Jazz in the Park cancelled

Stormy weather has forced the cancellation of this weekend's Jazz in the Park in Pontypool, due to start tonight.

Two of the marquees were reportedly under four inches of water after the Afon Llwyd burst its banks.

Torfaen Council staff and festival organisers were working hard to recover the staging and equipment before the weather got any worse.

More than fifty concerts were due to take place from September 5 to 7 in four venues around Pontypool Park, with headliners including Stan Tracey, the Grand Union Orchestra, Ubizo and Alan Barnes along with a host of Welsh jazz acts.

Sally Church, Torfaen Council's Head of Leisure and Community services said: "It is with great regret that we have had to cancel this long awaited and anticipated event.

"The organisers have done all they can but the weather has unfortunately beaten us. People who have bought tickets can get a refund from the Congress Theatre."

The box office can be contacted on 01633 868239.

It would have been the ninth annual Jazz in the Park, the second biggest jazz festival in Wales after Brecon.

See www.pontypooljazzinthepark.co.uk for further details.

Thanks to Richard Saunders for the photo.

Jazz FM back in south Wales

Radio station Jazz FM is being relaunched in October on digital satellite, the internet, and DAB in selected areas including Cardiff and south Wales.

Popular shows like Dinner Jazz and the Late Lounge will return alongside presenters Peter Young, Sarah Ward, Claire Anderson and Steve Quirk.

There'll also be new programmes and features such as Mike Doyle's Fierce Angels and Anthony Davis's individual take on the jazz scene.

The station promises a broad range of jazz across the board from smooth to standards, classic soul, blues, bebop, swing, trad, big band, Latin, nu-jazz, fusion and electronica.

Jazz FM will go live on Monday 6 October via www.jazzfm.com and Sky Digital channel 0202.

Later in the month it'll appear on Freesat channel 730 and on DAB in London and the South East, Cardiff and south Wales, Birmingham and the West Midlands, Manchester and the North West, and Glasgow and south west Scotland.

See www.listenincolour.com for more details and a taste of what to expect.

Jazz FM was originally launched in London in March 1990 as the capital's first new commercial radio station for 17 years, with a second station opening in north west England in 1994. It was also launched on digital TV and radio as the new platforms emerged.

The stations had a chequered history as a series of owners tweaked the formats in search of commercial success until 2004-5 when GMG Radio rebranded them Smooth FM, now Smooth Radio, relegating their jazz output to the early hours.

A campaign by fans wanting to hear more jazz on the radio led to the launch of digital station theJazz by rival group GCap in December 2006, but despite attracting audiences of 400,000 within months of launch the station closed in March 2008 as part of a cost-cutting programme.

Meanwhile GMG Radio had kept the name Jazz FM for a service of internet streams and has now hired another group - The Local Radio Company - to relaunch the station on a three year contract with a full schedule of presenter led programmes.

See Wikipedia for a fuller history of Jazz FM.

New Paula Gardiner album

Bassist Paula Gardiner releases her new trio album Hot Lament on 22 September 2008 on the Edition label.

Paula also plays acoustic guitar and flute on the CD, recorded with Lee Goodall (saxophones, flutes, percussion) and Mark O’Connor (drums, percussion).

Paula Gardiner has been an inspiring presence on the Welsh jazz scene for many years. As well as heading up the Jazz course at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Paula is the Honorary President of the Swansea-based organisation Women in Jazz.

Hot Lament is Paula's first album as a leader for many years - it's described by Edition as "vibrant and forceful, a sheer masterclass in the Art of the Trio".

Paula is currently on tour as part of the Dave Stapleton Quintet, next appearing at Jazz in the Park, Pontypool, on Sunday 7 September.

See editionrecords.com for more details.

Humph's Last Stand - Sept 12

Humphrey Lyttelton's 2007 Brecon Jazz Festival appearance - his last concert recording for TV - can be seen on the digital channel BBC Four on Friday 12 September at 10pm.

It follows a programme at 9pm celebrating his life and career - Humphrey Lyttelton: The Jazz Musicians' Jazz Musician.

Humph died in April 2008 at the age of 86 following surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm.

The programmes will be shown again at 12.40am and 1.40am later that night.

See bbc.co.uk/music for details of jazz related programmes from the BBC.

Black Mountain Jazz is back

Abergavenny's Black Mountain Jazz club returns at its new venue, the Kings Arms in Nevill Street, on Sunday 5 October.

The Brigitte Beraha Trio will be the opening attraction as part of a UK tour promoting their album Flying Dreams - admission £5.

That's followed on Sunday 19 October by the long-awaited visit of the Dan Stern Group featuring Andy Sheppard.

This gig featuring one of the UK's leading saxophonists is likely to sell out in advance. Tickets are £10 and are available now from Mike Skilton on 01873 832043.

All future BMJ events will take place at the Kings Arms and start at 7.30pm.

See www.black-mountain-jazz.org.uk for the latest details and to sign up to their mailing list.

Jazz in the Park, Pontypool - Sept 5-7

The ninth annual Jazz in the Park festival takes place in Pontypool this coming weekend, Friday 5 to Sunday 7 September.

You'll find around fifty concerts taking place in four venues around Pontypool Park - three marquees and the Active Living Centre.

Headliners include the Stan Tracey Big Band, the Grand Union Orchestra, Alan Barnes, Ubizo with Alan Skidmore, and Dr Teeth.

There'll be support from some of the leading lights of the south Wales jazz scene, including the Root Doctors, Nia Lynn, Burum, the Jones O'Connor Group, Gareth Roberts and others.

Tickets for the headline concerts cost £7 each, with Stroller tickets at £3 for Friday, £4 Saturday or Sunday, or £9 for the weekend.

Call the Box Office on 01633 868239 or check the website at www.pontypooljazzinthepark.org.uk

See the BBC South East Wales website for my photos and review of last year's event.