James Brandon Lewis, Keyon Harrold, Tornado Trio and new sounds at the Parabola make for rip-roaring weekend at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2025

The sun may have shone – it generally seems to for the Cheltenham Jazz Festival – but many spent the weekend in the enclosing gloom of the Parabola Arts Centre (or PAC) where, as curator Alex Carr regularly reminded us, the ‘real jazz happens’. That was not strictly true – the Jazz Arena had a masterful set from US tenor player James Brandon Lewis’ trio that was steeped in the heritage of modern jazz, the Town Hall hosted the mighty Billy Cobham (pictured below), the free stage had Tomorrow’s Warriors and the Big Top had …er … Roger Daltrey.

The PAC programme showcased an interesting trio of trumpeters and for young Poppy Daniels this was an early chance to step out on her own account: her quintet’s brash rocky swagger bolstered her assured playing and melodic compositions. Jazz FM award-winner Mark Kavuma’s  Banger Factory septet delivered tightly arranged high-energy original music with Mussinghi Brian Edwards’ tenor a fine foil to the trumpeter’s challenging chops. Byron Wallen’s ‘Hurricane Bells’ suite – a musical account of Hurricane Katrina – featured well-conceived textured passages evoking the rising waters and drowned world of a defiant New Orleans. No trumpets in Cassie Kinoshi’s Brown Penny, however, just the gleeful energy of younger musicians finding (and following) their own direction, an unclassifiable fusion of soul, jazz and metal replete with great instrumental playing. Ahead of this 80-year-old drum icon Billy Cobham’s jazz fusion sounded a tad on the retro side at the Town Hall – albeit with an outstanding band that included the always compelling keys of Gary Husband – but then the drummer’s crisp pocket precision has been reborn in Brown Penny’s Ayo Salawu’s octopus-like onslaught of beats. Cobham’s fiery jazz-rock legacy is in safe hands.

Tornado by name tornado by nature, pianist Marco Mezquida's Tornado Trio (pictured above) may have made their UK debut in 2019 at PizzaExpress Jazz Club in London, but blew into the Parabola early Saturday evening as complete unknowns and ended their absolutely spellbinding set with the audience raised to roof-high rapture. His outrageously advanced technique and unstoppable creativity combined Jarrett/Evans melodic twists, pinpoint quietude and Cecil Taylor's shock and awe with a rhythm section – of bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Ramon Prats – rich in empathy and groove intensity. Little wonder that Ronnie's have snapped them up with a Pizza Express Jazz Club to look out for this autumn too.

Not only was Claire Martin's Rhapsody in Blue Gershwin celebration at the Town Hall (pictured above) a masterclass of her consummate, award-winning vocal skills, interpretive expertise and an all-star band, but the sound balance, clarity and crispness the best yet heard at this venue, where unwelcome echo and boom can sometimes prevail. Led by pianist Rob Barron with special guests, saxophonist Karen Sharp and trumpeter Quentin Collins, the spirit and swing were effortless, particularly on a beguiling 'A Foggy Day (in London Town) and a bracing 'I Got Rhythm'. Over at the Jazz Arena Missouri-born trumpeter Keyon Harrold (pictured below) was in full-flow from the first notes of Freddie Hubbard’s ‘Little Sunflower’, the band digging deep into lush chords and deep pocket grooves. Shifting through the melody of Miles’ ‘ESP’ and then selections from his recent Foreverland album, this highly emotive set looked back as well as forward with outstanding empathy that hit heart as well as head.

If the weekend had a stand-out star it would probably be vocalist and composer Lucy-Anne Daniels who began by rubbing shoulders with Emeli Sandé and Lulu at the BBC Concert Orchestra’s Soul Jazz Summit before performing with NYJO in her own riveting James Baldwin tribute ‘The Fire Inside’ (pictured below). This was a consummate coming together of ideas, musical and otherwise, that properly represented the great American author and activist. Stunning vocal performances from Daniels, Akin Soul and gospel singer Rhiannon were the icing on the cake, but everybody involved played their part, a credit to musical director Peter Edwards. Daniels appeared once more in Olivia Murphy’s equally outstanding orchestral suite ‘Siren Cycle’, a new commission by PAC’s guiding spirit Tony Dudley-Evans. The piece’s narrative drive, sustained over 60 minutes, came from a wonderfully antiphonal quartet of female voices tossed between surges of strings and brass, with Olly Chalk’s piano a grounding continuum throughout. This was fresh, original contemporary music that certainly deserves to be given a much wider audience. And Daniel Casimir's Balance Big Band were also exceptional, with the cream of London's brass players – with yet another appearance by the effusive altoist Donovan Haffner – and the dynamo rhythm section of pianist James Beckwith and drummer Jamie Murray – elevating the bassist's beautifully crafted tunes to new heights. Binker Golding's conducting inspired a unity of purpose that was palpable.

But for all the undeniable splendor of those stage-packing compositions, the most stunningly impressive performance came from the duo Musho – Swedish vocalist Sofia Jernberg and pianist Alexander Hawkins. It’s fair to describe both as virtuosos, but their seamless fusion around Ethiopian culture and music lifted each to the highest level. Jernberg’s absolute control of a legion of voices and Hawkins limitless harmonic imagination flowed freely through a mesmerising sequence of scored and improvised music. It was a transporting experience that left us blinking and disorientated in Cheltenham’s urban sunlight.