Any programme curated by Nod Knowles will delight and surprise in equal measure, and the Bath Jazz Weekend’s 2025 edition was no exception. Performances that drew explicitly on folk traditions ran like a thick seam through the programme, intertwined with expansive sets rooted in the UK’s rich free-er improv tradition, a judicious sprinkling of wild cards and the pick of the contemporary scene.
Photo credit Pete Woodman
The set delivered on the first evening by Laura Jurd’s new quartet was still glowing in the memory by the end of the weekend. Jurd’s tightly scripted dancing folk-inspired melodies were coloured by Cori Smith’s viola, anchored by Tara Cunningham’s mesmerising, sparse guitar work, and infused with an exciting open-ness and freedom by Corrie Dick’s drumming. Jurd was on scintillating form and the Ornette-ish, propulsive energy running through the set teased this listener with the idea that maybe the band represented ‘The Shape of Folk To Come’. Pianist Ky Osborne’s quartet had opened the evening with an absorbing set of imaginatively re-worked familiar standards, showing us that the Tomorrow’s Warriors stable is continuing to nurture exciting new talent.
As Keven Figes’ You Are Here Sextet tore into a version of King Crimson’s Catfood, bringing Saturday afternoon to the boil with Jim Blomfield clattering gloriously on piano, there was a collective sigh of appreciation. The Sextet play repertoire by Keith Tippett and others linked to him, and the distinctive spirit and energy of the music and improvisation were warmly received. The next day, another former Tippett collaborator, saxophonist Larry Stabbins, introduced his Sunday afternoon set saying “Welcome to the Old School” before showing what he meant by conjuring up a maelstrom with his partners Paul Rogers onhis extraordinary bespoke bass, and drummer Mark Sanders. Dee Byrne had kicked off Saturday with her Outlines band and a contemporary approach to small band, collective, free-wheeling improvisations. Her layered and pulsing themes, driven along by the energy of Olie Brice’s bass and Andrew Lisle on the kit, prepared the ground for some formidable and expansive soloing, not least from Byrne herself.
The Scottish Secret Path Trio brought a twist on folk fused with jazz on Saturday evening. Fraser Fifield’s low whistle unfailingly evoked misty moors and mountains high, only for a reel to gain a Caribbean lilt or Paul Harrison’s gospely keyboard inflections to subvert a jig. A blistering bag-pipe display took on the feel of a modal workout as Tom Bancroft’s cymbals sizzled and Harrison switched to piano. An entertaining set by Nani Vazani followed, taking us on a cultural tour with songs in the ancient Ladino language, before Molecatcher provided another highlight. The new trio combine Iain Ballamy’s sax, with Rob Luft’s guitar and Conor Chaplin’s bass. The result was meditative improvisations from which the shapes of melodies emerged and shimmered, or a pulse condensed launching them into a quietly bustling bossa. An original of Luft’s, As Time Passes, gave space for their respective melodic imaginations to unfurl. It was a beautiful, exquisitely paced set.
The Sunday afternoon session brought the weekend to a close with Stabbins’ trio appearing after a set of attractively crafted songs from Ribbons, the collaboration of pianist Rebecca Nash and Sara Colman with Henrik Jensen on bass and Jonathan Silk on drums completing the band. The third and final set of the afternoon provided the perfect ending. Huw Warren on piano combined with Angharad Jenkins to perform their project Calennig, a collection ofsettings of Welsh songs and carols mixed with a few originals. Jenkins declared herself ‘a folky’ at the outset, but no one seemed to care about the labels as the duo coloured and inhabited the songs. The ringing declarations of ‘happy new year’ in Welsh were rapturously received and reciprocated.
With capacity audiences at all five sessions and this year marking the fifth edition of the weekend that rose phoenix-like in 2023 after an enforced absence, Bath Jazz Weekend has planted itself firmly in the calendar as a fully immersive and joyful musical entrée to the new year.
