This year’s Brecon Jazz Festival has built upon the successes of 2012 by deploying five venues and programming a whole host of street music, including an appearance by the popular South Wales based community band Wonderbrass.
With Sunday afternoon at The Guildhall being given over entirely to events promoted by Welsh Jazz Clubs there were continuing signs that Brecon Jazz was making an attempt to return to its roots. Running alongside this strand was a series of performances featuring artist in residence, pianist Huw Warren, under the banner “Worldwide Wales”. The show saw Warren collaborating with Italian vocalist Maria Pia de Vito and the extraordinary American drummer Jim Black . The Warren/Black performance, augmented by Cardiff based double-bass player Huw V Williams, proved to be one of the stand out gigs of the festival.
During the course of the weekend I managed to visit all five concert venues and saw some absolutely terrific music. With the well established Fringe Festival also hosting events throughout the town that old “Brecon Buzz” was back again with music seeming to flow from every corner.
Other highlights included the trio Phronesis led by the London based Danish bass player Jasper Hoiby, who received a well deserved standing ovation.
Another top performance was pianist Gwilym Simcock, alongside fellow Brit Mike Walker (guitar) and the Americans Steve Rodby (double bass) and Mark Walker (drums). There’s a real buzz about this international alliance and their set was also rapturously received.
Finally there was evidence that the future of jazz in this country is in good hands as the students of Cardiff’s Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama rose to the occasion and played a superb set at a packed Guildhall.
Words: Ian Mann (www.thejazzman.com)
Photo: Tim Dickeson