NUNNEY JAZZ CAFE

What it means to us and what we are trying to achieve

(first published in The Journal, Spring 2001)

Born partly from necessity and partly from inspiration, Nunney Jazz  Cafe would not be what it is if it were situated in a different location. The fact that it is held in a traditional village hall, in the heart of rural Somerset, and yet quite close to both Bath and Bristol contributes immeasurably to its concept, character and atmosphere.

The various practical requirements which led us to consider Nunney Village Hall as our venue (proximity to home, price, child-friendly etc.) soon  gave way to a romantic enthusiasm.  For some reason this particularly unprepossessing building in our otherwise attractive village inspired us into a creative marriage of our interests and aims.

Keith, ever the jazz musician, dreamed of another Preservation Hall where the legendary New Orleans jam sessions started, and I remembered  the informal 70’s arts cafes I had frequented as a teenager, complete  with sofas, newspapers and poetry readings. I was also inspired by the guinguettes of the Marne, immortalised by the impressionists, yet just as popular today with hoards of Parisian families who frequent these riverside dance halls at weekends for food, drink and music in a relaxed family environment.

From the beginning we aimed to have top quality modern jazz with a resident trio (Keith, Andy Keep, and Simon Gore), guest stars and sitters in of national and international status.  We are lucky in that the  Bristol jazz scene is a thriving and competitive one, and we are blessed with several top performers who live locally and have chosen to support the cafe and it’s aims, particularly Pee Wee Ellis, New York funk  legend, who has worked closely with James Brown, Van Morrison and many other musical legends - as well as being internationally acclaimed as a recording artist in his own right.  As well as performing on a regular basis, Pee Wee collaborated with Keith and I when we jointly wrote and performed a large-scale concert for BBC Music Live last year, the Nunney Sun Dance, which featured over 20 jazz, funk and  classical musicians as well as gospel singing and rap poetry.  We plan to follow this up next year with an even bigger event, also with a native American theme, entitled Ghost Dance.

In general, the cafe offers an experimental exhibition space for local artists working in all mediums. We have had everything from spraycan artists to video installations , as well as printmakers, potters, painters, etc., both working and exhibiting at the cafe.

Poetry was introduced in Spring 2000, in the cafe’s third year. It was performed as an integral part of the jazz improvisation from the outset as we felt this was the best approach for the cafe environment.

Sam Smith was our first brave guest poet, and what started in some ways as an experiment became an immediate success.  His performance went down extremely well, and in the comments book, where before people had  compared us to Ronnie Scotts they now alluded to 1960’s New York - the Nunney Beat was born!  Since then Sam has been back and we have had other performances by Bristol poet Bertel Martin, Caribbean poet  Ripton Lindsay, haiku by Brian Tasker as well as myself in the Sun Dance.

What has been exciting and refreshing for poets and musicians alike is working together. Music and poetry have always gone in tandem traditionally, and jazz and poetry have been closely associated in many people’s minds since the 1950’s - yet very few poets now have actually performed with musicians, and vice versa.

The experimental nature of the cafe is an essential part of its make up, particularly the drawing together of various strands. We aim to create a continously challenging and exciting environment in which artists can  work, and musicians can perform. We often give the cafe a particular theme such as “African”, “Latin” or “Surreal” and invite relevant musicians, artists, and poets to be involved. This may mean incorporating other musical styles into the jazz and drawing from other cultural influences. We have had some involvement with the local afro-caribbean arts community, for example, and aim to continue furthering these connections and relationships in future.

As well as the arts forum concept, we try to bridge other gaps in the community and raise awareness of issues which concern us - for example homelessness, human rights, and environmental issues.  We do this by inviting a different charitable organisation to promote their concerns at each cafe, and we hold a good old fashioned raffle in the interval to boost their funds, with prizes usually of CDs donated by independent UK  jazz record labels or local record shops (although we have had other donations too, of artworks, from both artists and performers).

The cafe itself is a non-profit organisation with a constitution, which states that neither Keith nor I will ever take out anything in the way of fees or expenses - we basically aim to stay just in the black, and put any surplus funds in the kitty either towards charity or towards artistic projects associated with the cafe, such as releasing CDs.  Our first CD featuring Pee Wee with the house trio in a gig recorded for live  radio broadcast has been well-received, and we would like to follow this up with more when we have the funds - we have lots of good material ready for release, and the demand is there from our public, but at the moment the money to actually press the discs isn’t!

All cafes are daytime events and children are an essential part of the mix.  There is always a playroom and often free extra entertainment provided from puppet shows to limbo dancing.  The children are  welcome either to listen to the music or just run around and enjoy themselves within the cafe environment.  We do not expect them or anyone else to stay quiet, and the general hubbub over the music is all part of the ambience!

All this takes place in a relaxed cafe environment; tables and chairs are strewn around, the kitchen sells vegetarian wholefood and organic beer, there are free Sunday newspapers, toys, fresh flowers, and sweets provided . People sit around chatting, workshops run in the garden, and for many people it has become a meeting place. Regulars come every month and yet we still keep getting newcomers. One of our recurring  fears is that we will outgrow our beloved venue!

The hybrid quality - raffle tickets and hip-hop, marriage of music, art and poetry/ jazz/classical/blues, children and adults of all ages ,and  types from barbours to dreadlocks is what makes the cafe special  for us, and fires us to keep coming up with new ideas for the future.

For further information about the cafe, and its various new and exciting spin-off projects, see our website at http://www.nunneyjazzcafe.org, or contact Ann or Keith directly by email,  fax on +44 (0)870 052 7594, or telephone on +44 (0)1373 836520.

Ann Harrison-Broninski