All photos by Sophie Bartlett
"Jazz ain't dead... It just smells funny." - Frank Zappa
The Manchester Jazz Festival (MJF), an iconic annual event in the city's cultural calendar, it transforms the city into a whirlwind of excitement and musical brilliance. Founded in 1996, the festival has grown from humble beginnings into a highly anticipated celebration that attracts jazz enthusiasts from across the globe.
A charity at heart, MJF is more than a festival, its a community that supports international and grassroot artists across the Jazz spectrum. This diversity not only highlights the rich history of the jazz genre but also reflects the loud and inclusive spirit of Manchester itself. Each year, the city’s streets, parks, and venues come alive with the sounds of jazz, creating an electrifying atmosphere that captivates both residents and visitors alike.
Friday the 17th of May saw the Acid Rain crew head to the sunny pavilion outside HOME Gallery to feast on the sounds of Manc based performers B!TEZ and the Secret Night Gang, closing out the opening weekend of MJF.
Based in Manchester, B!TEZ is a multi-award-winning artist whose work spans music, filmmaking, and poetry. Her exceptional talent and creative vision earned her the title of Manchester Young Creative of the Year in 2021, highlighting her influence and impact within the community.
What became evident as soon as she began was that her music holds both power and punch. B!TEZ blended soulful melodies and impactful lyrics with ease, with a Mancunian edge in her voice and ferocity on stage it was refreshing to see the cit's talent unveil before my eyes. Her performance was imbued with a poetic essence. Each song is a testament to her ability to sculpt intricate narratives and evoke profound emotions through her art. Will definitely be one to look out for.
The area outside of HOME was an incredible buzz and majorly busy. Secret Night Gang, also Manchester based were closing and people were ready for them to take stage. I first encountered them while I was studying music in college, their track 'Captured' did the rounds and caused quite the stir. I'm ecstatic they played it on the night! The sound had some real girth, impressive for an outside venue. A large crowd had gathered by the time Secret Night Gang strutted on stage, half of which were actually sat on artificial grass. It gave the whole thing a relaxed, intimate feel. That's not to say there wasn't movement though, the sitting portion of the crowd was surrounded on all sides by an active and dancing crowd. Chants of "SNG! SNG! SNG!" were a common occurrence during the set, played into by frontman Kemani Anderson who gave jabs of encouragement in the offbeats of the chant. It was a nice, organic moment.
Speaking of the band members, the first thing to strike me during Secret Night Gang's set is how individually talented each member of the group is. I would happily listen to any of them jam away for a couple hours in a heartbeat. Kemani's fellow Secret Night Gang founding member Callum Connell switched between percussion and sax throughout the set. He produced a few eye watering, stank face inducing solos throughout the set and was a joy to watch. This is just as true for the rest of the band, everyone had a moment where the stage was just for them and I love to see the group utilising such refined musicianship that has clearly had a lot of hard work and years put behind it. In particular, the bass and keys solo were sublime. I wish I had a picture of my face during a few of those moments!
Having signed to Gilles Peterson’s prestigious Brownswood Recordings in 2021, the band quickly garnered critical acclaim, culminating in a nomination for Breakthrough Act of the Year at the 2021 Jazz FM Awards. This recognition solidified their position as one of the most promising new acts in contemporary jazz.
Secret Night Gang's sound transcends just one genre, though taking a headline spot at jazz fest they are clearly influenced by funk, soul and rhythm and blues. This was an excellent choice to bring jazz into the ears of the mainstream listener. It's understandable that jazz can be viewed by the average joe as a sort of dirty word. It evokes a genre that is known to be complicated, hard to enjoy or (god forbid) /old/ and to be fair to this stereotype it can be true. Things like unusual time signatures and polyrhythms can be very jarring and the upper limits of jazz that reach avant-garde status require a learning curve to even be able to listen to. It can very much be a music genre for musicians, some art requires a deeper knowledge of the form than a normal patron possesses. This is what I loved about Manchester Jazz Festival. It's meant for everyone. It gives me hope that by providing incredible fusion acts such as Secret Night Gang people can be led down the rabbit hole, eventually leading to staples such as John Coltrane, Miles Davies and Herbie Hancock. Jazz was the original punk and has massively influenced the commercially successful music widely known today.
If you attended or were affected by Manchester Jazz Fest, I hope you discovered something new. Whether it was Secret Night Gang and jazz fusion, the Gypsies of Bohemia and gypsy jazz or Laura Misch and her unique brand of ethereal and contemporary jazz, this is a genre that has so much to offer. Jazz ain't dead!
Please go and show love and (if you can) support Manchester Jazz Festival by clicking on the below links.
MJF
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