Joe Fuller: Entertainment

Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival: uncompromising art on your doorstep

I went to the inaugural Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival last year and had a great time, chuffed at the rare chance to see such a breadth of jazz styles and talented musicianship, and at an affordable rate. The success of the first has thankfully led to a second next weekend, which will also feature live painting by Gina Southgate and an extra full day of local musicians performing at The Verdict on Sunday 11 September.

Debut UK performances for many of the acts

Taco Bells & Pekka Airaksinen are a noisy act for the wilder music fans out there, Bourne Davis Kane & Paul Dunmall will be performing some spirited British free-jazz, while Tom Rainey (drums) & Ingrid Laubrock (tenor saxophone) are celebrated improvisers from New York.

Quintet Sloth Racket explore loudquietloud dynamics in a more ferocious sort of way than Pixies, Anna Högberg Attack are an all-female sextet who create a sensational sensorial assault while Konstrukt & Alexander Hawkins develop the cosmic jazz of Sun Ra. You can see videos on YouTube of Sophie Agnel’s gorgeous droney piano improv: she pays as much attention to the inside of the instrument as the keys.

I’m probably most excited about the Artifacts Trio myself (headlining Saturday), with the combination of flute, cello and drums evoking some of my favourite spirit jazz. Try streaming the mellifluous (and almost funky) track ‘Light On The Path’.

If you buy tickets for BAJF you’ll be supporting a local independent festival that continues to showcase female musicians who are often under-represented in other festivals. It’s also simply a chance to hear some invigorating music and witness the debut UK performances of many of the acts.

Brighton Alternative Jazz Festival, The Old Market, Fri-Sat 9/10 September, www.brightonalternativejazzfestival.com
Photo credit: Micke Keysendal