Stan Tracey’s performance with his big band – which features many of the leading British jazz players of course was a highlight of the 25th festival. The quartet’s concert at the cricket club next day with Clark Tracey, Simon Allen and Andy Cleyndert when they played on a very sticky wicket – monsoon season!

Stan Tracey

Dave O'Higgins

Alistair White

Mark Nightingale

Clark Tracy

The Monty Alexander Trio always comes up with the goods – this manifestation of the group  with Hassan W. Shakour on bass and Obed Calvaire on drums were superb. Each player exuded warmth and joy in their  playing and wide smiles. The set had all the pace and rhythm you could wish for and included some of Monty’s arrangements of Bob Marley songs – ‘No Woman No Cry’ and ‘Redemption Song.’

I was lucky enought to see Bob on his first tour at the Hardrock Manchester  and his last when he was still able to lift an audience of 5,000 with his great spirit, music and love.

The trio succeeded in bringing that atmosphere of rejoicing in life breathing through each tune – and for a while Wigan hovered over Jamaica like a sweet smelling rain-filled cloud. The siver lining was provided by Montyy’s heart-felt rendition of ‘Sweet Lorraine’ – promising to return to Wigan to marry the lady – we are sure he will!

Wigan has a thriving jazz scene which surprises many people – including their self-effacing selves (is that grammatically about right?) and has produced an award winning youth jazz orchestra which has played all over the world, performing with many leading musicians (and drummers) – more . The jazz festival is without doubt one of the premier jazz events in the U.K. and has over the years hosted more than it’s fair share of top artists. People like (in no particular order) Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, Dave Brubeck, Jimmy Smith, Maynard Ferguson, Roy Hargrove, Benny Golson, Al Foster, Eddie Henderson, Johnny Griffin, Ray Brown, Count Basie Orchestra and of course pretty well every great British player has taken the road to Wigan Pier (sorry, I had an Orwellian nightmare lastnight).

Stan Tracey and his Big Band appear on Wednesday – he has a new CD release very soon I’m told.

Bobby Shew has long been a favourite at Wigan and was making a very welcome return to play at the festival’s new main venue which is spacious and atmospheric. It’s pretty well perfect I must say – a bar at the back of the hall would have made it so purely so people could turn round and shush those concientiously propping it up as they quaff. Barfly’s develpoped a wonderful ability to simultaneously speak louder as the night wears on – if only to make themselves heard above the irritating self righteous shushers and the music. Happy nights at the Mill on the Pier come to mind!

I particularly enjoyed Bobby’s straight-from-the-heart flugel playing. He’s still hitting the stunning highs too and had some warm anecdotes to tell between tunes, including one about a wonderful seven years on the stand with Blue Mitchell who he spoke of as his brother – riotous party nights in LA known as ‘Blue and Shew.’

Bobby Shew

WYJO and Festival Director, Ian Darrington MBE

Ben Darrington - jazz played on his mojo'd ''73 Fender Jazz

Trumpeters often ask, what is this? How did it get here?

- he's remembered!

Bobby Shew with WYJO Directed by Ian Darington

Bobby seen in his Flugel Horn

As you know I just love Scotland and this band is one of the reasons why. Lead by Tommy Smith and featuring the very wonderful Brian Kellock with a stellar line-up of players, including The Very Talented Mr. Quigley this is a band that really motors. A high-octane ‘Tribute to Woody Herman’ set the mood for a compelling first set. Tommy Smith’s arrangement of ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ was brilliantly colourful.

SNJO perform Gershwins 'Rhapsody in Blue' arranged by Tommy Smith

Alan Benzie (Scottish Young Musician of the Year winner) keeps an eye on Brian Kellock

Actually Alan's turning pages - at the right time

Alyn Cosker on da drums

Tommy Smith

A Very Goodnight from Wigan

The Very Talented Mr. Quiqley

The Very Exuberant Mr. Quigley!

The Mira Opalinska International Quartet enroute to the stage

Mira Opalinska

Dr. Lonnie Smith

Mose Allison

John Nugent and Bob Sneider sit in - Brian Kellock's arm too - quiet late, I'd been drinking Irn Bru responsibly.

Fiona and friends at the Thistle after gig jam on Friday

Joe Temperley solo

Glasgow Jazz Festival is the one that I have attended for the past 20 years – and this year’s was right on the button as usual with a mouth-watering program of homegrown and international artists who inspire and excite in equal measure. Young players are given the big stage at the Old Fruitmarket (my all-time favourite venue) and they fill it beautifully. All the artists, young and mature show a complete committment to their art as they keep the music moving forward on a journey with instinct as their guide.

The venues always feel so warm and relaxing, seeming to enfold the musicians in an atmosphere of bonhomie drawing the very best from all those on stage – and the audience. The new after-hours venue at the Thistle worked well, Ryan Quiqley’s crack about the room was very funny – it was the kind of place you play twice – once on the way up, and once on the way down. Thankfully the large (with bar of course) room soaked up the energy and great music played and by the Sunday night it was a club you didn’t want to leave.

Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra - MD Stewart Stewart Forbes

Wynton Marsalis

Walter Blanding Jr.

Joe Temperley

Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra - Sax and cases

In conference before the concert

Walter Blanding Jr. runs through a piece

In Concert

Wynton Marsalis - back to New York

This was my 20th Anniversary Shoot (and I’m only 29!) at the wonderful Glasgow Jazz Festival, where I have photographed many of the leading figures in music – Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, B.B.King, Horace Siver, Max Roach, Don Pullen, Bobo Stenson, Roy Hargrove and many more . The great Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra lead by Wynton Marsalis closed out another great festival on Sunday evening. We chatted briefly as I made the portrait of Mr. Marsalis and I was able to congratulate him on the announcement of his family being uniquely honoured in receiving a National Endowment for the Arts award.  It was lovely to meet up with Joe Temperley and photograph him as he warmed up his bari. The Orchestra then played the last night of their European tour to an enrapt audience at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. They were tighter than a tight thing, performing Ellington compositions so eloquently  I’m sure the Duke would have loved it madly too.

I have now linked up two excellent blogs which are featuring the Glasgow Jazz Festival – London Jazz Blog by Sebastian Scotney and Euphbass by Jennifer Pollock

This was my second time photographing LCJO – again they were sublime, swinging like no other band I’ve ever heard. As you can see Wynton sits in the trumpet section where he introduced the numbers and marshalled the band with great aplomb.

The Lincoln Centre Jazz Orchestra take the stage

Wynton Marsalis introduces the band

The band in full flight

Solo!

Joe Temperley on bari

Wynton Marsalis

Richard Goodall Gallery

Richard Goodall Gallery

We had a couple of Private Views of the show, the Bridgewater Hall event on the Wednesday and the gallery’s guest list on Thursday. Nice and busy and one warm summer’s evening even turmed up. This is a set of photographs taken over the past 2 years at the hall who commissioned me to show the artistic life of the hall, reflect the diverse programming and give a glimpse behind the scenes. It was very exciting to be photographing so many genres of music, quickly pick up on the different etiquettes and nuances. All the artists have at least one thing in common – a total commitment to their Art.

The exhibition runs to 10 July 2010

BBC Richard Goodall Gallery  The Bridgwater Hall

The Hall

Beverley Knight

Markus Stenz

Liza Minnelli

Jack Jones

Tommy Emmanuel

Nick Lowe

Spencer Tunick at The Lowry, June 2010 © William Ellis

You may have seen an earlier post about meeting Spencer Tunick last year – he was in Manchester quietely doing a recce for the shoot. The Lowry had commissioned him to create the work to mark the 10th Anniversary of the superb arts venue – an excellent idea which has worked brilliantly for them in every respect and given the gallery a compelling body of work.

At the opening I was struck by the relaxed yet very purposeful feel to the images and how Tunick had captured the spirit of Lowry’s paintings of the people of Salford walking in another age. Exhibition

Dave Liebman with the Jiannis Pavlidis Trio

Dave Liebman

Sponsored by JazzYorkshire and United States Embassy, London.

Jazz Keynote Speech – Dave Liebman – “Jazz Education: Where it has been and Where it is going.”

Research Keynote Speech – Professor Paul Berliner – “Soul, Thinking and Art.”

Delegates from all over the U.K.,Finland, Hungary, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Canada, Germany  and the U.S. made this 2 day event one of the most stimulating I have attended.  Workshops, performance at the college and the proximity of The Wardrobe venue/restaurant gave the whole program a well rounded feel, particualarly for me after a Yorkshire beef burger and a sniff or 2 of Shiraz.

This was an exceptional opportunity for me to sit and listen – not to music (most of the time) but to people at the forefront of jazz education giving papers on every imaginable aspect of jazz. Concepts of paricipation in spontaneous communication in improvised contemporary music within the context of learning. The impact of technology on jazz, using Tetrachords for bass, guitar and string improvisation, using transcription to analyse improvisation were amongst many subjects discussed.

I just take pictures and don’t worry too much about these things, luckily the music just works and makes it all happen – as Oscar (Wilde) and probably Mr. Peterson said -’I don’t know how music works – that is it’s great mystery.’

I don’t mind sitting in Pseuds Corner for an hour.

Rehearsal

'Sketches of Spain' Dave Liebman with the LCM Contemporary Jazz Orchestra

The 2 Louises – Gibbs and Wood respectively kindly invited me to present an exhibition in the Green Room where the delegates were refreshed regularly and made kind comments on the work. Anything’s better than a green wall I suppose!

There were excellent small and ensemble concerts during the conference and we have some images from the rehearsal and performance by Dave Liebman with the Leeds College of Music Contemporary Jazz Orchestra – the classic rarely performed ‘Sketches of Spain’. The concert was superb, a massive piece to play, the hairs standing on the back of the neck confirmed a wonderful performance, drama and pathos brilliantly expressed by very gifted young musicians lead by friendly giants.

Footnote: Spain was evoked again as I wrote this prose, my mind took to me to see Keith Floyd at his best, cooking breakfast next to an Andalucian river and idly enquiring as to which wine one should drink with the meal. He picked up a handy bottle of Rioja and declared it an excellent choice.

Saludos amigos!