Marsden Jazz Festival, 7th October 2011

Jazz artists from the traditional to the contemporary invaded the picturesque village of Marsden for the 20^th year this weekend. Like Camden Crawl but with the scenic Pennines its backdrop.

Tucked away in working men’s clubs and pubs were thriving pockets of music. Terry Brunt’s Dead Good Boys and The Tame Valley Stompers played to a bursting Marsden Liberal Club with every seat occupied by aging jazz buffs. Although hailed as festival favourites whether people were there to witness the spectacle or to escape the bitterly cold wind that gushed through the village is debateable.  

Resplendent in identical silver waistcoats, the sexagenarian sextet stormed through an energetic, lively set. Performing traditional jazz like at a wartime dance; I expected a comrade to waltz past with his sweetheart. Clearly pleasing the ladies with “If I had my way dear”; it was their rapport with the audience that made them enthralling to watch. As the idiosyncratic Terry Brunt referred to the trombonist as a “creep” and the bassist claimed that his name as the Cheshire Thrush “sounds like something you’d catch” ripples of laughter surged through the audience.

The Ken Marley Trio attracted a younger audience. The condensation trickling down the windows and the mass of bobbing blonde curls in sync with the experimental jazzy tones of the three piece proved to be the most vivacious performance of the evening. The festival not only attracts the predicted jazzy type but evidently caters to a younger audience. 

The assault of jazz on Marsden was most prevalent when the Jazz Preservation Society occupied The Railway Inn. Another packed out venue but this time it was a clash of the Titans. The JPS with applauding supporters in one corner with the huge TV screen projecting the England game to the ardent football fans in the other. Whilst keeping their sound strictly traditional and pure the atmosphere and interaction with the audience wasn’t that vibrant. Noteably, one cheery chap; a cross between Inspector Morse and an ageing Will from The Inbetweeners fidgeted outside the venue whilst engrossed in a chat about the resistance stealing Nazi artwork with his gang of jazz connoisseurs was  more engaging than  JPS’s set.

Marsden exudes the image of being an idyllic village. A flowing stream running through the centre that was adorned by a commerative “20^th” amongst a myriad of octave and quaver musical notes illuminated the trickle of water in the moonlight. Quintessentially, the festival brings a hubbub of excitement for 3 days in October. Not only is it one of the UK’s longest established Jazz festivals but emerged victorious from the Jazz Yorkshire awards winning Jazz Festival of the year 2010. A colossal achievement for an event run entirely by volunteers. But does traditional Jazz really appeal to a younger audience? “Parent in-laws suck” chirped the 20 something year old as he disposed of his cigarette butt before being dragged to watch Terry Brunt.