Taking Off: James Morton
As the Bristol scene becomes increasingly self-confident and highly talented players pour out of the city seeking wider exposure, Frederick Bernas profiles the latest to make a splash, saxophonist James Morton. “I don’t class myself as a jazz musician,” says James Morton. This 26-year-old saxophonist’s philosophy reflects the Bristol music scene that has nurtured him....
North Sea Jazz Festival 2008
North Sea Jazz Festival Ahoy, Rotterdam July 11-13, 2008 The 33rd North Sea Jazz Festival was a showcase of epic proportions. Fifteen different stages in the Ahoy Centre played host to 200 artists; venues varied in size from large concert halls like the Amazon, Darling and Hudson to smaller, more intimate spaces and stadiumesque acoustic...
Latin Funk Spectacular to hit Jazz Café
Tuesday 29 July will see two acclaimed Latin funk collectives take to the Jazz Café stage in a special gig to showcase new albums on Aire Sol Records. Hailed as one of the hardest-working and most exciting bands to emerge from the States in the last decade, Grupo Fantasma draws on a wide variety of...
The Heliocentrics / Flying Lotus – Thekla, 7/6/08
Bristol’s ambitious Venn Festival came to the end of its fifth year in spectacular fashion with a showpiece evening at Thekla on Sunday 7/6/08. Californian DJ/producer Flying Lotus, a.k.a. Steven Ellison, warmed the crowd up with a frenzied sequence of myriad beats – drum&bass, hip-hop, techno and more – and frequent lightning embellishments from a...
Three Gigs, Two Cities, 48 Hours
An epic musical journey from downtown Bristol to fashionable Shoreditch via London’s South Bank, this could definitely be regarded as a full weekend. Saturday November 24 saw three of Bristol’s finest live acts and numerous DJs swarm to The Attic in Stokes Croft, a new underground venue starting to attract a lot of talent. A...
James Taylor Quartet – Don’t Mess With Mr. T
James Taylor’s vintage Hammond-led outfit has consistently delighted lovers of jazz, funk and R&B in equal measure over the last twenty years. The group is most famous for its signature tune, the “Theme From Starsky and Hutch,” but this album shows greater variety than the standard jam workout. Don’t Mess With Mr. T: James Taylor...
London’s Funkiest Hour
The Sound StylisticsJazz Café, LondonThursday 30 August, 2007 After witnessing Australian deep funk outfit The Bamboos tear up a small Bristol wine bar some months ago, it was hard to imagine how any other band could ever match such a boisterous performance. However, the funk gods up above clearly had other ideas when they gifted...
Bristol: What else is going on?
Frederick Bernas embarks on a voyage of discovery to investigate the less talked-about aspects of Bristol’s vibrant music scene. While most students will probably know the names of the three Bristol venues I visited during this musical adventure, how many can say they have a good awareness of what kind of shows are going on?...
Youngblood Brass Band – Nuclear Summer
This is a video I produced with two friends in New York, May 2006.
