Jasmine Myra is at the Old Truman Brewery on April 14 [Emily Dennison]

ALTHOUGH a relatively small and fledgling jazz festival like the one taking over Brick Lane this April can’t compete with the behemoth that is the EFG London Jazz Festival in attracting international stars (this summer: Shakti, Branford Marsalis, Kandace Springs, Abdullah Ibrahim, https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk), it can certainly provide a snapshot of the current state of the scene in the capital. And, as we know, jazz continues to thrive hereabouts.

At the Brick Lane Jazz Festival there are more than 50 artists appearing over three days in seven venues along curry’s most famous thoroughfare. The roster includes many of those who helped kickstart the youthful jazz revolution – Ashley Henry, Steam Down, Tenderlonius, various alumni/offshoots of the mighty Tomorrow’s Warriors, Camilla George, Seed, Chelsea Carmichael, the Jazz Re:freshed crowd, plus newer rising stars such as Emma Rawicz and (hands up) a raft of names unfamiliar to me. For the moment. Plus, it isn’t just focused on London – producer/DJ Rebecca Vasmant is flying the flag for a vibrant Glasgow jazz scene and saxophonist Jasmine Myra is doing the same for Leeds.

I am particularly keen to see the latter, as her album Horizons, produced by trumpeter Matthew Halsall, for his Manchester-based Gondwana label, was one of my favourite releases of last year. She deploys a similar musical palette to Halsall: melodic, mellow, slow-burn spiritual jazz, complete with harp. If I had a (small) criticism of the record it is that it occasionally feels a little too polite. No matter how blissed-out his own source material is, though, Matthew Halsall always delivers in a live setting and it’ll be interesting to see if Jasmine will inject extra bite into the mix when she performs at the Old Truman Brewery on April 14. The festival runs from April 14-16 and there is the option of purchasing day or weekend passes. Curries are extra. For tickets and further info: https://www.bricklanejazzfestival.com/day-weekend-passes-2023)

• Cheltenham Jazz Festival (April 26- May 1) is well-established mix of pop (Squeeze, Will Young), soul classics (Guy Barker and the BBC Concert Orchestra with a stunning list of guests vocalists– Kurt Elling, Madeline Bell, Mica Millar, Ashton Jones, Vanessa Haynes, Beverley Knight and Ian Shaw), old favourites (Van Morrison), fresh new voices (jazzy with Georgia Cecile, neo-soul with Pip Millett), won’t-stand-still jazz innovators (Laura Jurd, Kit Downes) and nu-jazz superstars (the storming Ezra Collective).

Tickets are priced individually for concerts in the Big Top, Town Hall, the Arena, the Daffodil Restaurant and other venues, although there is also an outdoor free stage, but be warned some gigs (including one by Tufnell Park’s very own Damian Lewis) are already sold out. Get in quick. Details: https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz/whats-on

• If you like your festivals to be concentrated in a greenfield site rather than spread over town or city, then I heartily recommend you head for Love Supreme in Glynde, an empty bottle of Moet’s throw from Glyndebourne in East Sussex. This is another event that successfully juggles the full range of jazz and “jazz adjacent” acts with soul and R’n’B crowd-pleasers. In the former camp are saxmen Binker Golding and Immanuel Wilkins – a pair of brilliantly incandescent players – pianists Zoe Rahman and Shai Maestro (both highly recommended), the evergreen Courtney Pine, beat maestro drummer Yussuf Dayes and the much-vaunted duo of saxophonist Alex Hitchcock and guitarist Ant Law (give their excellent album Same Moon in the Same World a spin to see why).
Meanwhile, for non-jazzers we have disco queen Candi Staton, Incognito, Greentea Peng, Emili Sandé and, covering all the basses (literally), the inimitable Thundercat. Those who were a little dismayed at the lack of women getting top billing at Glastonbury should note the two headliners here – Arsenal-loving Little Simz and the unclassifiable Grace Jones. Love Supreme runs from June 30-July 2 with, again, a choice of day and weekend/camping tickets, which can be found at: https://lovesupremefestival.com/

• Fancy winning two free tickets to the Sunday at Love Supreme when Grace Jones tops the bill (a day pass which also includes many of the artists mentioned above)? Pop along to the Dartmouth Arms in York Rise, NW5, on Sunday, April 2 when there will be a vinyl playback of Grace’s Island Records heyday and those two tickets are up for grabs in a simple quiz. Entry is free.

• After having to vacate its usual base while its home transforms into The Parakeet, Jazz at the Oxford is still at the Assembly House in Kentish Town High Street, where it has continued some excellent programming at bargain prices. On Mar 27 it is presenting a battle of the Alexes when Alex Western-King invites Alex Garnett to share the bandstand. Each is a first-rate, if quite individual, performer and there’ll be plenty of tenor madness as they investigate both originals and tunes by Miles Davis, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn, Joe Lovano, Chick Corea and Booker Little. Powering them along will be Sam Leak on organ and Jay Davis on drums, a rhythm section to be reckoned with. See https://jazzattheoxfordtavern.com

• A little further south at the lively MAP Studio Cafe in Grafton Road NW5, the estimable Equinox Jazz Quartet (https://www.equinoxjazz.org/) will start a monthly Sunday lunchtime residency starting at 1.30 on April 9. Given the well of jazz the group draws from (classic 1950s/60s Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk etc) I suspect there will be a tribute in there to the inimitable Wayne Shorter, who passed away recently and who gifted so many jazz classics to the world. See http://mapstudiocafe.com

• The Jazz Café plays host to hot young keys man Sultan Stevenson on Mar 31. I have caught him a few times over the past 12 months, but always in a supporting role, although even there his intelligent way of playing with space and time, not to mention the groove, has shone through. At JC he is launching his own album, Faithful One, which features the tremendous Denys Baptiste on sax as special guest. Will Denys put in appearance? I have no idea. You’ll have to go along and see. Tickets: https://thejazzcafelondon.com/event/favourite-things-sultan-stevenson-album-launch/?accept=true

He’ll also be playing the Pizza Express in Soho on June 13 (https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/sultan-stevenson-faithful-one). Incidentally, “The Pizza”, as everyone calls it, which has been supporting jazz in the capital for decades now, has just launched its own label, PX Records, which will be able to draw upon recordings from its archives (50,000 gigs and counting). The first releases are sets from the venerable saxophonist Scott Hamilton, who has long been a mainstay of the club, able to sell out the gloomiest of January nights with his elegant mastery of the instrument, and searing soul outfit Mamas Gun, but there is plenty more to come from the vaults and there are plans to release records by the current generation of jazz and soul acts. Albums will be available on streaming, CD and, of course, vinyl. https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/