Tommy Smith heads impressive UK showing at Rochester International Jazz Fest

The event succeeds not only with quality, but also sheer quantity, presenting a crammed calendar over nine days, mixing up starry headliners such as Chick Corea and Gregg Allman with a generous proportion of freebie shows, featuring notable artists like Trombone Shorty and Jon Cleary.

A less-likely element of the programme is ‘Made In The UK’, a series of gigs showcasing British talent presented on a nightly basis in the high-vaulted Christ Church. Two of this strand’s highlight sets come from Mammal Hands (below) and Matthew Halsall (above), arguably a pair of the UK’s current brightest hopes. The latter’s Gondwana Orchestra are unavoidably indebted to the devotional sounds of Alice Coltrane, not least due to the prominent presence of a harp in the line-up. Halsall offered a pure, measured solo, calm amid the pulse, ‘Faraway Place’ a soothing introspection, ‘Falling Water’ featuring a dappled soprano saxophone solo from Jordan Smart, who’s also a member of Mammal Hands.

The Mammals themselves adopt a systems sound that suggests the music of Steve Reich, all rippling repeats and rivulet-flow, with a skirling Scottish sound to Smart’s tenor saxophone, which is loaded with electronic effects. He released a flood of warbling phrases, as if emulating the sound of John Surman’s soprano. ‘Hourglass’ does indeed have a kinship with Philip Glass, and this time the soprano was actually a soprano. Jesse Barrett flicked out micro-grooves and accents on his tabla-augmented drumkit, scuttling with manic d’n’b tightness. ‘Kudu’ featured a rousing saxophone solo, and ‘Hilum’ was exceptionally intense.

As it happened, the strongest sets featuring a UK artist were technically outside the ‘official’ series. Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith and Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone (above) gave a remarkable recital in the Eastman School Of Music, completely acoustic, and capitalising on the rapport-benefits of a 32-year playing history together. They opened with some smeared and bending blues, in this hallowed wooden-panelled chamber. Ozone foot-stomped as he rolled out a percussive stride, making brisk exchanges with Smith’s tenor. The Scot’s ‘Exist’ was a breathy ballad, Smith calling inside the piano, releasing a harmonic slipstream, Ozone carefully dampening his bass strings in sympathy. His ‘Popcorn Explosion’ was in complete contrast, inspired by a Gary Burton kitchen disaster (Ozone was a regular collaborator with the vibraphonist). A suitably skittish tune, it was remarkably evocative, laying a path towards another dramatic style-shift. ‘Sophisticated Lady’ arrived near the end, Smith opening alone, thoroughly savouring each thematic nuance, slowly stretching and unfurling the melody. Rarely has your scribe overheard such universally reverent comments made by an audience, while exiting the concert hall.

Smith is also a part of bassist Arild Andersen’s trio (above), who appeared as part of the ‘Nordic Jazz Now’ series at the competing Lutheran Church Of The Reformation. Andersen bowed alone, with extreme reverberation soaring around the church’s wonderful acoustics, layering ‘Hyperborea’ with his pedals, then soloing over his own choral effect. Smith and Italian drummer Paolo Vinaccia joined in, a bold tenor solo setting the scene for some of the controlled passion to come.

Smith switched to the gentler Japanese shakuhachi wooden flute, then played an introductory tenor passage, in tandem with the drums, setting off on a free-form journey. Andersen soon thrummed in, and the threesome developed a funk motion, Smith honking and squealing. Ozone had stuck around from the previous night, turning up as a guest for the last two numbers, the players ending with their most aggressive tune, a stormy roiler, boasting a volatile, hard-nosed tenor surge from Smith.

–       Martin Longley

–       Photo by Peter Parts