Live round-up

BEATNIK JAZZ CAFE NUNNEY JAZZ CAFE, FROME (SUN 3 JULY)

• The annual Frome Festival always has a strong element of tasty jazz, due in a large part to the ongoing work of Nunney Jazz Cafe organizers Keith and Anne Harrison-Broninski. It was good to see the couple taking a central onstage role in this event, with Keith's distinctively spiky piano playing at the heart of the band while Anne and Sam Smith contributed poetry read over the music. If you get it right, the combination of narration and jazz can powerfully enhance both elements, and the choice of subtle trumpeter Pete Judge as lead instrumentalist was inspired. The band found grooves and flourishes that eminently suited the poets' contrasting styles and paced themselves well with the reading. It really worked, holding the audience's attention throughout. Having said that, though, the undoubted high point was Anne's longer poem 'Montmartre' read against Keith's solo piano soundtrack. The music moved with the emotional content of the words and the effect was at times spellbinding. (Tony Benjamin)

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