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Pee Wee Ellis Assembly Friday 8th July, Cheese & Grain Jazz In The Garden Saturday 9th July, Garden Café Nunney Jazz Café Presents Sunday 10th July, Victoria Park  Pee Wee Ellis. Photo: Val Duncan Plenty of towns have festivals but their success, or sometimes lack of it, depends almost entirely on people. For the right connections to be made, the organisers, the performers and their audiences all need to be in step. Frome Festival's suite of jazz gigs during the second and last weekend confirmed the town's growing reputation as the place that combines enthusiastic family audiences with thoughtful, committed organisers. The essential third ingredient for success - creative talent - is nowhere more evident than in Frome, where an ever-growing number of England's first division performers are finding a new and happy home. Saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis seems to have been a founding member of this new jazz community. In Friday night's gig at the Cheese & Grain, he coaxed his British band to build a compelling groove that harked back to his origins in the great funk-meets-jazz tradition of Soulville USA. Ellis is an engaging music director whose influence has contributed to the success of many a big name artist. He paced the stage between solos, egging on the members of his band, joining in dance steps with his frontline horn section and directing the changes in each tune with an assured and practised minimalism. The sound, however, was never minimalist, especially when the band were joined in the first set by the five-person horn section of Miami's Spam Allstars. Cruising past Frome on an unscheduled evening off on their first British tour, the Allstars grabbed the chance of mixing their own funked-up Latin style with Pee Wee's soul. The effect was electric, giving the Assembly a whole extra dimension of sound and attack. Twenty-one year old trombonist Chad Bernstein rattled the windows of the Cheese & Grain several times with his ‘get-down’ solos. And flautist Mercedes Abal midriffed as expertly as she riffed, with a dance style that reminded everyone present why Latin music takes equal first place in the dance constellation alongside Pee Wee-style grooves. Saturday evening saw a more restrained Frome audience taking the evening air at the Garden Café in the company of pianist John Law and bassist Pete Maxfield. Missing their drummer (a subject of pithy but good-natured jibes from Law), the duo still combined swing and drive with a host of jazz standard tunes. From out of the crowd, as is the way in a creative town like Frome, came talented singers to sit in on a number or two and offer melody and improvisation not just to their songs but to the essential intimacy of the evening. If Friday night's dancehall had been hot and funky and the Saturday garden fragrant, then Sunday afternoon, exactly as promised in the brochure, was barometrically hot and musically cool. Nunney Jazz has developed an enviable reputation for its family-friendly jazz and tango Sunday gigs. With their first ever six-hour outdoor free programme in Victoria Park, the Nunney team truly surpassed themselves. Under leafy trees and sunshades a host of Frome families (and a few undoubtedly from further afield) absorbed an excellent afternoon's worth of current jazz styles. Children danced, parents relaxed with a picnic and a glass or two of wine and the musicians played to an incredibly receptive crowd. Many may not have been frontline jazz fans but all were happily and unselfconsciously enjoying the music purely on their own terms. Bristol trumpeter Andy Hague's quintet opened the afternoon with Hague's tribute to cooler-even-than-Frome pianist Horace Silver. Another Bristolian, bassist Jim Barr, took his quartet The Blessing through the lunchtime slot, handing over to Fromite John Law, who not only took a mini-workshop but invited a clutch of local players to join him in a freewheeling jam session. Funk's successor, drum'n'bass, showed up with CCQ, who rapped and jammed to a level of quality that put more than a few of the audience in mind of their successes on the World Stage at Glastonbury and Ashton Court. Saxophonist Iain Ballamy closed the afternoon with his COB quartet. On the bandstand invaded by a creche-full of their and other toddlers, the band moved faultlessly through a mix of intelligent music from wistful Ballamy compositions to masterly arrangements of jazz standards. Juxtaposed with the light but perfect touch of guitarist John Parricelli and the intricate control of drummer Martin France, Iain Ballamy's sound was as uniquely personal as ever. In a performance which would have (and often has) graced the stage of many of Europe's best jazz festivals, Ballamy and his band confirmed not only their own mastery but also the fact that Frome is taking giant steps as a creative, family-friendly town. Robert Beard Robb Johnson Friday 8th July, The Granary Pete Minal Mudworld Saturday 9th July, Frome Library 
Photo: David Betteridge Thankfully the silence rule in libraries doesn't apply anymore, but if you had ventured into Frome Children's Library during Mudworld, you would have found 50 children, aged between four and seven years, totally spellbound. Superbly created costumes and puppets brought to life an enchanting and mesmerising tale. The thirty-minute production was written by Frome author Crysse Morrison and performed by Annabelle Macfadyen, of the First Cut Theatre Company, who inspired and involved the young audience. For those who missed the show, it returns to Frome Library in November as part of the library’s 15th birthday celebrations. For more information, call Frome Library on 01373 462215. Wendy Miller-Williams |
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Speakeasy Saturday 9th July, The Granary Fats Waller, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and many more jazz greats were remembered. Highlights included Geoff playing the introduction to Shine on spoons and Steve Potter on a five-string violin “so it can sound like a viola”. The audience listened spellbound as the band played songs with their original introductions, many accompanied by duet concertina. No one danced but everyone swayed to Blue Skies and moved to Top Hat and The Charleston, and it took the yodelling in Jail House near the end to finally stir us in to voice. We were totally involved throughout and I was probably not the only one that was surprised by the number of songs I knew. Oh gentleman in the white Panama hat and your lady, you missed a gentle, witty, nostalgic and most enjoyable evening. Susan Date Van Morrison Saturday 9th July, Marston House 
Van Morrison. Photo: Val Duncan It's a Magical Night at Marston . . . Against the background of the opulent Marston House on a sunny Saturday night, 3500 people gathered to watch Van Morrison in concert. A privilege for all attending and in many ways the climax of the highly successful Frome Festival. "Faultless," claimed one happy spectator, "There aren't enough superlatives to describe the experience!" Some it seemed were truly enthralled by the evening. But who can blame them? It was by all accounts a tremendous success. "The weather is superb, the atmosphere electric and the music divine," said another. Indeed, the weather was being well behaved for once. The sun soaked afternoon gave way to gorgeously balmy evening, ensuring that no one needed to wrap up warm even after the sun had nodded off. And there was no nodding off at the concert either. Pee Wee Ellis, the legendary saxophonist, and totally cool jazz man, who has graced Frome's music scene for a number of years now was a "brilliant warm-up, sprinkling magic onto the gathering crowds," said an inspired listener. His rendition of James' Brown's I feel Good, left the audience amazed and on their feet. He really built the rapport with the crowd so that when the headliner, Van Morrison, hit the stage, things were looking good. Sporting his trademark trilby, some very fashionable eyewear, and a suit so sharp you could cut glass with it, he gave us a truly professional performance and he looked like he was having fun. Some have said that he can be a little moody at times but not here. This was the experienced Irishman, having recently completed his 36th album (Magic Time) and seeming no less jaded. He started with That Love's All Mine, soon followed by Bright Side Of The Road and then later Days Like This, but it wasn't until Moondance, delivered with such grace and sophistication, that the gig really kicked off. People stood up. Families started to dance, all soaking up the atmosphere. The 7-piece band were superb as well. Each a talented musician in their own right, and each able to hold their own in improvisation whilst not cluttering the over all sound. Hammond organs and trumpets a plenty. I'm in Heaven cried Van, in his resonant voice. He even brought Pee Wee Ellis on to perform with them, who then coolly produced one the best solos of the evening. Into the Mystic, a Green Onions cover, Brown Eyed Girl, and Gloria as a finale were the highlights. By the encores everyone was up and the arms were swinging, hands a-clapping, everyone smiling. 'It really pulls us all together' said Sally Simms, Frome resident, "and its getting better and better every year." "There's something for everyone", chimed Nick Dando from Radio Bristol, "Terrific." And there really was something for everyone. Good family stuff. One lady was celebrating her birthday. It was her 70th and this was her treat - she'd always wanted to see Van play. Another girl some 60 years her junior decorated with fluorescent tubing was equally happy dancing along to the music. Marston House were excellent hosts and it seems that Frome Festival just gets better every year. It was an opportunity for all age groups and all walks of life to come together. Lets hope it continues and lets see you there next year! Phil Harry Festival Victory Proms Sunday 10th July, Marston House 
Jane Gilchrist. Photo: Val Duncan This now traditional finale to the festival in the familiar and graceful setting of Marston House remains a joy, with its view across a beautiful valley and the sight of picnickers spread out on the front lawn ready to wave their patriotic flags. The scene on this particular summer’s evening was gilded with sunlight as we waited in happy anticipation. Jason Thornton, conductor of the Bath Philharmonia, told us that many of the items in the programme had a watery theme as a tribute to the forthcoming celebration of Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar. However, there was nothing watery about the rendering of the opening piece, Mendelssohn’s Fingal’s Cave, which evoked splendidly the rippling waves and cavernous interiors of that phenomenal piece. During his opening remarks, Jason had introduced the evening’s Soprano soloist Jane Gilchrist. She won over the audience at once with her warmth and good humour. The choice of pieces she sang covered a wide vocal range in style and period, from the lyricism of Puccini’s La Boheme to the technical demands of The Laughing Song from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. We were reminded of the melodic beauty ofGreensleeves, before being whisked aboard ship again with the lively overture to Gilbert & Sullivan’s H M S Pinafore – I hope Admiral Nelson was listening! Festival director Martin Bax struck a more serious note in his welcoming speech. He reminded us of the contrast between our wish to appreciate Nelson’s victory and those who died for their country in the Second World War and the all too recent terrorist attack in London. He called for a minute’s silence in their honour. The crowd fell silent and it was an extremely moving moment. In the second half of the programme, Jane Gilchrist sang Poor Wandering One from the musical Pirates of Penzance and the orchestra delivered a rousing rendition of Strauss’s Redetsky March. The evening culminated with the Last Night of the Proms repertoire, including old favourites such as Rule Britannia and Jerusalem. How the flags waved. The encore was the gallop from William Tell in which we, the audience, attempted to outpace the orchestra’s ever-increasing tempo with handclaps. Needless to say, we were defeated. The whole, splendid spectacle came to an end amid a glorious cascade of fireworks. Ninette Gregory |
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