PROGRAMME 2003


FRIDAY 25 JULY

12.00- 5.30pm.
DON WELLER & LEWIS WATSON QNT.
This opening set provides an opportunity for the excellent northern tenor player Lewis Watson to work alongside Don Weller, proving you don't have to live in London to be a good sax player. Neither has played with the Bela Szaksi Lakatos Trio, who themselves haven't played as a trio before. So we start the festival in the great jazz tradition of jamming it.

SEBASTIAN ROCHFORD'S POLAR BEAR
Sebastian Rochord's debut appearance at Appleby in 2001 impressed everybody so he returns with his own group featuring the twin saxes of Mark Lockheart and Pete Wareham alongside bassist Tom Herbert. This is a fresh and exciting band that has its own way of doing things.

THE JAZZ COURIERS
This band features the music of the great saxophone virtuosos Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott
with Mornington Lockett and Nigel Hitchcock as their modern day counterparts. Led sometimes at breackneck speed by the powerful trio of Martin Drew (drums), Andrew Cleyndert (Bass) and Steve Melling(piano). Not for the faint hearted.

7.0pm - 12.am
BELA SZAKSI LAKATOS TRIO.
Bass player Arnie Somogyi sent me a recording of Hungarian pianist Bela Szakcsi Lakatos and told me that he and drummer Asaf Sirkis were to accompany him for a weeks engagement at Ronnie Scots. On listening I immediately booked him and when you hear him you will know why and wonder why he isn't a huge name on the international circuit.

THE PETER KING OCTET
Since the octets' first appearance as the finale of the 1999 Appleby Festival the great alto saxophonist Peter King has written more wonderfully individual music for octet. The band includes Mornington Lockett and Alan Barnes on saxes, Martin Shaw on trumpet, Mark Nightingale on trombone and Peter's usual excellent trio of pianist Steve Melling , drummer Stephen Keogh and bassist Jeremy Brown.

DON WELLER & ART THEMEN QNT.
The Don and Art partnership has been going for well over 30 years. Although they have two very individual approaches to playing the saxophone they compliment each other perfectly. Their enjoyment of playing together has not diminished over the years and communicates itself to the rest of the band - pianist John Donaldson, bassist Arnie Somogyi, drummer Dave Barry as well as to the audience.


SATURDAY 26th JULY

11.0am - 6.0pm
NORMA WINSTONE.
Superb musicianship and quality of tone mark Norma as one of the premiere contemporary jazz singers. Her technique is impeccable and interpretations flawless, that she is not better known on the world stage is probably can only be attributed to her modest nature. Another person of modest nature is pianist Nikki Iles making a long overdue debut at Appleby completing the rhythm section with bassist Chris Laurence and drummer Martin France. Add to this all this is the wonderful Tony Coe and there could be no better way to start the day off than to sit quietly and enjoy the subtle musicality and imagination of these marvellous musicians.

GILAD ATZMON'S ORIENT HOUSE ENSEMBLE.
The usual ensemble of with Frank Harrison (piano) and Asaf Sirkis (drums) has been extended to include Yaron Stavi (bass) Romano Viazzani (accordian), Marcel Mamaliga (violin) and the vocalist Reem Kelani . This multi cultural band plays music that escapes categorisation but demonstrates Gilad's splendid command of the idioms of jazz and Middle Eastern music.

ALAN BARNES & ART THEMEN LATIN BAND.
It was written recently that "Alan Barnes is the most reliably entertaining, multi-skilled reed virtuoso on the UK scene". Alan shares with Duke Ellington the rare ability of being able to entertain an audience without compromising one inch of musical integrity. His naturally honest between-tune banter will break the ice with any audience and let them know they are there to enjoy themselves. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Art Themen's angular and more abstract style provides a refreshing contrast to Alan's more straight ahead playing and the trio of Simon Thorpe (bass), Dave Barry (drums) and John Donaldson (piano) keep up the sunny sense of off-beat rhythms while they all set out to have fun exploring the rich diversity of Latin based music.

EVAN PARKER, JOHN EDWARDS & TONY LEVIN
Evans persistent and unswerving determination to play and develop his own brand of music over many years has paid off and and he is now a much sought-after artist everywhere except Britain. These quotes I found on the web say it all - "... time was jazz was jazz - and then came Evan Parker.' and "Explosive free improvisation from a master of the saxophone". Here this year with John Edwards (bass) and Tony Levin (drums).

7.0pm - 12.am
THE KENNY WHEELER BIG BAND.
For me the single most important element for a creative improviser is that they do things their own way, aiming not to play "jazz" but to create music the way they feel it. Kenny Wheeler has been doing just this for nearly 50 years. His writing is full of complex harmonies and changing times and rhythms. It has a wide variety of styles from straight ahead swing to totally free but is always recognisable as Kenny Wheeler. Performing this wonderful music will be a saxophone section of Stan Sultzman, Ray Warleigh, Evan Parker and Tony Coe, trombone section of.Mark Nightingale,..............., Kenny on trumpet and flugelhorn, Huw Warren on accordian, John Parricelli on guitar, a trio consisting of Nikki Iles (piano), Chris Laurence (bass) and Martin France (drums), vocalist Norma Winstone all conducted by Pete Churchill.

GILAD ATZMON

THE NEW STAN TRACEY OCTET
A new line up to play some of Stan's vast catalogue of Octet compositions. With Ben Castle and Stan Sulzmann on tenors, Nigel Hitchcock on alto, Mark Nightingale on trombone and Mark Armstrong on trumpet. All driven along by the great Stan Tracey Trio.

SUNDAY 27th JULY

11.am - 4.30pm
THE URBAN JAZZ QUINTET
This three sax line-up with just drums and bass was the concept of drummer Stephen Keogh and bassist Jeremy Brown. They play compositions by different members of the band which produces a rich diversity with lots of opportunity for the soloists who are Peter King, Gilad Atzmon and Michael Buckley - a young Irish flautist new to Appleby.

BELA LAKATOS SOLO.
A chance for this amazing pianist to stretch out without the restrictions of style or genre.

THE DAVID NEWTON TRIO.
A new trio from Dave with guitarist Colin Oxley and bassist Dave Chamberlain. I haven't heard this trio yet but I have no doubt that it will carry the usual David Newton hallmark of excellence and provide one of the highlights of the festival for many people.

ALAN BARNES & IAIN DIXON QNT.
I have been wanting to put these two multi-instrumentalists together with a trio ever since I heard them play an impromptu two bass clarinet duo at the 1998 Kendal Jazz Festival. It's good to have Iain at the festival again after recording with the likes of Joni Mitchel and June Tabor, touring with Bryan Ferry, and appearing in numerous jazz outfits such as the Mike Gibbs Orchestra, The Creative Jazz Orchestra and Dave Green Trio. Guaranteeing it will all happen will be pianist John Donaldson, drummer Dave Barry and bassist Simon Thorpe.

5.0pm - 10pm
THE GORDON BECK TRIO.
Gordon Beck has worked alongside everyone - Tubby Hayes, Phil Woods and Ray
Bryant, Jack DeJohnette, and Dave Holland to name but a few. He has become an Appleby regular and this years he appears with his European trio which includes Bruno Rousselet on drums and Philp Soirat on bass - both of whom have come over from Paris for this gig.

THE STAN TRACEY TRIO
The Guardian jazz critic John Fordham wrote "Stan Tracey's piano-playing is one of the most immediately recognisable sounds in British jazz, full of thudding, flat-fingered chords, runs as jarring as a potholed road and episodes of unexpected tenderness." Stan's recent trio CD "Zach's Dream" is evidence that Stan is still at the height of his creative powers. A great combination of the usual taut muscular playing from Stan and great subtlety and empathy within the trio - completed by Andy Cleyndert (bass) and Clark Tracey (drums).

THE STAN TRACEY QNT.
The powerhouse trio is joined by saxophonists Ben Castle and Nigel Hitchcock. Ben played a tremendous set with Stan at last year's festival so we've brought him back hoping he'll do it again. I remember 17 years ago when there was a lot of talk about a fifteen year old alto player called Nigel Hitchcock who had an awesome technical facility that could rival Peter King. I thought then as I do now that these prodigies come and go and it takes more than that to sustain a living as a jazz musician. But Nigel has come through as a soloist to be reckoned with on today's jazz scene as well as being in demand for pop gigs with artists such as Tom Jones, Wet Wet Wet, Beverley Craven, Ray Charles and Robbie Williams.

THE DON WELLER QRT.
Don't leave before this last concert, take the Monday off work if necessary because we have saved the best until last. Don is a giant among tenor saxophonists anywhere, and unashamedly my favourite tenor player. Add the trio with David Newton on piano, Dave Barry on drums and Andrew Cleyndert on bass and you have my favourite quartet
ALSO THE FREE ZONE
WITH EVAN PARKER, KENNY WHEELER, TONY COE, ALAN HACKER,
MARCIO MATTOS, SYLVIA HALLET, JOHN EDWARDS & PHIL WACHSMANN.

SUNDAY 27th 1.0 - 6.0pm.

 

J ULY 24nd - 27th

 

FESTIVAL DANCE NIGHT
T & La Touche - Reggae
Robert Maseko

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTOGRAPHS