Herbie Hancock once opined that the spirit of jazz was the spirit of openness. The Herne Bay Jazz Festival organisers, including its musical director, vocalist Kai Hoffman, have tapped into that feeling perfectly. It’s a non-profit festival and most of its 35-plus events were free, allowing newcomers to the music as well as experienced jazzers to sample from the wide range of acts, covering everything from blues and the Great American Songbook to hard bop and afro-jazz.
Kai was originally inspired to start the festival by the classic film about Newport Jazz Festival, ‘Jazz on a Summer’s Day’. Herne Bay certainly has that open ocean feel, particularly as many of the venues along the classic Victorian frontage, such as The King’s Hall, The Pier Ceylon, The Ship Inn as well the Pier Stage, look out to sea. Even better, the venues are all within a near stone’s throw of each other. Given Herne Bay’s summer micro-climate, that means you are never far from the next refreshing drink and gig.
The overall vibe of the festival, which has now grown into a major event in the local calendar, is one of relaxed inclusivity and family-friendliness, all mixed in one’s mind with the bright colours of the pier rides and the arcades, the good humoured audiences and the smiling musicians carrying in their instrument cases to check out each others’ performances.
This thread of relaxed positive energy carried through the festival. It was as present in the open air set by local Kent favourites the Andy MacLean Band (featuring vocalist Diane Dunn) on Friday afternoon as it was in the great gig by saxophonist Iain East’s Trio (including the excellent Stephen Bridgland on bass and Jonathan Ward on drums) on Sunday lunchtime at The Pier Ceylon. Their final number, a rollicking version of Sonny Rollins’s ‘St. Thomas’ was near-symbolic of the weekend experience.
A real highpoint of the festival was the performance of rising star saxophonist and composer Emma Rawicz and her sextet, who gave a blistering performance of original pieces in the King’s Hall on Saturday night. The tight yet fluid soundscape the band created, reminiscent in parts of the late albums of Miles Davis and the jazz-funk/rock of Weather Report was also very contemporary, particularly in its rhythmic feel. Rawicz is someone not to miss live if you get the chance.
There were of course many other acts to appreciate, ranging from the showmanship of The Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars, the soul feeling in the Ginger Bennett & Frances Knight Band on the Pier Stage and the driving intensity of the Katie Bradley Blues Band at the Ship Inn. At the end, it was clear that the Herne Bay Jazz Festival has moved to a higher level. It now deserves to be an entry in every jazz lover’s summer diary. In the meantime, the entire pier-head programme is on YouTube… right here:
The 7th Herne Bay Jazz Festival was supported by sponsorship from Arts Council England, the Herne Bay Festival Charity and Canterbury City Council’s Levelling Up fund and a range of other bodies.
