Brecon Jazz Festival 40th Official GUIDE 2023

Introduction

Welcome all to the Brecon Jazz Festival 2023

As Brecon Jazz heads into it's 40th birthday year, we hope everyone enjoys and celebrates this year's offering of entertainment and to soak up the vibrant atmosphere for one of the town's biggest events. We welcome you to enjoy the variety of music, food, drink and culture offered throughout the weekend with friends and family, locals and visitors. Best wishes for the Jazz, Fringe and Frazz this year!

Councillor Michaela Davies, Mayor of Brecon

Contact info

Festival Guide published for Brecon Jazz Festival Weekend

Please call 07860 406834 for information about 2023 Guide or email guide@breconjazzfestival.co.uk breconjazzfestival.co.uk

www.breconjazzfestival.co.uk

Front Cover: Thank you to Robert Macdonald for the amazing Watercolour and Ink image he’s allowed us to use for the front cover of the Guide. Painting is titled "Jazz in the Bulwark, Brecon" 2017

Brecon Fringe Festival 11th - 13th August

Gremlin Hotel

‘ ‘ The Hottest Spot in Town’’

• Top class bands at top class venue • Hosted by Gareth Phillips

• Non Stop Music in the Gremlin Marquee - All Free!!

FRIDAY 11TH

The SEMANTICS are very pleased to be invited back to Brecon Fringe (our favourite weekend) and will bring the full band back to play our favourite venues.

SATURDAY 12TH

Workmans Club (start approx 2.00pm)

SATURDAY 12TH

The Wellington (start approx 9.00pm)

SUNDAY 13TH

Workmans Club (start approx 2.00pm)

SUNDAY 13TH

The Clarence (start approx 5.00pm)

Please check venues for exact times as they often change

THE SEMANTICS have a solid reputation for fun and quality throughout over 25 years of gigging and hopefully know what they're doing now!

We have our double CD "Collateral Damage" available for donations to refugees and our local food bank

To book THE SEMANTICS for your pub, club, birthday party, wedding party, divorce party or getting drunk party (at a sensible price) please phone Andy 07970 626487 or email thesemantics1@gmail.com

Brecon Fringe

Running alongside the Jazz concerts

BRECON FRINGE 2023: FOUR DAYS OF FUN FOR EVERYONE

To paraphrase Suzanne Vega: ‘ ‘You’ll find me on the fringes, left of centre, in the outskirts, off of the strip’’. You don’t get much further off the strip than this - this is Brecon.

Although in the case of Brecon Fringe Festival, left of centre has become the main event, while retaining its goofy eclectic status. It’s a four day stint that offers a mix bag from Seasick Steve to Big Macs wholly Soul Band through to county tinged Hat and the Fiddle and lone stars like RAGSY.

There are more gigs than you can shake a stick at – if that’s your idea of fun. All of which are kept updated on the Fringe listings website www.breconfringe.wales.

Have a good one but remember – please respect your fellow Fringe festival-goer, try to visit every venue and of course, post your pictures on the Brecon Fringe 2023 Facebook page.

We Love Brecon App

The We Love Brecon App will provide visitor information, loyalty cards and / or voucher offers for each individual business. Register for info on the App or register your business to be included.

We Love Brecon App download by scanning the QR code

WeLoveBrecon

www.epmcreative.com/WeLove www.breconjazzfestival.co.uk/welovebrecon

LISTINGS

Brecon Jazz Festival Weekend

Most key concerts are listed here but do check out www.breconjazzfestival.co.uk

www.breconjazz.org for more details

Fringe Concerts & Gigs

Fringe venues and concerts can be seen here and also www.breconfringe.wales for uptown date info and keep an eye on fringe venue social media

THURSDAY 10TH

CLARENCE

7.30pm Ragsy

9pm Bus Pass

THE FOUNDRY

8pm The Marcellas

9.15pm The big Jazz Fest Jam

FRIDAY 11TH

BULWARK STAGE

12 noon Mick Luck Saxophonist

3pm Minnie

4.30pm Swing Sounds with Neath College Big Band

BRECON TAP

6pm John Eyre Solo

Graham Strangward Running His Pa

7.15pm Bella Collins

8.30pm Gwyn Ashton (solo show)

11pm - 1am DJ Set with DJ Nik C

CLARENCE

7.30pm The Vulcan Straight

9pm The hat and the Fiddle

THE FOUNDRY

12pm BJF show-

2pm John Eyre (Solo singer Songwriter)

3pm Enw (six piece Folk Band)

5pm Martha Skilton Quartet

6.30pm Tanya Walker & Friends

8pm Northern Ruins (Local Rock Covers Band)

GREMLIN HOTEL

7pm Marcellas

8.30pm The Stoners

NORTHCOTE CON CLUB

8pm Elizabeth Jane Williams

FOUND GALLERY

4pm John Eyre

THE MUSE

1pm Janet Evra Trio

4pm - 6pm Bangers ‘n’ mashS

9pm Dirty Alex Cardiff

11pm DJs - Jungle/db

MEADOW STAGE - CATHEDRAL

4pm Railroad Gandy

5pm Dragons Breath

6pm Bryony Seir

7pm Race The Rain

ARDENT GALLERY

5pm – 6pm Tony Martin & Friends

7pm – 8pm Railroad Gandy

CATHEDRAL - Concerts By Candlelight

8pm J4 Quartet - The Beatles with a Jazz twist

SATURDAY 12TH

BULWARK STAGE

10am Outdoor stage opens Mick Luck Saxophonist

11.30am Alive n Kickin Choir & guest LaVon Hardison

2pm DJ Jazz Set with Nic C

2.30pm Frazz Parade, & 'Wonderbrass' Carnival Band

4pm Gypsy Jazz with FiddleBop

5.30pm Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy

BRECON TAP

12.30pm Becky The Bullet

1:30pm Michael Parker & James Davies

2.30pm - 3.15pm Parade In Town

3.15pm Alex Seel

4.30pm Lar Hughes

7pm Junior Hacksaw

9pm Eleven29

11pm - 1am Dj Set With Dj Nik C

CLARENCE

1pm Running on Empty

3pm Sicknote Steve

5pm Head Gardeners

7pm Crazy Alien

9pm Spirit of Boogie

THE FOUNDRY

12pm Secret Postal Society

1pm Huw James

2pm Rob Lear

3pm Terry Phillips

4pm The Rockerleles

5pm Eleri

6pm Brief Encounter - sax, piano, vocals

8.30pm Too Toned (9 piece Ska Band)

11pm - 1am DJ Starkbeats b2b Sammy

GREMLIN HOTEL

1.30pm Two Old Wolves

5pm Universal Translaters

8.30pm Ka’s Ska Souls

NORTHCOTE CON CLUB

1.30pm Beth Cadmore

3pm Owen Eckley

5.30pm Red Kites

THE HOURS CAFE & BOOKSHOP

2pm Bella Collins

6pm Afternoon in Paris

FOUND GALLERY

11.30pm Micheal Parker & James Davies

1pm Laurie & The Druid

2.30 - 3.15pm Frazz parade

3pm Glen Manby Trio

5pm Martha Powell

THE MUSE

3.30pm Alex Seel folk

2.45pm Becky The Bullet

4.30pm Tarion

7pm Tom Emlyn

9pm Captain Accident and The Disasters

12pm Empire Of Lights

WORKMANS CLUB

2pm The Semantics

THE WELLINGTON

9pm The Semantics

MEADOW STAGE - CATHEDRAL

10am Drum workshop

1pm Amy Rose

2pm Megan Reese

3pm Fredi Blino

4pm Oxbowlake

5.30pm Trading for Souls

7pm The New Deadly

ARDENT GALLERY

1pm - 2pm Les Coveney

3pm - 4pm Jos Leggett

5pm - 6pm Tom Crow & The Ghostriders

7pm - 8pm Bob Gallie

9pm - 10pm Maditronique

CATHEDRAL - Concerts By Candlelight

(These listings are correct at time of going to print)

7.30pm Albino Frogs

8pm Louis & Ella Music Show Dave Cottle & Sarah Meek

LISTINGS continued

SUNDAY 13TH

BULWARK STAGE

11am Outdoor stage opens

11.30am Minnie

1pm The Laura Jazmyn Band

3pm Jane Williams' Jazz Quartet

5pm Sister Swing & the Band

BRECON TAP

12.30pm Tom Crow & The Ghost Riders

1.45pm Sicknote Steve (Duo)

3pm Martin Blake - Whiskey River

4.15pm Joe Kelly

5.30pm Low Down Dirty Dog Blues Band

CLARENCE

1.30pm Synergy Choir

3pm Ukoholix

5pm Semantics

7pm The Breakfast Club (80’s Tribute)

9pm Northern Ruins

THE FOUNDRY

12pm Two Odd Wolves (acoustic Duo)

2pm - 4pm DJ Nic C Jazz set

5pm 'Weird Gear' (local band playing their debut)

8.30pm The New Deadly (New Wave 70's & 80's Band)

GREMLIN HOTEL

1.30pm Two Old Wolves

5pm Midnight Hour

8.30pm Midnight City Souls

THE HOURS CAFE & BOOKSHOP

2pm The Keith Little Band

6pm Calling Card

FOUND GALLERY

3pm Bob Gallie

9.30pm Rhuddin

THE MUSE

2pm Rachel Starritt Trio

4pm Bob Gallie

6pm Dionne Bennet

WORKMANS CLUB

2pm The Semantics

MEADOW STAGE - CATHEDRAL

11am Wheelbarrow Jousting

1pm Sam Couch

2pm Bag of Cats

3.30pm Church Service

4.30pm Tom Crow and The Ghost Riders

6pm Gondolin

ARDENT GALLERY

2pm - 3pm Eleven 29

4pm - 5pm Beresford & Hammond

6pm – 7pm Enw

8pm - 9pm John Eyre

CATHEDRAL - Concerts By Candlelight

8pm Simply Bacharach- Elaine Gilmore and her band

Friday 11th August

(These listings are correct at time of going to print)

Sunday 13th August

Saturday 12th August

Joe Kelly and the Royal Pharmacy

Bulwark Stage and Foundry

It’s easy to consign the idea of the itinerant blues singer to myth (Robert Johnson) or caricature (Seasick Steve) and for quite some time, Joe Kelly was as close as you could get to the real thing.

After spending years living out of various cars, vans and caravans, touring the UK, Australia and New Zealand with just a broken-necked guitar and a battered case of harmonicas, Joe Kelly found shelter in an old Victorian police station just in time to ride out the storm that was the covid-19 pandemic.

It was in this time that Joe Kelly focused on consolidating the vast wealth of songs written in transit into an album that could encapsulate the spirit of those years on the road.

An explosion of sound

The Wonderbrass repertoire spans music from every genre – from New Orleans street tunes, Caribbean ska beats and African township to the pop classics of Britney, the electronic sounds of Calvin Harris and the legendary hits of the Rolling Stones.

Wonderbrass is a community big band that was created in 1992 through the amalgamation of two projects, Welsh Jazz Society’s Jazz Workshop Band and The Taff Ely Streetband, which was formed to perform at community carnivals around

South Wales. Drawing inspiration from such musical collectives as The Association for the Advancement of Creative Music (Chicago), The New York Composers’ Orchestra, Willem Breuker Collective (Netherlands) and Loose Tubes (London), as well as groupings such as The Scratch Orchestra, The Skatalites and Sun Ra, the band has developed a large repertoire of compositions, arrangements and improvisational practice in its mission to prove that ‘musical excellence is not the exclusive property of professionals’

Energetic country-folk band from South Wales. Bringing a mix of your favourite country/folk classics and modern hitssay no more!

Bulwark Stage and Foundry

The Hat & Fiddle Band

Bulwark Stage and the Frazz Parade

Wonderbrasspresented by Brecon Jazz Club

Brecon Jazz Club are proud to present on behalf of Brecon Jazz Festival 40

TO 3RD SEPTEMBER

Exhibition (Gallery) BJF @ 40 Years Theatr Brycheiniog

FRIDAY 11TH AUGUST

info@breconjazz.org www.breconjazzfestival.com

3pm Theatr King's Hot 4

3pm - 5pm Bethel Square KB’s Jazz Time

4pm Wellington Iago Banet guitar

4pm - 5.15pm Bulwark Stage FiddleBop: Gypsy Jazz re-imagined

5pm - 6pm St Marys Tap Dance & Gary Crosby Quartet £12

6pm - 7.10pm The Foundry Brief Encounter (jazz duo)

7.30pm - 8.45pm Guildhall Emma Rawicz (sax) & Gary Brunton Trio £16

SUNDAY 13TH AUGUST

10.00am - 11.45am Muse Jazzy Art Workshop - drop in, all welcome (free)

1pm - 2.15pm Muse Janet Evra Trio £12

2pm – 2.30pm Bethel Square Uskulele Jazz Orchestra – Ian Cooper

2.15pm – 2.35pm St Marys Fusion Dance Opening / Mayor’s Welcome

2.40pm* – 3.25pm St Marys New Orleans Jazz Quintet

3.30pm – 3.45pm St Marys Jazz Duo: Jane Williams & James Chadwick

3.50pm– 4.25pm St Marys Uskulele Jazz Orchestra & Singalong

4.30pm – 5.30pm Bulwark Stage College Big Band – NPTC Carolyn Davies / Ceri Rees

5pm - 6.10pm The Foundry Martha Skilton (sax)/ Debs Hancock Qtet

6.30pm - 7pm The Foundry Tanya Walker Trio

6.15pm - 7.30pm Castle Hotel Edison Herbert Quartet £14

7.30pm – 9/9.30pm Wellington Hotel West Wales Jazz - Quartet

9pm - 10.15pm Castle Hotel LaVon Hardison & Glen Manby sax Qtet £14

SATURDAY 12TH AUGUST

11.30am Bulwark Stage Alive n Kickin & Lavon Hardison (US)

12.20pm - 12.40pm Bethel Square Wonderbrass Big Band

12.30pm – 1pm St Marys Alive n Kickin Choir with Mike Chappell

1pm - 2.15pm Guildhall All Stars of Brecon Jazz £14

1.10pm - 4pm St Marys Deborah Glenister Trio & Guests

2.30pm - 3.45pm Bulwark Stage Wonderbrass Big Band concert £??

2pm – 3pm The Foundry Billy Pezzack jazz guitar

2pm – 2.30pm Bethel Square Alive n Kickin Choir - Tanya Walker

11.30am – 12noon Bethel Square Sister Swing Trio

12.30 – 1.30pm Foundry Tap Dance: Shifting Perspectives - Talk, Annette Walker

12pm – 1pm St Marys Gareth Roberts & Mike Chappell Trio

12.45pm – 1.10pm Bethel Square Synergy Acapella Choir

1pm – 2pm Wellington Hotel Easy Street – Jazz Sextet

1pm – 2pm St Marys Tara Lowe & James Chadwick: jazz duo

2pm – 4pm St Marys Mike Chappell Trio & Guests

2pm – 3.15pm Muse Rachel Starritt Jazz Trio

2pm

2.30pm

JAZZ & FILM WEEKEND The music continues….More jazz and a film weekend www.brecojazz.org for further details and information

Items in ORANGE text are ticketed as indicated. Purchase www.breconjazz.org or via Country Kitchen Brecon

1. Ardent Gallery

2. St Marys

3. Bar Rorkes

4. The Foundry

5. Brecon Market Hall

6. Brecon Rugby Club

7. Brecon Tap

8. Brecon Workmans Club

9. Castle Hotel

10. Clarence Inn

11. Guild Hall Theatre

12. Gremlin Hotel

13. Markets Tavern Hotel

14. Muse

15. Northcote Conservative Club

16. Brecon Cathedral & The Hours

17. RAFA Club

18. Sarah Siddons

19. Theatre Brycheiniog

20. Three Horse Shoes, Groesffordd

21. Ty Helyg Hotel

22. Wellington Hotel

23. The George

24. Found Gallery

* Out of towm