Swanage Jazz Festival’s 31st edition brings Yazz Ahmed, Banger Factory and Nigel Price to town

Newly badged as ‘Jazz By The Sea’ and brilliantly set up and run by Paul Kelly and his team, Swanage Jazz Festival emerged from its three-year hibernation with a visual re-vamp, a formidable talent roster, and a great array of venues. And yes, the sunniest weather for years. If Covid fears kept some away, including a few of the artists hired to play, the happy masses who did come helped the festival pay its way and guarantee its 2023 continuity.

Best seen as a showcase for the broad plurality of British jazz, from Trevor Watts to Enrico Tomasso, via Yazz Ahmed (above) and Ma Bessie’s blues, from startling newcomers to established stars, it was the main theatre event that truly plundered this reviewer’s stockpile of plaudits. The Simon Spillett Big Band Plays Tubby Hayes had been Kelly’s first booking for the Covid-abandoned 2020 Festival and now here they were as the Festival’s closer and top billing. Road-tested and packed to the gunnels with the nation’s best, every soloist bristling to play, they tore into ‘Dear Johnny B’ in jubilant style, altoist Sammy Mayne and trumpeter Mark Armstrong first to blow, drummer Pete Cater the vital heart-beat as he remained throughout, the sheer zest of the performance underlining both the ensemble’s overall prowess and the innate worth of the project. Spillett was in commanding form himself on ‘As Close As You Are’ – he’d been in equally torrential Hayes-like shape in an earlier quartet session - and proved a perfect front-man for the big band, his narrative both informative and apt. His dedication of ‘Peace’ to his late partner Tina May was touching; Harry South’s ‘The Scandinavian’ featuring Pete Long at length on flute just one other delight in a fabulous programme.

In contrast, and just up the road, Henry Lowther’s Still Waters, offered a calmer and no less pleasing aspect of the music, chamber jazz of you like, Lowther, on the eve of his 81st birthday, eloquent and poised as ever, tenorist Pete Hurt alongside. In a clear vindication of the continuing validity of the tenor-saxophone in British jazz, we moved from Art Themen’s fine quintet to the impressive Alex Hitchcock guesting with the QOW Trio, veteran Spike Wells on drums, powered by the Mingus-like bass playing of Jazzwise contributor Eddie Myer. Then there was the much-travelled newcomer Alex Clarke with a Best of British rhythm section: Dave Newton, Dave Green and Clarke Tracey, to help her tenor fly, before the extraordinary Mussinghi Brian Edwards, with Mark Kavuma’s knockout Banger Factory, gave primacy to deeply-felt harmonic exploration. And let’s not overlook Vasilis Xenopoulos with Nigel Price’s superb Wes Re-Imagined Quintet (Price pictured above). The tightness of this band a standout, with precision swing from drummer Joel Barford - look out for him – and Nigel right on the money himself. Still, with Ross Stanley, Vasilis and Tony Kofi too, this had to be Saturday’s best, only to be equalled by tenorman Xhosa Cole’s set, this a peach of a performance, Cole, an engaging communicator and noteworthy improvisor, fully justifying the attention that has come his way, and with a terrific band. Just to hear Cole segue seamlessly from ‘In Walked Bud’ to ‘Isfahan’ was a joy.

Pianist Paul Edis played a lovely, lyrical solo set; Julia Titus, Ma Bessie to you, did her blues thing lustily, assisted by Claude Deppa’s plunger trumpet while bassist Nicola Farnon sang and played with Newton tip-top on piano. Alan Barnes had his all-star octet on hand to give structure and class an airing, while his own quartet session was a mini-delight. In a Sunday-morning bonus, Jazzwise’s Alyn Shipton was on hand to talk about his jazz life and his great new book and there were jazz films to enjoy. So, as the old newspaper strap line had it, all British jazz life was there. Well, not quite all but near enough. Too many omissions: memo to self, must try harder next time. When? 7-9 July 2023.