Courtney Pine gets the Barbican bopping at buzzing Jazz for Labour

It began with a solitary Andy Sheppard strolling across the Barbican stage; circular-breathing a stream of perfectly articulated arpeggios. It ended with a comfortably-full house pogoing in unison to a multi-generation township mash-up orchestrated by Courtney Pine.

In between, over a dozen acts, some put together just for the night, delivered jazz straight-ahead and jazz fused, without a hint of compromise. Tim Garland’s quintet (below with guitarist Phil Robson) romped through ‘Afro Blue’, powered by veteran drummer John Marshall and John Etheridge delivered a shimmering solo reading of Charles Mingus’ ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’. Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw and Claire Martin (above) harmonised brilliantly for an a cappella “You’ve Got a Friend’ and Soweto Kinch and trumpeter Jay Phelps combined atmospherically for the Dolphyesque ballad ‘Vacuum’.

If the showcase format concentrated minds, the political context added purpose. Garland’s lovely rendition of McCoy Tyner’s “Search for Peace” had this evening in mind, as did Christine Tobin’s lilting rendition of Milton Nasciento’s “Morro Velho”. And Darius Brubeck dedicated his quartet’s classy reading of “You Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with Me” to “other parties”.

The event was inspired by the 2012 “Jazz for Obama” concert and billed as “a concert for fairness and diversity”. And diversity it delivered in abundance. The first set ended with a triptych of hip-hop, country soul and stirring Arun Ghosh anthems – “inspired by Bangladesh, written in South Manchester”, said Ghosh.

But more than this, the musicians put corporate language to one side and spoke eloquently from the heart. Alex Webb pointed out that the first integrated nightclub in New York was opened by “a socialist businessman, the sort of person who would be here tonight”. Webb’s Café Society slot featured a stunning performance by vocalist Vimala Rowe (above), who first shimmied through ‘Wild Wild Woman’ and then made ‘Strange Fruit’ into a deeply personal statement. And Soweto Kinch made the letters of Labour the basis of an articulate freestyle rap. The audience chose the words. ‘Liberty’ and ‘Ambition’ were followed by ‘Beer’; R was for ‘revolution’. A great showcase for UK jazz, a great night out and as a rallying-cry for Labour, it worked a treat.

– Mike Hobart
– Photos by Tim Dickeson