John Arnett writes: Taking place over four days in one of the cinemas of the very congenial Ambleside institution that is Zeffirellis, this four day festival was the seventh, annually, in what has proved to be a highly successful and distinctive series. There were ten performances altogether, afternoon and evening, Thursday to Sunday (*) , featuring a kaleidoscope of jazz luminaries in diverse combinations and settings. The fact that most have performed here in previous years is a testament to the unique creative and collaborative spirit of the event, with its assorted fringe events. (Frank Harrison playing tasteful lounge piano to diners and interval punters for example, when not on stage himself). What follows is a selection of avowedly personal highlights.
Opening a jazz festival with a very accomplished solo classical guitarist was a characteristically bold and genre defying gesture on the part of Derek Hook, Zeffirellis owner and the driving force behind the creation of the festival. In introducing Hungarian guitarist and ECM recording artist Zsofia Boros, on what was her third visit, he recalled his initial dream of providing a space for “creative spontaneity and quietness, for music of this calibre”. Zsofia provided all of these in abundance, on both the classical guitar and the ronroco – a small, eight stringed Bolivian folk instrument (even though, as she explained, it had been damaged when she collected it at the airport yesterday – no one would have guessed). A highlight was a piece specially written for the artist by composer Mathias Duplessy, “Perle de Rosee”, which was immediately engaging, indeed thrilling. Often in this performance Zsofia’s face was a picture of transcendant peacefulness. The set. all performed entirely from memory, and featuring an international array of composers, was full of drama and intensity, leading up to a very spirited and percussive finale.
The second set on the opening evening featured another less conventional sound palette in the form of virtuosic Dutch chromatic harmonica player Hermine Deurloo, in a trio with Gwilym Simcock (piano) who wrote several of the pieces here, and Mike Walker (guitar), the two Impossible Gentlemen. The absence of bass and drums created a soundscape perhaps more akin to chamber music, but none the worse for that, and one that was in fact full of space, variety and delight. It also meant that Mike Walker’s guitar was given more prominence and more varied roles – a real bonus actually. Closing piece, which translated as “Lost Socks”, was a terrific finale featuring a solo guitar intro with harmonics and slides, leading into a bossa groove, engaging and fluid, with the harmonica picking up the beautiful melody.
The afternoon of the second day featured a duo performance, different again, by Frank Harrison (piano) and Brigitte Beraha (vocals) with an engaging mix of standards and original pieces. Of the former, “I’m old fashioned” was poignant and beautifully delivered. Jobim tune “O Grand Amor” was introduced by Frank Harrison, with the observation that he found it difficult to do a gig without a Jobim tune. Brigitte Beraha sang it in the original Portuguese. It was a consummate and moving rendition showing great mutual understanding, as was encore “I fall in love too easily”. Accolade for the most unusual title of the festival has to go to beautiful original “The Man who Cycled from India for love”. It tells the true story of an Indian street painter who falls in love with a beautiful Swedish woman and, having failed to capture her on canvas, cycles all the way to Sweden to find her – successfully. They now have two children. Inspiring entertainment indeed.
Drummer Asaf Sirkis was the connecting thread between the two halves of Friday evening’s programme – first with a quartet featuring Frank Harrison (piano) Steve Watts (bass) and Mark Lockheart (saxes), and secondly with the Lighthouse Trio. It was a surprise to me to learn that the latter are now in their twentieth year together – Tim Garland alluded to this. Their performance tonight was multi sensory, thought provoking and scintillating from start to finish, played in front of a shifting backdrop of striking images created by Turkish painter and printmaker Esra Kizir Gokcen on themes of displacement and migration, sometimes with aerial landscapes and stick figures. Titles like “Winds of hope”, “Trails” and “Moment of Departure” echoed the theme to powerful effect. (SEE FEATURE)
The first of these was a lively, sinuous, uptempo piece featuring a drum and soprano sax duet, virtuosic and highly demanding without ever seeming so, largely on account of Asaf Sirkis’ perpetual blissed out grin. “Trails” began with plucked piano strings and tabla-like percussion over maps of N. Africa and images of inundation and climate change, but with a message of hope. Trumpeter Yazz Ahmed joined the trio on “No Horizon”, creating an interesting pairing with Garland’s bass clarinet. Simcock composition “Hi Jinx” was a musical evocation of the crazy energy of his three year old, with its razor sharp stops, lightning shifts and syncopation, as well as a mind bending piano and drum feature.
The sheer range of sound and feeling this trio are able create is both mind altering and immersive. “Sub Vita” for example sets itself the task of creating an entire undersea world, highly atmospheric and haunting, with shifting melody, Middle Eastern percussion and treated flugelhorn. “Bonjego Falls” featured glockenspiel and soprano sax over soft piano chords to create a beautiful, tranquil soundscape. Final piece “Break in the weather” was a tour de force even by their own standards, and a fitting climax to an unforgettable set.
The variety and diversity of the programming is a real strength of this festival, and clearly a lot of thought has gone into it. Closing the show on the Saturday night were the Nikki Iles Quintet with singer Immy Churchill, her and Pete Churchill’s daughter, whose star, on this showing, is very much in the ascendant. Introducing the band Nikki made the point that “we all love songs” and with this selection and this voice and presence, who wouldn’t? There is a centredness and conviction to Immy’s singing, supported by a band that is completely adept at bringing out the emotion inherent in a diverse range of songs. James Maddren’s drums really shone in this setting, subtle and nuanced in the service of the song, Nikki Iles’ piano likewise.
“Night ride home” early on in the set, was introduced as “My favourite Joni Mitchell song” and if you weren’t sure before, you would be now. Hermine Deurloo added some sumptuous harmonica to James Taylor’s “On the 4th of July”. English traditional song “False Bride, in a version by Olivia Chaney, was a heartbreaker, remarkable in its emotional power. There were standards too – “You don’t know what love is”; Bernstein’s “Lucky to be me”; “The Night we called it a Day”. The set finished with a version of Pat Metheny’s “Last Train Home”, to Immy’s own words, and with a soulful, searching Mike Walker guitar solo. Altogether, it felt like a special occasion, and a fitting end to a great evening.
Report on the final concert by Esra Kizir Gokcen
It is surely a sign of the huge respect in which Nikki Iles is held that so many top musicians should be crammed onto the Zeffirellis stage, and should show such intense concentration and obvious enjoyment on the last, celebratory night of the Ambleside Days festival.
The 12 piece ensemble (scored down from a normal big band) sounded as if it had just finished touring, rather than performing these intense, uplifting charts for the first time. Despite the immense discipline needed to achieve such an ensemble sound, soloists really did shine as individuals. Special praise for guitar hero Mike Walker, super-cool drumming from James Maddren, legendary effortlessness from Gwilym Simcock, Tim Garland’s high speed juggling of several instruments of dramatically different sizes, and Graeme Blevins’s superb last minute appearance! With guest harmonica player Hermine Deurloo playfully soloing above the city-scape style score in the piece “Big Sky” , there was a real sense of innocence, beautifully contrasted with the power of the group.
It was unique and fascinating to hear and see Nikki conduct the band whilst playing the accordion, yet another richness to her sound-world.
More or less everybody who experiences this festival at Ambleside is affected by the warm community feel; the concert was the musical embodiment of this, with the many audience members feeling truly privileged to be a part of it.
(*) John Arnett was fully intending to stay for the final day, but was thwarted by a positive Covid test.
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Really good reviews of a great weekend of music.