Simon Spillett / Pete Long and The Jazz Scurriers
Swansea International Jazz Festival
★★★★★

THE MUMBLES is, relatively speaking, the posh part of Swansea Bay. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bonnie Tyler and other local celebrities get a home in Mumbles. It’s posh, but Swansea is a working-class town on the coast of south Wales with a rich industrial and cultural heritage. And posh Mumbles may be, but everyone who lives in Swansea claims Mumbles as part of their town, proud of it’s heritage, the wide sweep of the bay and its night life.

Not so long ago, Mumbles was the destination of stag and hen dos from all over Wales because of its famed “Mumbles Mile” of pubs and restaurants.

Not so long ago, young people would descend on Mumbles on the weekend and end up in the only disco in Mumbles, Bentleys. But it’s had a regeneration. Now called Cu, as in the chemical name for copper, the club ties the knot of industrial heritage and Swansea’s persistent jazz following. Cu is the home of the Swansea Jazz Club and it is here that this seemingly important year for the Swansea International Jazz Festival kicks off, with Simon Spillet.

Spillett may not be well known outside the sub culture of jazz in Britain, but he should be. He’s a writer, raconteur, a keen observer of the development of British jazz and the single most influential character in building the long-overdue appreciation of the late, great British multi-instrumentalist (mainly known for his tenor sax) Tubby Hayes. But most of all he is an amazing tenor saxophonist.

You need to witness Spillett playing in a setting such as this to discount a misunderstanding of his dedication to Hayes as a “tribute act.” Like Hayes, Spillett is a modernist. Hard bop is how you could describe it. Spillett’s art is that this is challenging, the sax solos are modern jazz. They are breathtaking, fast and furious, but not without pathos, romance or reflection.

And tonight his symbiotic set with legendary Pete Long, offers a rare sight in contemporary jazz: two blistering tenor saxophones, in sync, improvising call and response solos with urgency, great humour and swing. Spillett and Long hold the packed Cu audience’s attention with virtuoso performances together and apart. Challenging, awe inspiring and funny. Between song banter and also central to their music, they present like a music hall comedy duo.

Highlight of the evening were Hayes’s The Southern Suite Pts 1 and 3. But following the gig and through to the morning, their incredible version of Charlie Parker’s Scrapple From The Apple has not left my head. An impressive start to this town’s major cultural event.

Simon Spillett is on tour until November 21. For more information see: simonspillett.com.