BMJ Collective with guest John Crawford,  Black Mountain Jazz, Melville, Centre, Abergavenny, 08/02/2026.

Jack Mac (Jack McDougall) – tenor sax, Nick Kacal – double bass. Ryan Thrupp – drums
with John Crawford - piano

PROLOGUE

BMJ Collective is essentially the house band of Black Mountain Jazz.  Originally formed in 2021 for that year’s ‘hybrid’ Wall2Wall Jazz Festival the line-up has undergone a number of personnel changes and currently features founder member Jack Mac on reeds and occasional vocals, together with Nick Kacal on double bass and Ryan Thrupp at the drums.

Mac, Kacal and Thrupp also act as tutors at the BMJazzKatz sessions which bring young people  together for regular jazz sessions at the Melville Centre, with the intention of forming a youth big band. Mac is heading the programme and the Katz, together with their tutors, have already made a number of public performances, with some of these covered elsewhere on this site.

The idea of the tutors then performing for the public in the evening following the Sunday afternoon sessions is not only for ticket sales to contribute towards the teaching costs, but also for the students to see their tutors performing at their best and embodying the JazzKatz motto of “work, play, inspire”.

As these BMJ Collective gigs have now become regular events it is intended that a different guest musician will be invited to perform with the group each time. To date the ‘BMJ Collective With’ series has featured vocalist Sarah Meek, pianists Alex Hutton, Ross Hicks Michael Blanchfield, Tom Berge. Dom Pipkin and Anders Olinder, trumpeter Gethin Liddington and guitarists Chris Cobbson, Denny Ilett, John Close, Nigel Price and Mike Outram  Founding member Alex Goodyear also returned for a guest appearance at the drum kit, temporarily replacing Ryan Thrupp. All of these performances have been hugely enjoyable events and the majority have been reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

Every performance in the series has included an interesting selection of material sourced from the jazz canon and beyond, the majority of it chosen, or written, by the guest performer. All of the gigs have exceeded my expectations, representing far more than the usual obligatory or perfunctory ‘house trio with guest soloist’ session.   As I have previously observed,  “this is a series of events that continues to punch well above its weight”.

BMJ COLLECTIVE with JOHN CRAWFORD

BMJC bassist Nick Kacal spent many years on the London jazz circuit before re-locating to South Wales. He quickly established himself as a vital presence on the Welsh jazz scene but has retained his links with the English capital and in recent months many of Kacal’s old London friends have been travelling up to Abergavenny to play a guest slot with the BMJ Collective.

When the BMJC With series first began the majority of the guests were from South Wales or Bristol but the word has got around within the jazz community about just how good the BMJ house band is and how appreciative the Melville audience is. Established London names now seem to be queueing up to come to play with the Collective in Abergavenny. I’ve consistently championed the series for “punching above its weight” and I’m pleased to see that its fame is continuing to spread. It’s become a very attractive gig for London based musicians, the early start of 7.00 pm making it easy for them to get back to ‘town’ at a reasonable hour.

Tonight’s guest was the highly skilled and supremely versatile pianist and composer John Crawford, a London based musician who has featured regularly on the Jazzmann web pages both as a solo artist and as a prolific sideman.

I have reviewed his albums “Ulia, River of Time” (2013), “Times and Tides” (2016) and the more recent “Room for Dancing” (2024).

In addition to this I have also written about Crawford’s playing on recordings by vocalists Katriona Taylor and Clare Foster, cellist Shirley Smart, saxophonist Hannah Horton, drummer Tristan Banks and the band -isq, fronted by vocalist and songwriter Irene Serra.

I have also covered live performances featuring Crawford from bands led by Smart and Banks and also from -isq and TRYPL, the latter a London based septet co-led by trombonist Trevor Mires, trumpeter Ryan Quigley and saxophonist Paul Booth. Indeed this was not Crawford’s first visit to Abergavenny, he had previously performed at BMJ as part of a group led by Shirley Smart.

In addition to the names mentioned above Crawford has also performed with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of British jazz musicians and has also played on a broad variety of pop and rock sessions.

Born in London of English/Spanish parentage Crawford grew up with a love of Latin and South American music. His skill and versatility as a pianist has resulted in him appearing on more than thirty albums across a variety of music genres and in 2013 he was nominated for an Independent Music Award. His knowledge of Latin piano styles has led to him co-authoring the book “Exploring Latin Piano” with fellow pianist Tim Richards. Further music books have followed, including “Brazilian Piano Collection”  and “Piano Globetrotters”.

He has worked with a whole host of leading names in the field of Latin music and was a founding member of the popular band Grupo X. Others with whom he has worked include vocalist Ola Onabule, trumpeter Shanti Paul Jayasinha, guitarist Jorge Brava and Portuguese singer-songwriter Rui Veloso. He has also recorded with the bands Us3, Vida Nova and Club Brasil.

As is customary with the BMJC With series the guest calls the tunes and tonight’s selection included a typical mix of jazz standards and original compositions. It’s to the credit of the Collective that they are prepared to tackle unfamiliar original material on a regular basis and that they consistently rise to the challenge with skill and conviction.

With Mac specialising exclusively on tenor sax the evening kicked off with a version of “Recorda Me”, a tune written by the late, great American saxophonist and composer Joe Henderson. Following Mac’s theme statement Kacal took the first solo on double bass followed by Crawford at the piano and Mac on tenor. Thrupp was also featured at the kit on a piece that represented a good introduction to the individual instrumental voices within the band.

An extended unaccompanied piano introduction saw Crawford applying a Latin twist to “Afro Blue”, a song written by the Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria and famously recorded by John Coltrane. Mac’s subsequent theme statement developed into an extended, probing tenor solo. Crawford then took over at the piano, playing with the right hand only at the start of his solo before opening up more expansively. Kacal’s double bass solo was augmented by Thrupp’s drum commentary, which evolved into the subsequent drum feature.

“Beatrice”, a dedication to his wife by the late, great American saxophonist and composer Sam Rivers, is a tune that has become something of a modern jazz standard. The quartet delivered a particularly impressive interpretation, beginning quietly with the sounds of soft, breathy tenor sax and brushed drums as they brought out the full beauty of Rivers’ melody. Mac’s subsequent solo began to build the momentum with Thrupp switching to sticks and with Crawford taking over at the piano. The skilled use of dynamic contrasts continued with Thrupp reverting to brushes to accompany Kacal’s double bass solo. A masterful performance from the quartet, perhaps the best thus far.

Feeling suitably emboldened the quartet now tackled “Erghen Diado”, a tune by the Bulgarian songwriter Petar Lyondev that appears on Crawford’s “Ulia River of Time” album. Crawford introduced the piece at the piano, subsequently joined by Mac to state the folk inspired melody. Crawford’s virtuosic soloing featured some thrillingly percussive piano and incorporated a rousing unaccompanied passage. Mac’s garrulous tenor soloing maintained the momentum and Thrupp was featured with an unaccompanied drum passage before the inevitable wind down. Exhilarating stuff.

The first set concluded with one of Crawford’s originals, “End Game”, a beautiful ballad from the “Times and Tides” album. Crawford explained that he and his regular band had performed the tune on BBC Radio 3’s “In Tune” programme and that they had been requested to “funk it up” for the broadcast. Tonight we enjoyed the “funked up version” of the piece, which was introduced, as on the album, by a passage of unaccompanied piano. Mac’s subsequent theme statement and solo was followed by further solos from Crawford and Kacal, plus a closing drum feature from Thrupp. This was a piece with a particularly beguiling and memorable melody and I heard more than one member of the audience whistling it during the break.

It had been an excellent first set with the quartet visibly growing in confidence as it progressed. If anything the second half was to be even better, beginning with a solo piano performance from Crawford of “Recuerdos dela Alhambra”, a piece by the Spanish classical guitarist composer Francisco Tarrega (1852 – 1909). Originally written as a guitar piece this was a dazzling example of Crawford’s virtuosity with his left hand doing almost as much work as his right. It’s always a thrill to be able to see the hands of the pianist on a challenging piece such as this and with the Melville’s acoustic upright there’s also the additional bonus of being able to enjoy the sight of the dancing hammers.

Solo piano also introduced the next piece with the rest of the band joining Crawford as he introduced a tango style twist to the celebrated Antonio Carlos Jobim composition “Corcovado”. Featuring solos from Mac on tenor and Crawford on piano, again a highly percussive offering, the performance was also notable for Kacal’s highly melodic bass soloing and for Thrupp’s remarkable bare hand drumming, one of his most distinctive skills.

“You Don’t Know What Love Is” represented a stunningly beautiful ballad performance ushered in by an extended unaccompanied bass intro from the excellent Kacal. His languid lines were subsequently augmented by Mac’s sax melodies and Crawford’s piano chording as Thrupp temporarily sat out. Mac’s theme statement and subsequent variations were later augmented by brushed drums but Kacal continued to feature with a delightfully melodic bass solo. Mac and Crawford then delivered lyrical solos of their own, the latter incorporating an unaccompanied piano passage. Mac took over again on tenor, his playing becoming more powerful on the outro. Thrupp’s finely nuanced drumming performance was a feature throughout.

The percussive nature of Crawford’s piano style invariably evokes comparisons with Thelonious Monk so the inclusion of a delightfully playful version of Monk’s “Well You Needn’t” seemed just right. As with Crawford’s own “End Game” the quartet put an agreeable funk twist on the tune with Mac leading things off on tenor sax, with Thrupp’s drum commentary a crucial adjunct to Mac’s sax soloing. Crawford’s solo evolved into a series of thrilling piano and drum exchanges, refereed by Kacal at the bass. Thrupp loved every minute of it, sketching the melody on his kit and indulging in a bout of ‘silent drumming’. Great fun all round.

The set concluded with another visit to Brasil for an arrangement of Luis Bonfa’s “Manhã de Carnaval” aka “Black Orpheus”. Thrupp’s brushed drum intro was subsequently augmented by Kacal’s bass and Mac’s tenor as Crawford sat back and watched his new colleagues at work. His eventual introduction saw Thrupp switching to sticks as Mac embarked on an expansive tenor sax solo. He was followed by Crawford and Kacal prior to a final series of drum breaks as Thrupp ‘traded fours’ with Mac and Crawford.

Although Crawford had only met Mac and Thrupp on the day, a common occurrence with these events, this one off quartet quickly gelled to impressive effect, united by the shared language of the jazz standard and brave enough to convincingly tackle a clutch of less familiar material.

The deserved encore was “Love Dance”, a tune by the Brazilian musician and songwriter Ivan Lins (born 1945), a big name in his homeland and also in US, but little known in the UK. This saw Crawford and the BMJC trio sending their audience home on a soothing note with a delightfully lyrical tune introduced by Crawford at the piano and featuring lyrical solos from Mac and Crawford, sympathetically supported by economical bass and drums. A lovely way to end an evening of music that was interesting, absorbing, and above all enjoyable.

My thanks to John Crawford for speaking with me after the show and for verifying the set list details. Also to the core trio for their consistently excellent playing that has made this series such a success.

Next up on 15th March 2026 is the BMJC with the young international guitar star Rob Luft, a true coup for the Collective and for BMJ as a whole. I’m looking forward to that one already, while still basking in the warm glow generated by tonight’s performance.

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