Tony Benjamin

Tony Benjamin reports back on some strong performances as this high-calibre festival makes a welcome return

Cheltenham brought together another high-calibre, diversely programmed bill that packed in big name headliners and deep-jazz thrills aplenty

Two highly engaging celebrations of noise, beats and the joy of spontaneity sadly only appreciated by a very few, very satisfied customers.

The revered guitarist and his long-standing trio bewitched a sell-out audience at Bradshaw Hall, Birmingham

Jasper Høiby’s 3Elements is a project, rather than a band as such, and Like Water is its second album following 2023’s Earthness. While those titles connotate the ‘elemental’ theme, the band name primarily refers to Høiby’s fascination with exploring the three components of a piano trio.

To judge by this live outing, it must be fun to be in Loz Speyer’s band. It’s the third time the trumpeter has released an album from his improvisatory Inner Spirit project and he’s the only player on all three. The latest line-up is yet another all-star affair, with hot shot sax players Dee Byrne and Xhosa Cole alongside long-standing names from the free-er end of jazz: bass man Larry Bartlett and drummer Gary Willcox. It’s a fertile combination of creative talents that benefits greatly from Speyer’s particular compositional approach, using well-deployed written elements to throw out an atmosphere that opens a door for each player to find their own path.

Setting up Edition Records in 2008 certainly made a dent in pianist/composer Dave Stapleton’s performing career. That ‘cottage industry’ label quickly grew into a key player in contemporary jazz with an uncanny knack for backing the best of emerging talent. This Slowly Rolling Camera collaboration with drummer Elliot Bennett and producer Deri Roberts has, however, provided Stapleton with an ongoing outlet since 2014 and Silver Shadow is their 7th album. The project has proved very flexible, past versions having utilised full string sections and multiple guest artists or simply come from the core trio.

Tony Benjamin remembers The Albert Inn, Bedminster and its music-loving landlord Ian Storrer – both vital to the development of Bristol’s jazz scene

The annual gathering of leading players in the UK’s live jazz promoters gathered in the south west for some vital discussions and some new music showcases

In 2021 George Haslam closed down his SLAM Productions label after some 30 years and more than 250 album releases supporting jazz and improvised music. Recognising that legacy, Jon Griffiths of My Only Desire Records took over SLAM in 2023 and these first three CDs are all dedicated to Haslam. They have much in common, each being fully improvised duo music mixed and mastered by Get The Blessing’s Jim Barr and with striking CD artwork from Joe Morris.