WALL2WALL JAZZ FESTIVAL | PREVIEW
“Abergavenny – Home To Great Jazz” trumpets a brief promotional video by the people behind the Wall2Wall Festival. Replete with images highlighting the attractiveness of the Monmouthshire town (plus one of a discount bookshop chain, for balance) with an appropriate soundtrack, it might compel viewers to pay a visit for this annual event, hosted by promoters Black Mountain Jazz annually since 2013. Except you can’t! You know why. But you may not know that, in lieu of being able to rock up at Abergavenny’s Melville Theatre for any of Wall2Wall’s range of concert performances, you can watch them from the comfort of your sofa or beanbag, playing in that very venue and all.
Music festivals not afforded TV coverage a la Glastonbury, which is to say almost all of them, have endured a baptism of fire in 2020, regarding how best to navigate this sudden virtual necessity. Of those which have not merely written the year off, some have offered up bespoke live sets – be they real-time or pre-recorded – for free, perhaps with an option to donate but otherwise meaning that no-one is getting paid, which is less than ideal. Wall2Wall have held their nerve and are charging £10 per person (or £15 for a ‘family’ ticket, which allows multiple people access – I don’t think you have to prove you’re an actual family) for each of eight concerts this week, plus a three-part discussion on jazz’s century-long history. Consequently, each act will trouser their standard fee, which is commendable, and will hopefully prove the existence of a viewer base who recognise the value of live performance even while being estranged from it.
The first virtual Wall2Wall gig, then, is on Wed 14 Oct, titled Tomorrow’s Headliners and aims to showcase some youngish south Wales jazzers by having them moonlight, one after another, with a slightly more seasoned rhythm trio, also locally sourced. Thurs 15 brings the Claire Roberts Trio, led by a Manchester-based west Walian with a diverting jumble of influences: a singer and violinist, Roberts cut her teeth on gypsy jazz and old timey Americana but here will perform songs from Carmen Sings Monk, a late-period album by iconic jazz vocalist Carmen McRae where she tackled the Thelonious Monk canon.
The final three days of Wall2Wall feature two shows per evening, at 7pm and 9pm. Fri 16 begins with the Tango Jazz Quartet, Black Mountain Jazz regulars with a literal name and the exception to the ‘filmed at the Melville Theatre’ rule – they have the reasonable excuse of living in Argentina – and continues with the Kim Cypher Quintet, helmed by a British saxophonist whose CV includes work with Pee Wee Ellis. The following day welcomes Scottish pianist Fergus McCreadie, who played here in the early part of 2020, back to Abergavenny and teams him with another Scot, vocalist Luca Manning. Sat 17’s later show, Remembering Peggy Lee, fulfils its brief with three rotating vocalists (including Debs Hancock, who runs this festival alongside Mike Skilton) and a piano/bass/drums backing group.
Sun 18 memorialises another legend in Charlie Parker, who but for his prodigious enjoyment of heroin would have undoubtedly celebrated his 100th birthday a few weeks ago; in his absence, a band of crack Welsh sessioneers including Ashley John Long and Martha Skilton will dive into his legacy. The Zoe Gilby Trio cap the week in the 9pm slot: vocalist Gilby [pictured] cycles through a wide range of jazz modes as well as folding outside influences into the form, via originals and interpretations alike. If you miss anything or fancy a rewatch, all performances will remain online for ticket-holders until Sat 28 Nov.
words NOEL GARDNER
Wall2Wall Jazz Festival, online, Tue 13-Sun 18 Oct. Tickets: £10 single/£15 family. Info: blackmountainjazz.co.uk/wall2wall-jazz-festival