The EFG London Jazz Festival remains one of the most important events in the European concert season. Organised for many years by the Serious agency, it is an impressively far-reaching event: for ten days, the British capital is literally overtaken by jazz in all its forms, with performances and creative projects unfolding throughout the city in a model not unlike that of JazzMi. Alongside the headline events at the Barbican – including Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Evolution of UK Jazz – 20 Years On featuring Camila George, Shabaka and Anthony Joseph – Cadogan Hall presented concerts by Kurt Elling & Yellowjackets, Gabrielle Cavassa and the Taylor Eigsti Group featuring Becca Stevens. At the same time, a multitude of performances animated the clubs that form the beating heart of London’s contemporary live scene: Ronnie Scott’s, the 606 Club, the Vortex, Pizza Express, the Bull’s Head and the pop-up space The Jazz Social, which hosted live radio broadcasts, interviews and appearances by artists including Hiromi and Aaron Parks.
We opted for the more intimate venues, where it is possible to hear both emerging voices and masters of the music at very close range – an experience that draws listeners deeply into the artistic and creative processes happening on stage.
Art Themen’s New Directions Quintet – Bull’s Head Barnes, 19 November
On Wednesday 19 November, we visited the Bull’s Head in Barnes, a historic venue just steps from the south bank of the Thames, with a concert room seating around one hundred people. A large and attentive audience had gathered for a performance by Art Themen’s New Directions Quintet. A Cambridge Medical School graduate and former orthopaedic surgeon, Themen eventually returned full-time to his first love: the saxophone. He established himself on the British jazz scene from a very young age, becoming one of the most sought-after session musicians of the late 1960s and 1970s. Among his most notable collaborations were those with Jack Bruce, Alexis Korner, Norma Winstone and Barbara Thompson, though his name is most closely linked with that of Stan Tracey, the godfather of British jazz, with whom he recorded dozens of albums in an array of different line-ups.
Although Themen has released very few recordings under his own name, but between 1979 and 1982 the British label Spotlite issued a series of three LPs he co-led with the legendary bop pianist Al Haig, captured in some of the final sessions before Haig’s death in 1982. In more recent years, Themen has performed frequently as a leader with a range of ensembles, from his Organ Trio to his various quintets. The double set at the Bull’s Head fully confirmed the strong impression left by his recorded output: two sets in which the quintet sounded cohesive, assured and perfectly attuned to a repertoire ranging from originals to works by Horace Silver, Kenny Dorham and other composers from the that era.
The long, complex pieces followed the classic hard-bop format – broad themes stated by the two horns, followed by solo development and final reprises. Steve Fishwick’s trumpet blended beautifully with Themen’s lines, contributing both in the unisons and in solos that were impeccably shaped and silky. The rhythm section was equally crucial to the evening’s success: Gareth Williams shone especially on Mr. JT, his tribute to John Taylor, and provided accompaniment throughout that was solid, colourful and never routine. Arnie Somogyi once again showed why he is among the most sought-after bassists on the British scene, with lyrical solo statements, impeccable timing and an instinctive sense of interplay – particularly evident in the extended ballad tempos. Winston Clifford was a tireless driving force at the drums, his sound both decisive and energetic, and he charmed the audience further by singing a delicate version of Bye Bye Blackbird to close the set. It was an impeccable start to our festival journey.
Eddie Henderson Quartet – Pizza Express Soho, 20 November
On Thursday 20 November, we headed to Pizza Express Soho for the second set of the Eddie Henderson Quartet, featuring Matyas Gayer on piano, Arnie Somogyi on double bass and Stephen Keogh on drums. Thanks to the professional relationships and friendships cultivated by Keogh, major American musicians such as Charles McPherson and Henderson himself have been touring Europe more frequently in recent years, giving European audiences the opportunity to hear leading figures of the New York scene, past and present.
Some have compared Keogh’s drumming to the power of Joe Farnsworth, but I personally don’t agree with this. Keogh avoids overt showmanship, favouring instead a measured, finely calibrated accompaniment that never overwhelms the leader – a rare quality in an era when many drummers tend to dominate the ensemble sound.
Listening to Eddie Henderson is like dining in a historic trattoria: simple yet refined, grounded in tradition but lightly re-interpreted according to the taste of both chef and clientele. The musical “menu” offered generous servings of standards and ballads, with Cantaloupe Island adding further flavour to the set. At 85, Henderson shows no inclination to “leave the kitchen”; after decades spent perfecting his musical recipe, each of his performances remains deeply satisfying. We heard him in excellent form at Barga Jazz this summer with a different quartet, and he was equally compelling at Pizza Express. After Themen, here was another doctor-turned-jazz-musician – Henderson was, in fact, a psychiatrist – offering his own distinctive view of what jazz can be today.
Gerry Hemingway & Izumi Kimura feat. Fred Thomas – Sands Film Music Room, 21 November
The following day, we visited the Sands Film Music Room in Rotherhithe, a picturesque multipurpose venue, to hear Gerry Hemingway and Izumi Kimura with special guest Fred Thomas, a multi-instrumentalist associated with ECM. Thomas had previously worked with Hemingway, though this was his first collaboration with the Japanese pianist. The Hemingway–Kimura duo has been active for several years and recently released How the Dust Falls, an excellent album of creative music documenting the pair’s rigorous sonic explorations.
The repertoire presented in London closely reflected the album’s track list, with Thomas adding colours and nuances to an already rich musical landscape. Hemingway drew on his customary arsenal of extended techniques – bowing the hi-hat in the opening piece, and incorporating vibraphone, harmonica and voice into the mix. The set opened with a sequence of highly cinematic pieces that suggested an ideal “neo-noir” soundtrack – not Louis Malle’s Ascenseur pour l’échafaud, but rather a post-apocalyptic thriller filmed strictly at night. The rarefied, spacious atmospheres soon gave way to surges of tension driven by Hemingway’s multifaceted, forceful drumming and Thomas’s entrance on bass. Kimura contributed with a markedly percussive approach to the piano, occasionally plucking the strings of the Sands Film Music Room upright piano to heighten moments of emotional tension.
A socially engaged artist, Hemingway alluded – as he does in his recent recordings – to the injustices and fractures that mark our times. The result was a concert that was intellectually rich, multifaceted and full of surprises and it is available online on Gerry Hemingway’s Youtube channel.
Tommy Campbell Trio – Pizza Express Soho, 22 November
Saturday 22 November, the final day of our festival itinerary, offered one last treat: a lunchtime concert by the Tommy Campbell Trio with Barry Green and Joris Teepe at Pizza Express Soho. Campbell, nephew of Jimmy Smith and a veteran drummer, has appeared less frequently in Europe in recent years, but remains a legendary figure on the New York jazz-club circuit.
Expectations were high and were fully met. The music did not strive for particular originality – the format was the classic piano-bass-drums trio – but all three musicians delivered assured, authoritative performances. Green offered elegant, refined pianism; Teepe contributed agile, well-crafted bass lines; and Campbell provided the group’s real added value, guiding the music with authority, control and a disarming sense of humour. “It’s a pleasure to play here at Pizza Express, the best jazz club in the world! Yesterday we were in the Netherlands – in the second best jazz club in the world!” he joked from the stage.
Between pieces, Campbell entertained the audience with anecdotes – including his first trip to London in 1980 with Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra – and with playful theatrical touches, from striking the wine glasses on nearby tables to incorporating a family of toy pigs into his drum kit. These moments were hilarious yet fully integrated into a performance that remained vibrant, fluid and unpredictable to the last note. Among the highlights was a beautifully delicate version of Poinciana, written by Nat Simon in 1936 and immortalised by Ahmad Jamal.
A musical triumph, bringing to a close a festival that continues to rank among the very finest in Europe.
