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Birmingham Jazz this autumnCheltenham Jazz Festival | Various articles | 2011-09-20 |
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Birmingham Jazz has a strong and varied programme that shows that contemporary jazz can continue to thrive in times of austerity. Indeed, Birmingham now has a jazz scene that is the envy of other British cities and in many ways rivals that of London. Audiences have responded to the variety of the programme and continue to come to the gigs in healthy numbers.
The Birmingham Jazz programme continues to focus on three main strands, the concert programme in the CBSO Centre and mac, the club programme in the Hare and Hounds Pub in Kings Heath and the informal weekly sessions at Rush Hour Blues in Symphony Hall, and monthly sessions at The Jam House. We are also presenting one concert in a new venue, the piano trio The Necks plus Harold Budd solo piano at the A E Harris Building in the Jewellery Quarter on Thursday 24th November.
The concert programme is particularly strong with two outstanding concerts at the CBSO Centre: Meadow on Saturday 22nd October featuring John Taylor on piano, and two Norwegians, Tore Brunborg on saxophones and the wonderful Thomas Stronen on drums. This trio has made a beautifully atmospheric album on Edition Records and should be able to reproduce that beauty in the splendid acoustics of the CBSO Centre. The second gig on Saturday 12th November at the CBSO Centre features two leading lights of American jazz, Steve Swallow and Carla Bley in The Swallow Quintet with Line Up:Steve Swallow, bass, composer, Carla Bley, organ, Chris Cheek, tenorsax, Steve Cardenas, guitar and Jorge Rossy, drums. It is a great line up that will put 'young lion' Chris Cheek alongside more experienced players.
At the mac we have three concerts, Iain Ballamy and Thomas Stronen's Food on Saturday 1st October as part of the Harmonic Festival, Arun Ghosh Quintet on Saturday 29th October and the Bobby Wellins Quartet on Saturday 26th November. This is a lot of variety here with one band pioneering a mix of jazz and electronics (Food), a band that shows the energy that comes from mixing jazz and Asian music (Arun Ghosh) and one of the great modern mainstream players in Bobby Wellins, still a fine player and band leader at the age of 75.
This autumn Birmingham Jazz is focussing its club programme on the Hare and Hounds Pub in Kings Heath, which has proved to be the club space for non-commercial music that Birmingham has needed for a long time. The American singer Gregory Porterwill appear there with his own band on Wednesday 5th October. Our Jazz Club sessions will now also take place there every two months with a double bill featuring some of the excellent young Birmingham bands alongside the main act. On Wednesday 26thOctober we will present former Mercury prize nominees Led Bib plus the Jonathan Silk Quartet. This quartet is led by drummer Jonathan Silk, a recent graduate from the Conservatoire and Yamaha Prize winner. Then on December 7th we present a double bill with Sam Wooster's Husk and MeatFeast.
The Rush Hour Blues programme every Friday evening from 5.30 in the foyer at Symphony Hall continues to be one of the great Birmingham music events. It provides us with the opportunity to programme a varied range of bands from jazz with a focus on new young bands, e.g. John Fleming Quartet on November 18th to blues, e.g. Big Man Clayton on October 28th. The monthly Tuesday night sessions at the Jam House also continue with Esther Miller (September 20th), Tom Hill and the Straitjackets (October 18th) and singer Lupa (November 15th).
For further details: www.birminghamjazz.co.uk/
Listings
Rush Hour Blues
Symphony Hall Foyer
Fridays, 5.30pm-7.00pm
Free entry
Friday 23rd September: Ben Bryden and Bright Noise
Friday 30th September: Miles Levin Quintet ( part of Harmonic Festival)
Friday 7th October : Laura Collins
Friday 14th October : Mikes Collins + Lee Goodhall
Friday 21st October: Anthony Strong
Friday 28th October: Steve Big Man Clayton
Friday 4th November: Abram Wilson Quartet
Friday 11th November: Steve Tromans
Friday 18th November: John Flemming Quartet
Friday 25th November: Dave Stapleton Catching Sunlight
Friday 2nd December: Sam Crockatt with Kit Downes
Friday 9th December: Levi French Trio
Friday 16th December: Andy Hamilton and the Blue Notes
Food
Saturday 1st October
mac, 9pm £14 (£10)
Tickets: www.macarts.co.uk or 0121 446 3232
Gregory Porter
Wednesday 5th October
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath
8pm, £10 MOTD
Tickets: www.theticketsellers.
Tom Hill
Tuesday 18th October
The Jam House
8.30pm , free
Meadow + Andrew McCormack & Jason Yarde
Saturday 22nd October
CBSO Centre
8pm, £14 (£12)
Tickets: www.thsh.co.uk or 0121 780 3333
Led Bib + Jonathan Silk Quartet
Wednesday 26th October
Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath
8pm (band on at 8.30pm)
£5 (tickets on the door)
Arun Ghosh
Saturday 29th October
mac
8pm £12 (£9)
Tickets www.macarts.co.uk or 0121 4463232
Steve Swallow Quintet
Saturday 12th November
CBSO Centre
8pm , £16 (£14)
Tickets www.thsh.co.uk or 0121 780 3333
Lupa
Tuesday 15th November
The Jam House
8.30pm , free
Time Being: The Necks / Harold Budd
Thursday 24th November
Stans Cafe at AE Harris
110 Northwood Street, Birmingham, B3 1SZ
8pm, £12.50
Tickets www.theticketsellers.
Bobby Wellins
Saturday 26th November
mac
8pm £10 (£7)
Tickets www.macarts.co.uk or 0121 4463232
Husk & Meatfeast
Wednesday 7th December
Hare & Hounds
8pm ( band on at 8.30pm)
£5 (tickets on the door)
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