Cloudmakers Trio & Paradox Ensemble - Manchester Jazz Festival 2013

Cloudmakers Trio, Festival Pavilion Teepee. Saturday 3rd July 2013

First up on Saturday were the ‘Cloudmakers Trio’ featuring Jim Hart on vibes, Michael Janisch on double bass and Dave Smith on drums.  I wasn’t feeling at my most jazz-ready, but the Cloudmakers did a great job of bringing me round with a set that gathered more and more intensity as it went along. Things really started to hot up with ‘Conversation Killer’, a fast swing track of quite complex rhythmic trickery and dense harmony. It’s the sort of thing that could wear you down, but Smith’s intense drumming kept the excitement levels high, Janisch delivering an awesome solo towards the end.

‘Post Stone’ was a searching piece with abstract drums and a questioning free section, all enhanced by ghostly bowed vibes from Hart, giving the track a disturbing surreality. ‘Angular Momentum’s suitably circular overlapping motifs provided a platform for some great interactive improvising, subtle melodic and rhythmic motifs being traded between the band. A high bar was set early in the day.

Paradox Ensemble, Festival Pavilion Teepee. Saturday 3rd July 2013

I was immediately attracted to the spacey swing sounds of the Paradox Ensemble headed up by Nick Walters on trumpet and electronics. Big dense lush harmonies were mashed together with disjoint grooves and lots of intertwining lines, expertly played by the alto, tenor, trombone and sousaphone of Tom Harrison, Ed Cawthorne, Tim Cox and Ben Kelly respectively. Some really juicy flowing drumming from Yussef Dayes bedded the sound down sweetly along with the warm bass of Paul Michael. Ben Cottrell on keys and Anton Hunter on guitar added to the pot with some fine Fender Rhodes grooves and guitar echo atmospherics coming in at astutely chosen moments.  Swing became groove became swing groove, all amounting to a joyful noise unto the teepee. Positive vibes for sure.