Yazz Ahmed and Andy Sheppard boost Jazz Promotion Network Conference Showcase, at Bristol Beacon

Where would this magazine, its writers and readers be without jazz promoters? The Jazz Promotion Network 2024 conference gathered 186 of those undersung heroes from around the UK and Ireland for two days discussion of ‘grassroots working and the future of jazz’ at Bristol Beacon. Hard-nosed workshops confronted the increasingly tough times facing musicians, labels and venues, happily leavened by an encouraging vitality of commitment to keeping the music alive and growing. Bless ‘em all!

They were rewarded with a diverse showcase of music that included Scots trio The Secret Path and Belfast’s Córas Trio who each used deconstructed improvisation of traditional roots to compelling effect. Contrasting vocal styles featured: Ribbons singer/songwriter Sarah Colman captured a classic modern jazz style with typical poise, while Azamiah’s India Blue (pictured above) expressively embodied the contemporary blend of soul and jazz with an expressive purity of tone. Fronting the Adjunct Ensemble’s 1960s-evoking freeform jazz with cool precision, Felispeaks’ declamatory poetics celebrated both integrity and the sheer pleasure of words. Tullis Rennie’s Safe Operating Space quartet counterposed acoustic improvisation against his evolutionary electronics, a rich sonic mixture that pulsed and shifted with impressive spontaneity.

In contrast the thunderous double-drummer beats onslaught of Leeds-based Vipertime powerhoused through a solidly grooving set. Bookending it all, two performers who needed no introduction: trumpeter Yazz Ahmed performing solo with electronics and saxophonist Andy Sheppard (pictured above) reviving his sometime Bristol trio Pushy Doctors. Ahmed’s continuing exploration of drum and bass generated a block-rocking context as her eloquent flugelhorn rediscovered tracks like ‘La Saboteuse’, while Sheppard relaxed into the Doctors’ boogaloo grooves, playing around with ‘Dear Prudence’ and ‘My Favorite Things’. His angry mash-up of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’, however, reminded us that there was ‘an orange elephant in the room’ – one that we all would be confronting in the morning.