There are two distinct sides to Bristol's jazz scene and in the middle a line that's rarely crossed...
Jazz in Bristol's Large Venues
On one side are the (usually larger) international jazz events, typically at venues like Colston Hall and St Georges. These are great venues to see contemporary jazz in Bristol with recent (2009 - 2010) highlights including Portico Quartet, Cinematic Orchestra and the Neil Cowley Trio. Live jazz in these Bristol venues has more of a concert feel, almost always seated and usually around the £15 mark depending on the seats. Bristol is fortunate to be a key stop over in most UK jazz tours and it is always worth keeping an eye on who's playing when and where and get jazz tickets early for decent seats.
Jazz in Bristol's Small Venues
The otherside of Bristol's live jazz scene couldn't be more different. Bristol is home to some awesome jazz musicians, many of international standard playing international gigs. What's great about Bristol is you can often catch these artists while they're at home often for free. Notable examples include Daisy Palmer (drummer - Goldfrapp), James Bateman (sax - Badbone & Co, Ronnie Scotts) and James Morton (sax - Pee Wee Ellis, The Herbaliser). Unlike the large tours at the bigger venues jazz gigs in Bristol pubs are more organic and unpredictable. With so many quality musicians playing in so many different bands or improvising with different artists, live jazz in Bristol is constantly evolving. When looking for whats on jazz in Bristol it's often more important to consider which individual musicians are playing where, rather than browsing by band or headliner. At live music events in Bristol pubs for the best views you'll need to stand but sometimes tables if you're lucky enough to get one..
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Where to see live jazz in Bristol
The whats on listings to the left show all upcoming jazz gigs in Bristol but it's still worth mentioning some consistent venues. Always check whats on at the Coronation Tap on Tuesdays and Sundays, (usually jazz or blues, always free). Other key jazz venues in Bristol include the Old Duke (live music every night, always free) and the Grain Barge (gigs every Friday, around £3).
Many people who lived through the golden era of jazz will tell you it's dead. But many international publications say jazz is having a new dawn in the UK and that the genre is evolving because of multiculturalism. Some of this can be seen in the Bristol jazz scene, the non-purist outlook of Worm Disco Club and Bristol Jazz and Blues Fest. With a new generation of jazz fans, comes a new outlook on jazz - Bristol has always had young and adventurous music makers from it’s local community and insurgent student population. Will Bristol be the new centre of a new kind of jazz in the UK? Only time will tell.
Sell out warning! Inventive jazz fusion ensemble melding afrofunk, afrobeat, gnawa and rumba into a fire-breathing 9-headed psychedelic beast. Muito Kaballa are a force to be reckoned with FFO: Fela Kuti, Tenderlonious, L'éclair, Surprise Chef, the Pyramids.
Afrobeat, jazz, soul, hip hop, samba, and rumba
Sell out warning! Sonic ritualism and spiritual liberation from psychedelic funk, hip-hop and Afro-punk luminaries BCUC.
South African power ensemble weave psychedelic funk, hip hop consciousness and a punk rock attitude.
Freakazoid five-piece caught causing a commotion in the shadows of the alt-queer scene, now stepping into Cloak's spotlight for the launch of their debut EP! The Freakshow channel anti-folk and Slits-esque punk into tumultuous pop bangers to howl along with. Plus prime support from raucous rock oddities The Scuttlers and alt-folk storyteller Sarah Ann Rée.
The Freakshow joined by The Scuttlers and Sarah Ann Reé
More Photos of Jazz Gigs in Bristol
What our editors say
“In 2004, Bellowhead burst onto the British folk scene like nothing before or since. Famously conjured up by duo Spiers & Boden whilst sitting in a traffic jam, they roped in friends, and friends of friends until the big band was born.”
From: Bellowhead
“Since the late 1970s @adamsonbarry has carved out his own idiosyncratic path in music, composing, photography and film-making. Emerging from the punk/ post punk scene on bass guitar, first with Magazine and then as a founding member of Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds, he has since amassed a huge solo music & soundtrack oeuvre spanning decadent big band jazz, sinuous funk, hip hop grooves, Sixties thriller themes, classic strings, rock, trip-hop and soulful gospel”
From: Barry Adamson
“Described by The Guardian as ‘the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene’, John Spiers & Jon Boden first rocketed onto the music scene in 2001, quickly winning a clutch of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards & going on to form & front the extraordinarily successful folk big band Bellowhead, which sold out The Royal Albert Hall several times, provides the theme tune for Radio 4’s The Archers & were recently heard on the soundtrack of BBC 1’s ‘Beyond Paradise’.”
From: Spiers & Boden + Frankie Archer | Bristol FolkFest
“The Urban Folk Quartet’s distinguishing features have much less to do with the traditional idea of genre. Yes, this is fiddle-led music that draws heavily from celtic dance forms and traditional song but from there on in it is unlike any folk band you have ever heard. Just as English country dance unassumingly met with big band jazz musicianship in the mid 20th century, The UFQ’s approach to the folk ethos is to embrace any and every influence that genuinely makes sense of their time and place and makes sense in their music. From funk grooves to middle-eastern melodies, afrobeat to north Indian rhythms.”
From: Urban Folk Quartet
“During one of his final interviews in 1970, Jimi Hendrix mused on what the new decade might hold for him artistically - “I would like a big band that I can write and conduct for” was his tantalising answer.”
From: Electric Lady Big Band