It’s that time of year again, Spring Bank Holiday and Leeds Jazz Festival, for some reason they always seem to coincide – what are the odds? The Champagne was smashed against the hull to launch this year’s Festival at Howard Assembly Room with a collection of amazing local talent, not all of whom were performers in the jazz genre. If they weren’t before, they were tonight, as the writers and poets were backed by an amazing group of musicians who improvised behind their recitations.
To call them a backing band would be to do them a grave injustice as their work enhanced that of the people they accompanied, either by setting a mood for the writers and poets, or playing the tracks over which the rappers, rapped. I would have loved to have been able to review all of the artists involved but there were sixteen of them and I have an appointment next weekend!
The emcee who brought order from potential chaos!
I will do something out of the ordinary for me, and keep it short, as the idea of a launch is to garner publicity, and, joking aside, I really want to fulfil that role here whilst the event is in full swing – sometimes literally.
I must make mention of Les, who, apart from being a performer tonight, is also organiser of the Leeds Jazz Festival. He regaled us with a couple of poems, the first of which was Everything I Wanted To Say To A Mic Stand. It was brilliantly constructed and delivered, as well as being hilarious. A kind of love/hate relationship a stand up performer has with his only piece of equipment.
Les
A dozen of the sixteen performers on the night.
Four of Jamettone
Jamettone member no.5.
The Leeds Jazz Festival 2025 runs until 27th May and the variety of events means that there is bound to be something you like. There is also a free stage, courtesy of Welcome To Leeds, in Cookridge Street by the Henry Moore Institute.
Apologies to those I didn’t mention, but I hope I will get to review all your work individually at some point.
For the full programme for Leeds Jazz Festival, please go to https://www.leedsjazzfestival.com/events Enjoy!
Photographs by Stan Graham
Tyke It To The Limit 