Cheltenham Musings

On our arrival at the Clematis Guesthouse Steve asked our host, Karen, if Dave and Sam were there this year. “They booked,” she said, “then cancelled because there wasn’t enough wacky jazz on for them this year.” Looking at the list of headliners (UB40, Robert Plant, Jack Savoretti, Morcheeba, Sophie Ellis-Bextor) I could see their point. Our first job, therefore was to identify the uncut diamonds, not all jazz acts, elsewhere in the programme.

Having done so and armed with our tickets we were off on the wander into town. We realised quite quickly that another absentee was father sol and we chose our footwear for water resistance, rather than terpsichore. One half way decent pizza later we stopped to listen to No Big Deal on the free stage; a lively bunch producing weather denying Latin grooves.

Then it was over to the Jazz Arena for Alice Russell. I had intended to write a full review of Alice Russell but kindness suggests that I don’t. Suffice to say that we found ourselves in the minority of people who didn’t think shouting “Woo” every so often constituted stagecraft. She has a strong, full bodied stage voice but bellowed too much for my liking with a fondness for power ballads.

Our next stop was the Town Hall for a double bill of Orchestra Baobab and Nubiyan Twist, neither of which fit that comfortably onto the jazz spectrum but both of which were tremendous entertainment. Orchestra Baobab were formed in the 70s but broke up for twenty years or so, returned in 2001 and now feature a mix of original and second generation members. They play a mix of Cuban crossed Senegalese grooves and are very good indeed; totally exhilarating. Nubiyan Twist made the mistake of following them and nearly matched them.

They originated a bit closer to home, (they came out of Leeds College of Music in 2015). Again, their music is a hybrid of jazz, hip-hop, Afrobeat, soul and other grooves. Infectious and powerful, they made for a good night out. Dave Sayer