Jazz in Wales

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Monday, September 04, 2006

Pontypool - never mind the rain

Georgie Fame and Alan Skidmore

Thousands of people enjoyed the sixth annual Jazz in the Park festival in Pontypool (Sept 1 to 3) despite heavy rain over most of the weekend.

Maybe the bad weather helped boost the cameraderie and festive atmosphere at the event, which in my view benefitted from the fact that it was largely restricted to three marquees in Pontypool Park rather than spread across town as in previous years.

Top attractions like Chris Barber, Humphrey Lyttelton and Jacqui Dankworth played to sell-out crowds, and my own band Wonderbrass got a great reception on Saturday night - we even delighted stallholders and shoppers with an afternoon set in the market.

And Georgie Fame with the Alan Skidmore Quartet rounded off a great weekend in the main marquee on Sunday night.

Organisers from the Torfaen Jazz Society are already planning ahead for next year's event.

In the meantime look out for their Friday night sessions at Sebastopol Social Club - see www.torfaenjazz.org.uk.

Read a review by the South Wales Argus, or share your own views by clicking the Comments link below.

posted by Andy Roberts @ 11:38 AM  

2 Comments:

  • At 3:21 AM , Blogger alf said...

    after reading the pontypool free press and the south wales argus I'm wondering if I was at the same jazz
    fest as the reporting suggests,I've attented every pontypool jazz festival since it began, this years was by far the worst,The weather admittedly did'nt help but having said that the line up of act's seem's to be going
    toward's the commercial side of jazz,I know you have to get bum's on seat's but this is a jazz festival and apart from 3 or 4 band's there was not a lot there for the jazz purist's,I'm not being a so called jazz snob on this point and I'm not asking for the like's of martin drew and mornington lockett to be returning there year after year but something needs to be done about the line up,(next gripe) the sound in the main venue and the stage set up was the most
    pro I've seen and heard at ponty fest but at the other venues it was pretty poor,I know the sound guys were having problems as I knew several of them,
    and it was'nt ideal set up's on the positioning of the desk's to the stage,I was informed that they could'nt
    move the desk's to a better position because of health and safety reason's (crap) which leads to my final gripe (I think) venues 2&3 one entrance/exit,people queuing to get in the bands trying to get there gear in past the queue,why no entrance for the
    bands only,don't say there were not enough stewards as there were 3/4 at the entrances to each venue,many people I spoke to thought the council were running it like a boot camp they'll just say it's health&safety and more red tape but the way thing's were this year it will be the same with most thing's torfean councill get there claw's into and usually **** it up,put the festival back into the hand's of the people who care about the music and know what they are talking about instead of making up some cock&bull story for the press.

     

  • At 12:49 PM , Blogger Andy Roberts said...

    Thanks Alf - you make some useful points about the sound quality and band access to the venues, but I think you're being a little harsh with regards to the line-up.

    In addition to headliners like Barber, Humph and Fame, there were plenty of quality acts true to the jazz tradition - whether your brand of purity be trad, bebop, or modernist.

    Maybe you should ask the organisers to refund your £3 if you feel short-changed?

     

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