IN August, the Brecon Jazz Festival Friday (August 11) will commence in style with an all-Wales all-women jazz saxophone quartet getting this year’s Brecon Jazz off to a fine start, with the sounds of sax filling the streets!
Musicians Amy Medley, Deborah Glenister, Vicky Guise and Beverley Gough, on Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Soprano sax respectively, will entertain local people, tourists and jazz followers in the Bulwark as part of our Streetscene programme. The Festival team have been in discussion with Brecon Town Council to create a ‘Jazz Hub’ environment in the town centre, and these outstanding saxophonists, who call themselves the “Saxalettes”, will fire the starting ‘horns’ for the jazz weekend.
As part of the Festival team involved in the ‘jazz programming’, we are busy with preparations for the opening show, liaising with venues, ordering staging, hiring piano and sound services, while other colleagues are working on street trading, liaising with public services and producing attractive promotional material for the weekend. We are all still busy fundraising, so if you have any contacts, please discuss it with them first and let us know.
This year, the jazz festival in terms of concerts, is opening at the Castle, then playing Saturday and Sunday at the Guildhall and Muse. We close the ‘jazz programme’ with a storming finale at the Wellington Hotel on Sunday evening. Other venues up and down the town are also participating in an extensive Fringe Festival programme, with jazz and music for wider tastes, as well as our own street music, and for BJ, the ‘Saxalettes’ will launch our Streetscene sounds of jazz. At Brecon Jazz Club, we are working closely with the Castle Hotel team and also Radio Cardiff’s Rhys Phillips, and launching the weekend’s concert music, with a special Festival Big Band called ‘A Slice of Jazz’ named after Rhys’s regular radio show. Alongside the favourite and lesser known ‘classics’, the Big Band show feature will soloists, a guest vocalist – and a jive dance team.
Those who attended last year will remember the great value ‘BJ Friday’ tickets that included a hot meal followed by outstanding music – and a chance to dance! The ‘Hoppin Mad’ jive team will be in vintage costume of the ‘swing era’ and happy to share some dance tips in the interval. Tickets for Friday at Brecon Jazz are on sale now at £28 inclusive via Ticketsource on the Brecon Jazz website. Other weekend and day ticket deals are also available. And ‘save the date’ – Friday to Sunday August 11- 13 . Brecon Jazz 2017 organisers are Lastmark Music Ltd, epm Creative and Brecon Jazz Club.
The Festival team report that many people and organisations had come forward to give encouragement and support – to offer venues, advice and equipment, volunteering. We would like to thank in particular Brecon Town Council, Friends of Brecon Jazz, Specsavers Brecon, Café Jazz, Ian Cooper Music, Brecon Subud, Vaults Art Studios, Radio Cardiff, Wellington Hotel and the Muse Arts Centre. But we still need sponsors and volunteers! Please get in touch. Contact the Festival team on [email protected]