This year our annual visit to England covered two very different Jazz events.
First was Bude for our fifth year. For four days at the end of August, Bude wasn’t just a seaside town in West Engand—it was the beating heart of British jazz. The Cornish seaside town of Bude once again became Britain’s unlikely capital of jazz as the 36th Bude Jazz Festival filled pubs, hotels, and halls with four days of syncopated joy. What began decades ago as a haven for traditional jazz lovers has evolved into a festival that embraces the full spectrum of the genre—without losing its warm, community-driven charm.
What never ceases to amaze me are the many top-rated musicians and bands that come significant distances year after year. While many performers hailed from the West of England, a sizable number traveled long distances to bring their sound to Bude. Regulars such as The Jake Leg Jug Band are based in the North as is John Hallam while Alan Barnes and the Bateman Brothers are regulars from the London area. The JazzMain Quartet are from Scotland while The Freetime Old Dixie Jass Band joined from the Netherlands.
Once again, the Bude Festival was a triumph of variety and spirit. It celebrated jazz in all its guises—trad, swing, big band, jug band, and even cartoon-inspired modernism—while keeping the festival’s trademark warmth intact. The combination of seasoned stars and rising talents ensured the festival’s legacy continues to grow.
While I enjoyed every minute of the program, what stands out for me year after year is the magic of Barnes in partnership with Hallam. To hear them sparring musically with Craig Milverton and his trio is pure joy. John Hallam offered a masterclass in tone and phrasing, his clarinet and saxophone work adding depth to every ensemble he joined. Alan Barnes justifiably has earned many awards over the years for his playing.
The Bateman Bros tribute to Louis Armstrong is always a highlight and this time was no exception. Brimming with authenticity and good humor, they satisfied a standing-room audience over two sets as they played and sang the well-known repertoire
The John Maddocks Jazzmen based in Dorset, are a perennial favorite, their traditional New Orleans style and enduring presence makes them a cornerstone of the festival. On a personal note, I finally met Peter Lay in person. He was their drummer. I had been in correspondence several times for three weeks before, regarding his Jazz Break in Dorset. Little did we know this was to be his final gig. He passed away a week later.
Finally, one of the pleasures that brings me back to Bude year after year is the intelligent way the volunteer committee mixes and matches the various sets. It may just be that it is the secret to their success. It allowed us to sample the variety of sessions.
In no order they included the Dart Valley Stompers keeping the New Orleans flame alive with stomping rhythms that had audiences clapping in time while the Jake Leg Jug Band brought a quirky, rootsy edge, blending jug-band swing with bluesy storytelling. The Pete Allen Big Jazz Band once again filled the halls with the kind of big-band punch that makes you feel the music in your chest while newcomers, the Golden Coast Big Band, a local ensemble, impressed with polished arrangements and youthful energy.
Amy Roberts, dazzled on both flute and saxophone, her lyrical phrasing a highlight of the Martin Dale Quartet’s set while Kevin Grenfell brought humor and warmth alongside his trombone brilliance, lighting up the stage with his Cadillac Xpress.
Jeremy Huggett’s Jazz & Boogie Band kept spirits high with rollicking boogie-woogie piano and sax-led swing while in contrast La Vie en Rose added a Parisian gypsy-jazz flavor, transporting listeners from Cornwall to Montmartre.
Locally based John Shillito’s Riviera Ramblers offered their warm, nostalgic, and danceable jazz and swing from the 1920s–1940s with influences from New Orleans, Harlem, and Paris played with enthusiasm and charm. All the way from Holland was the Freetime Old Dixie Jassband, a long-established Dutch jazz ensemble with its lively and authentic performances of traditional Dixieland jazz.
The JazzMain Quartet was a standout jazz ensemble that might just be heralding in the future of Bude Jazz. Based in Edinburgh the group are known for their dedication to the post-bop and Blue Note–inspired jazz tradition. They have added Hard bop, post-bop, and cool jazz, with influences from the 1950s–60s Blue Note Records era to the festival with works by Horace Silver, Dexter Gordon, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, and Sonny Rollins—plus jazz-infused takes on Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. With over two decades of consistent lineup and performance history, they’ve carved out a respectable niche for themselves.
In contrast to Bude, our second event, the Gunton Hall Jazz Break, was on the east coast of England about two hours from London. A Jazz Break is a totally different animal than the usual festival format. First, because it is in a hotel, it is more intimate with smaller gatherings, typically a few hundred guests. It’s relaxed, cozy with dining and leisure included. Noteworthy, compared to the usual festivals, all the action takes place in a very large ballroom. At almost every performance the dance floor was packed
This was my first Jazz Break. Not recognizing the band names listed in the promos, I was pleasantly surprised to discover some of my favourite musicians such as John Maddocks (reeds), Nick Ward (drum), Mike Owen (trombone), Spats Langham (banjo/guitar), Jim Swinnerton (bass), Malcolm Sked (sousaphone) and Graham Smith (drums) were all part of the various bands.
Between them all we were treated to lively toe-tapping renditions of the numbers drawn from evergreen tunes that make up the trad jazz songbook. The emphasis each night seemed to be on dancing. It seemed that within minutes of the number being offered the large dance floor flooded with enthusiastic dancers. Whether it was “Gatemouth,” “Hiawatha,” “Wolverine Blues,” “Down by the Riverside,” or any other tune from the classic jazz songbook, someone was immediately dancing.
Totally new to me was Sarah Spencer on reeds. Her short appearance on the final evening turned out to be a great discovery for me. Together with Zoltan Sagi (alto sax) and backed by Mike Owen (trombone), Spats Langham, Jim Swinnerton and Graham Smith it was a mixture of hard-driving Trad combined with West Coast, small-band swing. British born, she spent many years in New Orleans before returning to England. I look forward to more of her music.
This year’s event was unlike any other. For nearly three decades, Pete Lay had been the heartbeat of these weekends—drummer, bandleader, editor of Just Jazz, and tireless organizer. His passing on the Saturday of the event meant that this year’s gathering became both a festival and a memorial. Many of the attendees were long-term followers of his bands. The weekend ended with musicians and audience united in a chorus of thanks to Peter Lay—a fitting farewell to a man who gave so much to British jazz. It was a celebration of tradition, a reunion of friends, and a memorial in music. Pete Lay’s legacy endures, not only in the notes played but in the community he built.
Based on our experience at Gunton Hall, we will add the “Jazz Breaks” to our Jazz events for future consideration.
Frank Farbenbloom is a traditional jazz supporter based in Israel.
