Joe Webb's by Howard Lawes |
Joe Webb
The Brecon Jazz Festival, founded in 1984, has become one of the most important musical events in Wales, showcasing a mixture of jazz stars from the UK and around the world as well as encouraging local musicians. In 2011 the Hays Literary Festival, which had promoted the event for three years withdrew and Cardiff-based Orchard Events and Media Group Ltd were chosen as preferred bidders by the Arts Council of Wales, Powys County Council, and the Brecon Beacons National Park to take over the event. 2012 was Orchard's first festival. Pianist Huw Warren was appointed artist in residence and the Joe Webb Trio opened the Guildhall Programme, a programme of concerts featuring emerging jazz artists and local Welsh-based jazz talent. Joe initially formed his trio in 2009 when he met bassist Huw V Williams and drummer Lloyd Haines when he was at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD).
Joe Webb was born in Neath, a town in South Wales famed for its industrial heritage. It is the birth place both of Welsh rugby and of the international singing star, Katherine Jenkins. After leaving school, Joe enrolled at RWCMD in Cardiff, studying jazz. He graduated in 2012 and in the same year performed that gig at the Brecon Jazz Festival.
A year later, Joe decided to move towards London to develop his career, luckily he had relatives in Basingtoke, only 45 minutes from London by train. One of his first jobs was at the Ailsa Tavern in St Margarets where RWCMD alumnus, Evan Clegg led bands playing swing music from the 1930s and 1940s - Joe particularly remembers playing stride piano and accompanying Lindy Hop dancers inspired by the swing of Erroll Garner and renowned stride pianist Art Tatum.
Listen to Joe playing Catalan Jumper from his new album Summer Chill.
In fact, the whole Joe Webb Trio moved to London and became involved with a dynamic group of young jazz musicians led by trumpeter Laura Jurd, pianist Elliott Galvin and drummer Corrie Dick who called themselves ‘Chaos Collective’. Joe was to feature on Corrie Dick's 2016 album Impossible Things, a beautiful and innovative album in true, Chaos Collective style that deeply affected the musicians and many who heard it. Joe also joined the Kansas Smitty's House Band, formed in 2013 by Jack Abraham and Giacomo Smith, and was 
featured on their debut album Kansas Smitty’s, which was included in the Daily Telegraph's 50 best albums of 2015. Their music is described as ‘joyful, spontaneous jazz rooted in swing and blues’ and their live performance as ‘one of the hottest live acts on the UK jazz scene’ (Jamie Cullum). BBC Radio 6 DJ Cerys Matthews commented 'They dance to the beat of their own drum. Totally unpredictable!'. A glowing review of their performance at the 2016 Bath International Festival by Mike Collins highlighted 'Joe Webb's understated stride piano solo'.
In 2017 Joe Webb participated in the Ronnie Scott's International Piano Festival and featured on further albums, Nighthawks by Kansas Smitty trumpeter-turned-vocalist Peter Horsfall and the widely acclaimed Riser by guitarist Rob Luft. He also played on Luft's 2020 follow-up album Life is the Dancer but in the meantime, the Joe Webb Trio, now with with Tom Farmer on double bass and Shane Forbes on drums released their 2019 EP Daydreamer and 2020 EP For Everything Else on Ubuntu records. These releases were significant moments for Joe being his first as band leader.
Of course, in 2020 the Covid pandemic changed everything, damaging the livelihoods of musicians and threatening the whole industry, but for Joe Webb and his band mates, the Kansas Smitty's House Band proved to be a lifesaver. The ever resourceful Kansas Smitty's organisation created KSTV and over the course of periods of lockdown and when public performance was impossible, live-streamed 120 weekly performances, earning income from donations and creating an archive that remains available here.
Another lockdown project, showcasing young British jazz pianists playing solo versions of classic tunes was the 2021 album Alone Together which has Joe Webb playing a classic, stride version of the 1928 Irving Ceasar composition Crazy Rhythm.
The lockdown allowed time for Joe Webb to plan his new album Summer Chill and somewhat counter-intuitively provided opportunities to meet new people and to re-establish connections with old friends. In common with many other musicians, the lockdown imposed severe restrictions on movement and Joe resorted to checking out classic films and music from earlier times, finally choosing a selection of tunes suitable for a lively party, something to cheer people up.
Listen to Freddie Green's Corner Pocket from the album.
Summer Chill was released on the 24th June, again on Ubuntu Records. Rather than continue in the same vein as before he has changed both the style of material and the personnel in his band.
Talking to me about the album and his future plans, Joe explained that the new band for Summer Chill is to some extent a product of the changed circumstances during Covid. As well as Joe Webb on piano and Hammond organ the new band has Alex Haines (brother of Lloyd Haines) on guitar and Will Sach (North London near neighbour) on double bass. Completing the rhythm section are Jas Kayser on 
drums and percussionist João Caetano, both of whom Joe Webb met through KSTV live streams. Guesting on saxophone is Fraser Smith (leader of Fraser and the Alibis and another alumnus of RWCMD) and there is additional percussion from Kitty Liv Durham.
Eight of the ten tracks on the album are new arrangements of classic jazz or rock and roll from the ‘40s, ‘50s or ‘60s. Of the originals, Catalan Jumper makes full use of percussion in a very danceable fusion of Cuban rumba, piano and guitar while Errolesque is a tribute to one of Joe Webb's piano heroes.
In the interests of authenticity, since the original tracks were released on 78 rpm or 45 rpm singles, most of the tracks on Summer Chill are about 3 to 4 minutes long which interestingly makes them ideal for playing on radio programmes - perhaps it is no coincidence that the album has been in the Jazz FM top ten chart for the last two months.
Many of the tracks are associated with great vocals, Tweedle Dee by LaVern Baker, Comin' Home Baby by Mel Torme, You Are My Sunshine by Gene Autrey; but as Joe points out, so many pianists, double bassists and drummers spend their time in rhythm sections that he wanted to emphasise the instrumental on his album. Money In The Pocket is a Joe Zawinul composition labelled ‘soul jazz’, on which Joe really emphasises the heavy groove of the original while Alex Haines's guitar provides at least as good a solo as the original trumpet. Joe plays Hammond organ on Yea Yea (first recorded by Mongo Santamaria as Yeh Yeh) which sounds as great as it does on One Mint Julep, the 1952 hit song for the Clovers. Joe also has the organ in the background for the final track of the album, a beautiful piano version of I Can't Help Falling In Love With You, sung by Elvis Presley in 1961, and an ideal slow dance to close a wonderful party.
Listen to Tweedle Dee.
Joe Webb has been playing jazz music to dance to ever since arriving in London and playing for the Lindy Hoppers at the Ailsa Tavern in 2013, and when you think about it, this is what jazz music was originally for. Joe told me that he really wanted Summer Chill to be inclusive and appeal to a wide audience; an album for everyone so they can shake off those Covid blues and have a great time, at a pool party or anywhere. It is safe to say that he has achieved his objective, but importantly and ironically he has created great jazz for the 2020s with really good arrangements of classic jazz and rock and roll from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s played by a great new band. Joe says the next album will have more original material - if it is as good as this one then the wait will be worth it.
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