Festivals with lots of gigs at lots of venues both delight and challenge. Do you follow what you know, or seek out the new? Do you dip in and out of as many gigs as possible, or earmark choice events and get there early for a good seat?
Whatever your strategy, Brecon Jazz delivers, thanks to its geography and programming. The festival also provided answers to some burning questions: Can you play jazz on the viola? What would Kraftwerk sound like played by the Headhunters? Does music sound better in a blackout?
The first question was answered positively by Amanda Drummond, who played an ecstatic viola solo over the angsty rhythm of Courtney Pine's Deuteronomy. Pine's Europa project uses a novel tonal palette, playing bass clarinet instead of his usual saxes.
French band Rocking Chair, new to most of the audience, combined electronics with confident performance and bold, cinematic themes.
Drumlesson played supercharged covers of electro favourites, including Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express and Derrick May's Strings of Life, with leader Christian Prommer crouched over his timbales like a DJ over his decks. The star was Rhodes piano player Kelvin Sholar, who divides his time between Detroit and Berlin.
A concert by young participants from a Cardiff summer school set the scene for a classy set by educator/bassist Paula Gardiner (her 25th Brecon appearance). They closed with Fear Will Never Tear Us Apart, written for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad collaboration between South Africa and Wales.
Pitch Black, by Jasper Høiby's acoustic trio Phronesis, was extraordinary. After the opening number, all doors were sealed and the lights went down, obliging us to concentrate on nothing but vivid, 3D sound, beautifully mixed by August Wanngren. This triumphant concert was dedicated to Høiby's sister, who lost her sight five years ago. There will be another chance to experience this at the London Jazz festival in November.
John L Walters - guardian.co.uk
