<div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:center;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif" align="center"><b><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">BUDE JAZZ FESTIVAL 2019<span></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Over a month has passed since my return from Bude, but finally I've done it! The first sentence is a partial explanation for the delay.<br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">How
does one summarize a four-day festival?<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin:0cm 0cm 8pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Let's
start with the setting.<span> </span>The programme
lists 35<span> </span>bands, not all OKOM, or at
least my kind of music (as far as I was concerned, Richard Exall goes Getz and
the Brubeck project were definitely to be avoided), not all falling within the
definition of jazz.<span> </span>And then, one has
preferences – mine is not to be where they play the flute.<span> </span>So one is left with hearing some bands more
than once.<span> </span>Unfortunately, I missed two
OKOM bands, as one clashed with a band I considered more interesting while the
other one played at an open-air stage on a rainy day.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">There were seven venues – a far cry from
the previous Bude festivals I attended; in 2012 (the last I attended) there
were 14.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The attendance, too, was smaller: In 2012,
some venues were full to capacity and late comers were not allowed to enter;
this year, the closest to that was the Dorine de Wit's band at the Falcon Hotel
on the first day, but even there it was not over-crowded, only all the good
seas were taken.<span> </span>On the optimistic note
– there were quite a few younger people in the audience, people in their
forties and fifties, and perhaps younger than that.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Now to the music, which, after all, was
the reason I went there.<span> </span>All the bands I
heard were good, some – excellent!<span> </span><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Since the proceedings started with Stan
Allen and Friends – buskers, really – on the Falcon Hotel porch, the Falcon was
the first choice for the morning shows.<span>
</span>On the 27<sup>th</sup>, it opened with The Sopranos – Chris Pearce and Andy
Leggett, one of the highlights of the festival.<span>
</span>Nobody should be surprised that the repertoire contained lots of numbers
associated with Sidney Bechet; one of those was "Evolutionary Blues,"
a reworking of Mezz's "Revolutionary Blues,"<span> </span>and the encore – "Si tu vois ma
mere."<span> </span>Richard Leach's 7 Stars of
Jazz, which I heard more than once, was also very good, what with John Hallam
on reeds and Jim Douglas of the Alex Welsh fame on guitar and banjo.<span> </span>Not that the others were slouches – good
solos abounded, too many to mention.<span> </span>And
the drummer Graham Smith gave it a splendid lift, as he did with his own bands
and the two-trombone show of Kevin Grenfell (who played trumpet in the Leach
band) and Richard Leach.<span> </span>The programme
consisted of traditional standards; each Leach show also featured Jim Douglas
with rhythm on some interesting material (such as "Watch What
Happens",<span> </span>a number I had not heard
before. Leach's "Good Queen Bess," alone (without the trumpeter) was
worth the price of admission.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Frog and Henry proved to be a very
interesting youngish group, with Evan Bleach on reeds and vocals and F.H. Henry
on guitar and vocals, also featuring Will Scott on reeds (including the rare in
jazz bass clarinet) and Jack Butler on tuba.<span>
</span>A violinist was advertised but failed to show up.<span> </span>In addition to such standards as "St.
Louis Blues," on which Henry played the church organ ('for the first time
in his life"), the repertoire included less well-known numbers drawn from
the Freddie Keppard book, the titles of which I didn't get, as Henry's
announcements were not very clear, at least to my foreign ears.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Washington Whirligig, another young band I
had never heard before, also proved better than my expectations.<span> </span>The repertoire consisted mainly of standards,
including Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas," which has become popular with
swing players.<span> </span>The band featured
musicians heretofore unknown to me - David Hepworth on clarinet and tenor sax,
Will Robinson on trumpet and fluegelhorn, Andy Bramall on banjo and guitar, Liz
Hepworth on bass and Bob Cotterell on drums; most members also sang.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">One of the highlights was the Nick Ward's
Jelly Roll Quartet, with John Penn on piano, Brian Mellor on banjo and the
wonderful John Maddocks on clarinet.<span> </span>The
programme, not very surprisingly, featured a lot – but not exclusively<span> </span>of Morton numbers.<span> </span>And I love Ward's minimalistic drum kit, with
a real old-time bass drum.<span> </span>John Maddocks
also appeared with his own excellent traditional (but not "British
trad") band and with Dorine de Wit.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">There were some real "trad"
bands, too: The Dart Valley Stompers, the Pedigree Jazz Band (whose programme
was announced as a tribute to British trad), Dorine de Wit & Her All Star
band and the more New Orleans oriented Sunset Café Stompers.<span> </span><span> </span>Since
the Original Dixieland Jazz Band visited the UK in 1919, the Pedigree Jazz Band
celebrated 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary of that visit by playing some ODJB
numbers.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Some musicians played with several
bands.<span> </span>The ubiquitous Graham Treverton merits
a special mention, having played with more bands than anybody else!<span> </span><span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">I would also like to mention the two Gypsy
swing groups – Strumpit Gypsy Jazz Trio, consisting of two guitarists (Andy
Bucknell and Mike Bethell) and a bass guitar player (referred to only as
"Dibby"), whose instrument looked like an overgrown Gypsy guitar –
and La Vie en Rose, consisting of five young musicians – Rebecca Wilson on
violin, Dave McKeown, David Jones and Laurie Light on guitar and Yann Mahdjoub on
bass (probably the oldest member).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">At the lunch break there were open air
concerts (partly segueing into regular concert time) and at the afternoon
break, 6-8:19PM, either Malcolm Hogarth or Chris Newman played at the Brendon
Arms.<span> </span>Although listed as "solo,"
they always had other musicians with them.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Last, but hardly least, I wish to mention the
veteran and internationally famous pianist Keith Nichols, who appeared with
Graham's Smith's Jazz All Sorts and with the John Hallam Blue Three.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="LTR" style="margin:12pt 0cm 8pt;text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">If some bands get only a passing mention,
it is not damning with faint praise – it's just because they are well known to British
jazz festival goers and because mentioning all bands and their repertoire alone
would be longer than this, already overly long, review.</span><span dir="RTL" style="font-size:12pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif" lang="HE"><span></span></span></p>
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