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Robert Mitchell 3io
Album Première
Event 1 • • Venue: Roland Stage, Christ College
Brecon Jazz 2011 opens with the première of Robert Mitchell 3io’s second album due for release this September. Robert Mitchell 3io have marked out a singular territory and sound in the trio format, honing their mix of influences of song, odd metre, freeform jazz, broken beat, hip-hop and folk with both older and more modern jazz. The new album promises all the beauty, virtuosity and distinction that marked 3io's debut album The Greater Good, which won the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Award for Best Jazz Album 2009.
‘Robert’s had a big hand to play in the development of jazz in the UK…a very important influential musician, a massively popular record, and a great live performer who’s gone from strength to strength.’ Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio
Robert Mitchell piano
Tom Mason bass
Shaney Forbes drums
Duration 75 mins.
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Blues Sans Frontières
Same Crossroads – Different Destinations
Event 2 • • Venue: Brecon Cathedral
Blues Sans Frontières is a collaboration between guitarist/vocalist Robert Hokum, drummer/percussionist Sam Kelly and sitarist Mehoob Nadeem, exploring alternative approaches to the blues. They see it as not so much a ‘fusion’ as a musical ‘what if’. The combination of sitar set against traditional blues grooves is so natural and serves to reinforce why the blues has such an appeal to people from so many different cultures. Top percussionist Paul Clarvis on tablas joins them for this performance.
Robert Hokum guitar/vocals
Sam Kelly drums
Mehoob Nadeem sitar
Paul Clarvis tablas
Duration 75 mins.
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The Outlaw Collective
Brecon Exclusive
Event 3 • • Venue: Christ College Stage
Brecon Jazz is pleased to present the European debut performance of The Outlaw Collective. Founded in September 2007 at the Berklee College of Music, now based in New York City, The Outlaw Collective comprises five of the school’s finest young graduate musicians. Drummer and group leader Cameron Outlaw, a native of Northern Virginia, has studied and performed with Kendrick Scott, Greg Osby, Ralph Peterson, George Garzone, Mark Turner, Terri Lyne Carrington and Gary Grainger. The Outlaw Collective represent a new generation of jazz musicians, raised on a mix of musical genres, all naturally blended by jazz into their music.
‘Today Outlaw leads a quintet rightly called The Outlaw Collective, a straight ahead combo with subtle hip-hop shadings. Equally ferocious in swing and thudding vamps, the band around Outlaw is so in-the-pocket percussive that the richness of the melodies seems that much more astounding.’ Washington City Paper
Duration 75 mins.
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Clare Teal
Hey Ho
Event 4 • • Venue: Market Hall
Clare Teal makes a welcome return to Brecon with her tenth album, a celebration of The Great British Songbook spanning a period of almost 120 years, entitled Hey Ho. Although rooted in the jazz traditions of the 1930s and 40s, it covers a huge spectrum of sounds and genres, but focuses simply on highlighting the beauty of well-written songs using honest, open soundscapes and textures. Hey Ho is reflective and mature, yet confident and self-assured and shows a new depth to Clare’s work.
‘She is the only singer around with the kind of touching, humorous tone, jaunty and effortless phraseology to get anywhere near the might that was Ella Fitzgerald.’ Jazzwise
Clare Teal voice
Simon Little bass
Grant Windsor piano and MD
Ben Reynolds drums
Duration 90 mins.
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Pascal Schumacher Quartet
Event 5 • • Venue: Pembertons Stage, Christ College
Pascal Schumacher is one of the most respected vibraphonists on the modern jazz circuit. Highly sought-after as a recording artist and live performer, the music of the Pascal Schumacher Quartet does not stick to the conventional structural form of jazz. With their clear melodic motifs, rich in imagination and expression, filled with altering emotions, going from soothing to violent, always with passion, the Quartet are quickly conquering the international jazz scene.
‘My, oh my...Three words for last night’s concert: energy, energy, energy. Rarely have I seen young jazz musicians play acoustic jazz with this combination of energy, enthusiasm, joy and technique.’ Mwanji Ezana, Citizenjazz
Pascal Schumacher vibraphone
Franz von Chossy piano
Christophe Devisscher bass
Jens Düppe drums
Duration 75 mins.
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Sponsored by Bureau Export
Matthew Herbert Big Band
There’s Me And There’s You
Event 6 • • Venue: The Big Tent, Christ College
Having been conceived almost by accident as a result of a film score he was writing, the Matthew Herbert Big Band now has two acclaimed albums and a string of prestigious international performances under its belt. From the Sydney Opera House and Montreaux Jazz Festival to London’s Royal Festival and Barbican Halls, Herbert’s band has thrilled audiences across the globe with its theatrical and visually stunning shows.
Though the band’s repertoire incorporates well-known songs from a range of his previous projects, much of the focus is on 2008’s There’s Me And There’s You, a ground-breaking album featuring some 400 performers and a wide-ranging exploration of the theme of power.
The dialogue between the classic sound and instrumentation of the Big Band and Herbert’s relentlessly spontaneous and experimental approach continues in live performance. While the electrifying power and energy of 16 musicians breathes life into his compositions, Herbert constantly explores new possibilities, often by sampling the band and audience live on stage.
The result is a performance with enormous dynamism and scope, combining the grand sweep, swing and swagger of the big band with moments of tender intimacy. Joining Matthew and his Big Band will be Basement Jaxx vocalist Vula Malinga – definitely one not to be missed.
‘The sensory assault – visual as well as aural – is innovative and inspired.’ The Times
Duration 90 mins.
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John Surman
The Spaces In Between
Event 7 • • Venue: Roland Stage, Christ College
One of Europe’s most adventurous and inventive musicians. John Surman’s The Spaces In Between is a continuation of the ensemble and the works created for the highly acclaimed ECM album Coruscating and represents the way in which the music has developed since its debut recording. Full of signature uplifting melodies, it’s centred on the title track, which is a piece for solo violin especially written for, and performed by, the leader of the string quartet, Rita Manning.
‘In his ability to blend some of the methods and textures of modern jazz with a wholly English sensibility, John Surman is a true original.’ The Times
John Surman soprano and baritone saxophone
Chris Laurence double bass
Trans4mation String Quartet
Rita Manning violin
Patrick Kiernan violin
Bill Hawkes viola
Nick Cooper cello
Duration 90 mins.
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Stéphane Kerecki Trio
Event 8 • • Venue: Brecon Cathedral
Nominated for the Victoire de la musique Jazz 2009 in France, this French trio explores every sonic combination offered by saxophonist Matthieu Donarier and his rhythm section. The result is gorgeously uplifting, fusing modern jazz with African dance.
‘One of the most fascinating European jazz prospects of the 21st century.’ John Fordham, The Guardian
Matthieu Donarier saxophones
Thomas Grimmonprez drums
Stéphane Kerecki bass
Duration 75 mins.
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Sponsored by Bureau Export and supported by Spedidam, Adami and Institut Français
The Core
Event 9 • • Venue: Christ College Stage
The Core is, quite simply, one of Norway’s most energetic jazz bands. Their music is rooted in acoustic post-bop jazz from the 1960s, influenced by the music of Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler and John Coltrane, and combined with more contemporary grooves rooted in funk and rock. Their live performances showcase the band’s energy, stamina and grit, which have rightly earned them rave reviews from the international media. Not to be missed.
‘Currently, The Core are the most exciting and powerful live band in jazz.’ Jazzwise
Jørgen Mathisen saxophones, clarinet
Erlend Slettevoll piano/Fender Rhodes
Torbjørn Zetterberg bass
Espen Aalberg drums
Duration 75 mins.
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Alice Russell
Event 10 • • Venue: Market Hall
What can you say about Alice Russell, other than: if you have never seen this gal live, then now is your chance and you will not be disappointed. Blessed with a lavishly soulful voice, she has been compared to some of the past soul greats. Her live performances are truly unique, capable of captivating an audience and tugging at individual heartstrings. Her smoldering blues-inflected lament is constantly evolving in her new solo material, which encompasses a soulful explosion of everything from funk, gospel and jazz to northern soul and beyond.
‘One of Britain’s best kept secrets.’ The Independent
Dan Swain bass
Ben Jones keys
Alex Cowan guitar
Mike Simmonds violin
Alice Russell voice
Jack Baker drums
Duration 75 mins.
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Fringe Magnetic
Event 11 • • Venue: Pembertons Stage, Christ College
Left-field trumpeter Rory Simmons leads his tricksy, brilliant, ten-piece Fringe Magnetic, featuring musicians from the innovative LOOP collective, as well as those from classical and folk traditions. Bringing together gritty, rhythmic counterpoint of chamber, orchestral palettes and shapes, with the vibrant energy of cutting-edge jazz and improvised music, all fused with the mesmerizing vocals of Norwegian vocalist Elisabeth Nygaard. Their sound exhibits influences of Django Bates and the NY down-town scene in the process, but the results are all their own. We think you’ll agree Fringe Magnetic’s line-up speaks for itself.
‘Tricky as a riddle, a major work by one of our most important contemporary artists.’ Jamie Cullum
Rory Simmons trumpet
Tori Freestone flute
Jon Shenoy clarinet
James Allsopp bass clarinet
Kit Massey violin
Natalie Rozario cello
Ivo Neame piano
Jasper Høiby bass
Ben Reynolds drums
Elisabeth Nygaard and Andrew Plummer vocals
Duration 75 mins.
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