena and Brown Penny at the PAC, two acts likely to appeal to very similar audience demographic. I’d have loved to have seen both but opted for Brown Penny. And yes, being able to sit down was definitely a factor in that. But I’d still have loved to have seen both of them..

It also seemed a little perverse to schedule two leading trumpeters opposite each other, Keyon Harrold at the Arena and Byron Wallen at the PAC. Granted the new format at the Arena meant I could catch half of Keyon and the whole of Byron, but paying customers probably couldn’t afford to take that option.

These observations aside this was yet another excellent Festival and I’m grateful to press officer Jade Beard and her team for allowing me to cover it so comprehensively

I’m looking forward to next year already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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