May 30 – Fanfare for Festival finalé

One audience member got into the mood during Jazz Jamaica’s performance in the Abbey Gardens

Bury St Edmunds Festival came to an end last weekend, when two weeks of concerts and events culminated in a firework display in the Abbey Gardens on Sunday night.

Dreadful weekend weather failed to keep the crowds away from the final events in what has been an extremely successful Festival with many sell-out shows.

REVIEWS

David Newton Trio, Cornhill Walk Shoping Centre,May 22.

David Newton is regarded by many jazz enthusiasts as the best pianist on the current scene – and on this showing, he certainly lived up to that reputation.

The Scotsman was at his very best and was backed by fellow highflyers Andrew Kleyndert on double bass and, taking a night off from touring with Jamie Cullum, drummer Sebastian deKrom.

It was all top quality and highly inventive stuff with David Newton taking plenty of time to get into the tunes he played – he extemporised for fully four minutes in and around Watch What Happens before getting down to the serious business of swinging.

He did much the same with the old standards, Body and Soul, and Don't Blame Me and explained that the beauty of jazz was that a musician could venture down many different routes before arriving at a pleasant place– something like a trip into the countryside and ending up at a nice village pub.

Quite a pleasant journey for the people who turned up to listen, too.

Alan Crumpton

Alan Beechey’s Bright Stars of Jazz, Corn Exchange,May 23.

As the sun shone through the Corn Exchange roof, Alan Beechey’s Bright Stars of Jazz turned up the temperature in their lunchtime gig.

Boasting an irrepressible charm and love of their music, the seven members of this tight outfit played tunes from Eddie Condon, Louis Armstrong, Wild Bill Davison and other giants of traditional jazz, and the bubbling enthusiasm of the band was infectious.

Jo Thewlis

Jazz Jamaica, Abbey Gardens,May 23.

Jazz Jamaica made their first visit to the Bury St Edmunds Festival on Friday with a performance that lacked energy and excitement.

Although the Abbey Gardens, the focal point for the finalé weekend was busy, it didn’t seem to be as bustling with bodies or
excitement as usual.

The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves but were inanimate on stage and didn’t energise the crowd.

They are clearly a talented group, who played very well, but the slow tempo of the music stayed the same throughout the evening until the last 15 minutes of their performance when it was upped with My Boy Lollipop, which did get the audience moving.

Paul Bloomfield

Salute to the Rat Pack, Abbey Gardens, May 25.

Poor weather didn’t deter the countless dedicated Festival-goers who turned out in force to see a rip-roaring performance by stars from the West End’s Rat Pack Confidential.

The rain managed to hold off long enough for The Pete Long big band to blast out their beats, while Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior tributes crooned away to their heart’s content.

Old favourites such as Mack the knife and New York, New York were delivered with gusto and Sammy Davis Junior’s West Side Story medley, accompanied by bongos, was extremely well-received.

The evening, despite being cold and damp, was kept warm by dancing and singing and was rounded off with a dazzling fireworks display.

Lindsey Newton

Article published in the Bury Free Press on Friday 30th May, 2008