Sax Appeal

FEW cities have a musical reputation as rock-solid as Oxford.

The springboard for any number of successful rock, punk, pop and, especially, indie bands, our city also has a ferocious name as an orchestral and choral hotspot and a destination for lovers of folk and acoustic music.

But perhaps its biggest annual event reflects one of the city’s less-trumpeted traditions: jazz.

This coming month thousands of jazz-lovers will descend on bars, restaurants, pubs and landmarks for the third Oxford Jazz Festival.

Starting off small and intimate, this year sees the festival cranking up a gear with some 60 shows in 30 venues – from cosy cafés and lively pubs to the impressive settings of the Town Hall, Randolph Hotel, Said Business School and Ashmolean Museum.

According to co-organiser Max Mason, it’s about time we paid attention to what is probably our most successful, yet least-publicised, musical scene.

“This is a great jazz city,” says Max, who is better known as the owner of the Big Bang ‘bangers and mash’ restaurant in Walton Street – which already hosts a weekly jazz night.

“Everyone knows about the other kind of music this place turns out, but jazz is everywhere. There are at least a dozen jazz events each week and many great artists. Many towns in the UK have jazz festivals, but most, like Cheltenham and Brecon, don’t have much else. So we thought why not establish a festival here to showcase some of the hidden facets of the most beautiful but unexplored city in Britain.”

And it looks like being a blinder. Headlining is one of the biggest names in contemporary jazz: Mercury Music Prize nominated alto-saxophonist Soweto Kinch, an Oxford University graduate who has redefined the genre by fusing it with elements of hip hop and rap.

Also up are local good-time party monsters The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band; ethereal singer Norma Winstone; soul-jazz crossover star Natalie Williams; pianist and composer Kit Downes; flamenco and Middle eastern-jazz guitarist Nicolas Meier; arranger Janette Mason, whose music has appeared on Sex and the City; trumpeter Rory Simmons’s mesmerizing outfit Fringe Magnetic; and saxophonist Bobby Wellins, best known for his collaboration with Stan Tracey on the seminal 1965 British jazz album Under Milk Wood.

Max, a former Naval officer, organises the festival with New Yorker Alissa Robinson of OxfordCityGuide.com, and jazz bassist, teacher and fusion artist Paul Jefferies.

The festival, which takes place over the Easter Bank Holiday, is certainly the biggest yet, and will help fill the hole left by the, hopefully temporary, demise of the Oxford Folk Festival.

In an innovative development, the organisers are this year creating ‘jazz neighbourhoods’ which it will move between over the four days.

The festival begins in Cowley Road, before moving to Jericho for the following day’s action, on to Summertown, and finishing in the West End. Events and performances will also take place in the city centre on all days, including free concerts at The Ashmolean Museum, and jazz jams in Jericho.

Alissa explains: “We are growing to such an extent that each area of the city is developing its own jazz culture around the festival. It makes perfect sense to help this along by allocating a day to each neighbourhood as visitors and residents can enjoy performances that are very close to each other.”

“It’s all about celebrating British jazz,” says Max. “Jazz is a broad genre so even if you don’t consider yourself a jazz fan you will find something you like.

“Oxford, as a business owner, is an excellent, but often unusual place,” he adds.  “The flow of students in and out can leave businesses with quite a gaping void and Easter was always one those unless you happened to have a business on the tourist trail.

“Our aim with the Oxford Jazz Festival is to draw up to 10,000 new people to Oxford over the weekend to ensure it acts as a major economic stimulus at a time when we all most need it.

“This year more than ever, the festival is well placed to offer a great weekend for visitors and residents alike. Certainly having the Town Hall is excellent – it’s a great venue but is rarely used, and we are spending a lot on amplification to get the sound just right.

“There really is something for everyone – in fact, I’m thinking about guaranteeing a sausage to anyone who comes along and doesn’t enjoy it.”

* Oxford Jazz Festival runs from April 21-24 with performances throughout the day across the city. Go to oxfordjazzfestival.com for details and a chance to listen to the artists who will be performing. Performing for the first time will be the six-piece Oxfordshire Jazz Collective (Tim Smith, Jake Morter, Dave Hepworth, Olly Farley, Simon Warder, Andy Miller) who won the festival’s JazzFactor contest on Sunday. They earn a slot at the Jacqueline du Pre Music Room on April 21 and a recording session at the SAE Institute in Littlemore.