Neil Hughes, Jazz Director at the Buxton International Festival talks about his approach to programming the festival this year, and picks four personal highlights. It’s an interesting conundrum…how DO you follow up from 2023’s “Wynton Marsalis at the Opera House”…?
Neil Hughes writes: When I approach programming for 20 gigs over 17 days – link to full list below – I always look for a balance – across instrumental, vocal, genre, geographies, different tempos at different times of the day and just the broadest church possible for a listening audience. So many variables exist, including availability, auditorium size, and budget – all have to be thought of as you bring a programme together when there are not only jazz lovers in town but also thousands of people present looking at opera, books, classical music and experiences.
Yet, through a series of calls, emails, and serendipity, this year I have ended up with a series of large bands that are set to delight audiences in Buxton. Here are four personal highlights:
1 IAN SHAW AND GREEK STREET FRIDAY AT THE PALACE HOTEL – THURSDAY 4 JULY
The whole of the International Festival kicks off on the 4th of July with Ian Shaw’s brand new album Greek Street Friday. Written and produced with Jamie Safir, Ian is very well-known to Buxton already, but we have never had him with a nine-piece band. It’s a real treat to welcome such a tour de force to kick off our festival. We know this music will appeal to a broad range of customers. Inventive songwriting, soaring melodies and a beautiful delivery leads me to have complete confidence that we are hitting the high notes from gig number one.
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2 JEF NEVE AND SAM MERRICK – JAZZ AT THE PALACE SUNDAY 7 JULY
I got to listen to Jef Neve’s new album ‘That Old Feeling’ just after lockdown, as I knew the young British singer Sam Merrick. Jef is a pianist from Belgium who hasn’t visited the UK for a number of years. He’s well-known for his jazz and orchestral pieces, but this album is also a delight because of its vocal performances by Sam, Monique Harcum, and Madeleine Peyroux, among others. We have Monique & Sam joining the band for a Sunday session full of tunes from Paul Simon & Marvin Gaye. A real coup for Buxton.
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3 ZOE RAHMAN’s COLOUR OF SOUND – OPERA HOUSE SUNDAY 7 JULY
And making Sunday very special indeed, we are delighted to welcome Zoe Rahman and her new project, Colour of Sound, for another octet performance on Sunday evening. With large auditoriums, we are fortunate at Buxton to be able to attract musicians at the top of the game and Zoe fits the bill perfectly with her most compelling work to date.
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4 ADRIAN COX’S CLARINET FANTASY
The big question I had for 2024 was how to follow Wynton Marsalis at the Opera House as our closing gig for the jazz weekend. Last year was very special with Alan Barnes leading a UK quintet to huge applause with Wynton as guest. And despite all of our worries, one phone call solved the conundrum. Adrian Cox updated me about his new project Clarinet Fantasy which sounded amazing in its quintet format, especially as this is one musician who has played with the Maestro’s band at both the Lincoln Center and in London.
Enquiring further, I found out that the project included strings and the New Orleans vibe, which we had last year from Wynton, so our finale fell into place. Providence indeed.
With a jazz quintet stage, plus a four-string quartet lead by Gabriella Swallow, Adrian had one last surprise, the addition of Tommy Blaize from BBC Strictly Come Dancing to guest vocal throughout the evening. The idea had moved from potential to reality very quickly and was given the name New Orleans Social Club, to ensure everybody understood the atmosphere we are striving for. It’s going to be a blast.
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We have world-class performances from musicians who grace stages globally when I programme for the Buxton International Festival. That’s the aim.
Of course, this is only a taster of the festival. These four shows demonstrate how album releases and new music can affect which ensembles are on tour.
We also have Alan Barnes returning, Parliamentary Awards winners Ubunye, Judi Jackson, Mica Millar and many, many, many others.
