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| © Richard Morris |
Rob Cope's Joy Ride had the 5:00pm slot on the second day of the first four day jazz festival at the Swan and Chequers held over the Bank Holiday weekend. The first day, Friday, had one concert in the evening where the main band comprised of Emily Masser, Adam Fairhall, Jonathan Silk and Pablo Sonnaillon but later morphed into a jazz jam with many other musicians including Rob Cope, Ray Butcher, Jamie Gallagher, Dan Farrar and many more.
The band for this 5:00pm concert can only be described as a supergroup with all five being world class musicians. Leader Rob Cope is a fabulous saxophone player both on alto and tenor as well as being a respected composer and educator. He is the person who led the team behind this festival. All tunes in this concert composed by him included some from his 2026 album Phoenix No. 1 which is well worth a listen.
Gwilym Simcock
needs no introduction. A Welsh pianist and composer working in Jazz and
Classical music. Winner of multiple awards and has played with Pat Metheny,
Kenny Wheeler and others. His album Good Days at Schloss Elmau was one
of the 12 nominees for a Mercury Music Prize in 2011. I had seen Gwilym play
live twice before both in a duo with Tommy Smith and Emma Rawicz respectively.
This was the first time I had seen him in a larger ensemble and indeed in this
Festival he played in his own band on Sunday and in the Big Band on Monday.
Nick Smart is Head
of Jazz Programmes, Repertoire and Improvisation Tutor at the Royal Academy of
Music. He is an active performer with his own groups and with Nikki Iles, Stan
Sulzmann, James Taylor Quartet and the late Kenny Wheeler. He is an internationally
renowned jazz educator.
Gavin’s and
Dave’s work is well known to me having seen them on many previous occasions. An
outstanding quintet of which great things were expected and they delivered.
The concert started with First of the Summer Wine an upbeat tune, tempestuous in places particularly with Rob on sax, great flugelhorn by Nick and driving drumming by Dave. This was a 2 hour concert with a break so 6 tunes played meant there was good scope for lengthy solos by all. Next up was Beginning a track from Rob’s album Phoenix No. 1. Rob and Nick were prominent on this tune both together and apart. Throughout the concert Gwilym on electronic keyboard was imaginative and playful. Emergency Jazz closed the first set. Described by Rob humorously as his hit single it was an upbeat number with Nick alternating effortlessly between trumpet and flugelhorn plus an extended solo by Rob giving his sax some welly.
The second set opened
with Rapid a swinging medium tempo tune. The next tune was Relative again
from Phoenix No.1 with magnificent soaring saxophone from Rob. Clearly his tunes provided a vehicle to display his talents but the
arrangements suited all five musicians and each tune was the work of an
ensemble playing together. The concert ended with Tune Raider who, according
to Rob, was a mythical hero that deletes AI music. The rhythm section of piano,
double bass and drums were to the fore on this tune. A great concert.
Rob featured on
many of the concerts at the festival. Nick also featured in Gwilym’s ensemble
on Sunday and also in the Big Band concert.
The Swan and
Chequers is a modern, recently refurbished town bar in the historic market town
of Sandbach, Cheshire. Housed in a historic late 19th century corn
exchange, it features an open plan interior, a large outdoor courtyard beer
garden and has a dog friendly policy. It hosts regular events such as live
music to include jazz and community gatherings. Richard Morris
Set list included: First of the Summer Wine; Beginning; Emergency Jazz; Relative; Rapid;
Tune Raider
Swan and
Chequers, 16 Hightown, Sandbach, Cheshire CW11 1AE Open 7 days
Facebook: Swan
& Chequers, Sandbach Instagram:
@swanandchequerssandbach
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