Dathlu 30 mlynedd o Jazz yn y Bar

Gadewch i ni ddechrau yn y dechrau — sut ddaeth Jazz yn y Bar i fodolaeth, a sut ffurfiwyd Pedwarawd Chapter?

At the time (1995), I felt a need to have a regular gig that wasn’t subject to a promoter. One where we knew we could play every week or month and play anything we wanted in a non-pressure context.

I mentioned this in passing to Trevor Turton, who was the theatre technical manager, and he offered us the theatre’s grand piano – he pointed out that it would fit perfectly into a kidney-shaped recess in the mezzanine in the old upstairs bar; coincidentally, Will and Alan, the bar managers, had also mentioned to me that they wanted to get jazz back into Chapter, so they were fully supportive.

It was then just a matter of assembling some jazz-playing colleagues who also wanted to commit to a regular event, and we were off!

Allwch chi gofio eich perfformiad cyntaf un yn Chapter? Sut oedd yr awyrgylch bryd hynny?

I don’t remember the very first performance, but I do have a general memory of those early gigs - it was a wonderful set-up!

Each week we would wheel the piano into the bar; this would be at floor level, the same as the bar – the band would then set up around the piano; meanwhile, the customer tables on the 3-steps-up higher mezzanine level were each furnished with the classic “candle in a Mateus Rose bottle” – we were creating a pop-up jazz club every week!

Dros y tri degawd diwethaf, rydych chi wedi gweld y digwyddiad yn esblygu — sut mae’r sîn jazz (a chynulleidfa Chapter) wedi newid dros y blynyddoedd?

After our first couple of years, I went away for 6 months to attend music school in New York; while I was away, the upstairs bar got refurbished and the mezzanine floor was removed. When I got back, everything was on the same level: the lighting could not be dimmed, it was starker, fluorescent and all the furniture had been changed to something more practical for the space to be used for meetings. It was no longer practical for the jazz night! This initiated our move downstairs, where we occupied different locations over the years, but always generally in the café bar area.

After a few years, our weekly gigs changed to monthly – but even with that change, it still adds up to a whole lot of jazz nights!

The Cardiff jazz scene is in a state of constant flux, with venues opening and closing left and right. One development has been the expansion of the jazz course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, leading to more jazz students studying, graduating and seeking and establishing new performance opportunities within the city.

Chapter audiences have essentially remained the same over the years: friendly, civilised and receptive to new experiences!

Beth sy'n gwneud perfformio yn Chapter yn arbennig i chi a'r band?

It's a friendly, welcoming venue, where we can perform in a relaxed fashion. Plus, we’re all friends in the band and musical colleagues within the network of South Wales jazz musicians, so even if we haven’t played together in other combinations in the previous few weeks, it serves a social function where we get to meet regularly and exchange info about our activities on our other gigs.

Rydych chi wedi croesawu llawer o gerddorion gwadd dros y blynyddoedd — oes unrhyw berfformiadau nodedig neu gofiadwy yn dod i'r meddwl?

One factor that has remained constant is that we have tried to keep things simple, and present a core quartet each time; consequently, although we have had the occasional additional guest, such as tenor saxophonists Osian Roberts, or Jonathan Lewis, in general, we treat the gig primarily as a vehicle for ourselves within the quartet format; so all the guests we are welcoming for the Anniversary Event are in fact former regular (or deputising) members of the band!

Mae Jazz yn y Bar wedi dod yn rhan annatod o Gaerdydd. Beth ydych chi'n meddwl sydd wedi ei helpu i aros mor boblogaidd am 30 mlynedd?

I get the impression that our regular audience appreciates the fact that we have always tried to maintain our highest level of competence within the idiom, together with our choice of material, which is (hopefully) of a nature that is accessible to everyone.

Sut ydych chi'n mynd ati i guradu eich setiau – oes gennych chi hoff ganeuon sydd bob amser yn cyrraedd y rhestr?

The first criterion is, as the band saxophone player and therefore player of the tune, whether I know the tune! Once I know it, we can play it (and if I don’t, we can’t – as I said, we operate on a simple basis…) But we do have many tunes that are favourites, so it’s unsurprising that over the years, when playing them frequently, we have naturally developed some arrangements for them.

The second criterion is what function or mood we need a tune to fulfil at any stage in the set; so every gig is hopefully an organic, natural flow of material: we choose what we think would be the best first song of the night, based on what the audience is like, and what sort of spirits we are in; we then select each tune as we go along, based on what would be the best/most effective follow-up to whatever vibe we had managed to generate with the previous tune.

We also try to bring new material into the set regularly, so the audience will get a mixture of things we have played possibly dozens of times, alongside material we are trying out for the first time!

I'r rhai sydd erioed wedi bod o'r blaen, sut fyddech chi'n disgrifio noson Jazz yn y Bar nodweddiadol yn Chapter mewn tri gair?

Relaxed, melodic and rhythmic.

Sut mae'n teimlo i fod yn dathlu 30 mlynedd o fod gyda'ch gilydd yn Chapter?

It was astonishing to realise we had been doing this for so long!

Looking back, I think all band members have appreciated it as a vehicle to get some regular playing in a relaxed context with other “good old-fashioned straight-ahead modern jazz” players.

My own personal aim has always been a desire to play this music as well as I can, and hopefully give something to the audience that they will enjoy – we’ve seen many listeners over the years. I hope we have provided a way in for some, and shown that it doesn’t have to be cerebral and impenetrable to still be jazz!

Ac yn olaf, beth sydd nesaf ar gyfer Pedwarawd Chapter? Oes unrhyw gynlluniau, gobeithion, neu freuddwydion ar gyfer dyfodol Jazz yn y Bar?

Well, the most I can hope for is another 30 years of the same!