your comments
Wendy Beautyman, Newcastle upon Tyne
I am reliably informed that there will be no street music this year at the Brecon Jazz festival, after the electrifying success of last year's outdoor entertainment maybe the organisers would like to reconsider their decision! See BBC News report June 2006...
Wed Jul 26 09:23:52 2006
Meirion Davies, Llanelli
I have been going to the jazz in brecon for eight years and I love it, but by taking it out of town spoils it all, the bands by the monument, with the crowd dancing was wonderful, please bring it back.
Sun Jul 23 19:55:30 2006
John Roland from Abergavenny
Very dissapointing. Not a patch on previous Festivals and not worth the fees charged, particularly the 'Stroller Programme'. What has happened to this once great Festival? At one time it was world famous, now it looks like sinking into oblivion, at least for jazz enthusiasts. For those who just need an excuse to get drunk, I guess it will hold its value.
Fri Jun 9 15:04:23 2006
Lee, Pembroke
I agree that there wasn't so much 'street' atmosphere as in previous years, but the weekend was still an outstanding contribution to the live jazz music scene in Wales. Highlights for me were Jools Holland's foot-stomping performance and the inimitable Georgie Fame. Once again the Watton Marquee proved to be the best venue, with its informal atmosphere. It was so good to see children and young people bopping away in front of the stage and around the edges of the venue - we need to encourage these jazz fans of the future!
P.S. I also agree that the t-shirts were decidedly inferior compared with previous years!
Wed May 17 16:35:05 2006
John Dunworth, Cardiff
I was very disappointed with last year's festival, which was not a patch on previous years and I have been going for many years. For a start, the atmosphere had gone, along with the street performances. The cost of the stroller ticket has become ridiculously high and the content last year did not justify it. The organisation has always been poor, tickets ordered do not arrive and have to be chased. Long queues are the norm if booking on site - more desks are needed and advance information is poor. I just had a look at the official web site - it's pathetic! And why have you not got ! on line booking yet? Come on pull your socks up! In the meantime, it's not all bad, I have enjoyed some great entertainment over the years but if you addressed the above gripes the festival would improve enormously.
Tue May 16 11:06:51 2006
Kelly
Last year was the first time i'd been to Brecon jazz and it was fantastic!!!
My fiance proposed while we were there, it was perfect and we will be going back every year!!
Mon May 15 10:34:45 2006
Chris, Morgan Caerphilly
Where's the Krukke Band? Where's the main street stage gone? Bring them back they are the ultimate for those of us who are stuck in the main street and cannot afford the concert ticket prices.
Not as good as previous years.
Fri Mar 24 23:33:28 2006
Crashley, Llantwit
Awesome!
Tue Jan 3 10:31:15 2006
Martin Bright from Bracknell
The music has been great as has the atmosphere. What strikes me most is how Brecon has developed over the last 10 years.
Each summer the town looks more optimistic and attractive. I'm sure that the festival must contribute to the image of the town.
Thu Dec 29 14:01:24 2005
Steve Boyer from Leamington Spa.
Another great festival,the highlights for me were The Brazil Nuts and Georgie Fame.
This was my 11th consecutive year and i will be back!
Sun Nov 13 19:33:55 2005
Tony, Swansea
Came down to brecon to soak up the atmosphere and see bands on the stroller program. However, i found many of the bands on the program were quite boring and unorignal. Was on my way back to my tent when i happened to be drawn in to a pub i was passing by some tremendous sounds. A young band called 'Absinthe' not really in the jazz mould but playing classic blues and hard hitting originals that saved the weekend for me! Thanks Guys and i hope you get put on the official program next year so more people can experience your sound!
Sat Nov 12 16:19:54 2005
Matt Parkin, London
Never been to Brecon before - brilliant to see live music in the street. Went to Brecon Guitars - one of the best guitar shops I've seen in Britain (blues music outside the shop played Chicago style by a couple of old lags - awesome!!!!)
Wed Oct 26 22:30:52 2005
Wendy from Newcastle upon Tyne
Having 3 young children, we can't always make it to the concerts, it was wonderful to see more bands playing in the streets, the atmosphere was amazing, the kids loved it, shame about the weather on the saturday but Sunday more than made up for it.... we all loved the Real Macaws and M.E.L, please please get them back again next year! The stewards were wonderful and very helpful, well done same again next year please Brecon!
Mon Sep 5 10:47:48 2005
Lynne from West Yorks
Great to see Back Door on the road again. Fantastic gig. I also enjoyed some of the younger bands like Meantime Collective - I'm not really into the trad /mainstream stuff. Will try and get next year again.
Thu Aug 25 14:42:45 2005
Bron - Manchester
I had a great time at the festival this year and was lucky enough to see some fantastic artists performing; it's impressive that Brecon can attract such big names. What struck me this year though (and has done in past years) is that there seem to be few appearances from local musicians. This year I was lucky enough to catch live music not only at the festival venues but also at local pubs in and around the town. On Sunday night there was a great band at The Bulls Head, the music was great, the atmosphere was fantastic and after talking to some of the band, it turns out that they've been playing during the festival since it began over 20 years ago! Strangely though, the festival organisers have never booked them.
This seems like craziness. In past years I know that the organisers have had to battle to keep this great festival going. I can't help feeling though, that offering opportunities to local artists would be a great move on every level. The festival's funding opportunities would increase greatly, the local community would feel less excluded and more people would get to hear music from great bands like the one I saw this year.
Talent gets you only so far. Without opportunity, Charlie Parker would have lived out his days working the bar in a jazz club.
Mon Aug 22 01:51:33 2005
David, Llandrindod
EST and Acoustic Triangle were fantastic and more than lived up to the expectations I had of them. More people should join the Friends of Brecon Jazz and take advantage of the restful atmosphere in the Club house between the frenetic gigs. Well Done to Andy Eagle and his team, and to Jinm Smith. Would love to see more European Jazz - how about Jan Garbarek, Rene Urtreger and the fantastic French pianist Baptiste Trintignant?
Fri Aug 19 16:35:18 2005
James in Ripon
5th time at Brecon. Booked my tickets over the phone camped at the rugby club. My highlights E.S.T Pendulum with Steve Waterman and Georgie Fame
Would love to see Abdullah Ibrahim back next year
Thu Aug 18 14:52:51 2005
Doug Farnie, Wimborne Dorset
This was my second year at the festival and I have to say that the quality of the music was again of a high standard.
We normally buy a couple of weekend strollers in advance which are good value for money. The only gripes I would have would be Lucie Silvas encouraging everybody to stand up half way through and totally spoiling our view (we were exhausted after struggling backwards and forwards from the campsite in the rain on saturday!) I would also agree with the other chap who complained about the organisation this year; there were too many people clogging up pavements and throughfares watching concerts for free
outside the venues, if you want to watch it pay to get in!! oh, and the official t-shirts were rubbish this year!
Wed Aug 17 20:43:35 2005
Nicola Lewis Merthyr Tydfil
This was my first year to Brecon Jazz, and I bought tickets to see Lucie Silvas. She was outstanding and very down to earth, Best £15 I have ever spent. I will also be back next year because the atmosphere was great and everyone was friendly. Keep up the good work and the great artists that perform. Well Done Brecon Jazz!
Tue Aug 16 13:47:14 2005
Nathan, Cardiff
I've been to every Brecon Jazz Festival that's ever been. This was the best in ten years. Ticket prices were not abnormally higher than they have been in previous years, and if they were, it's due to the kaliber of artist on show. In two days I saw Phil Woods, Paquito d'Rivera, Randy Brecker, Roy Hargrove, James Moody, Frank Wess, Slide Hampton, Pete King and E.S.T. If anyone had suggested such a line-up a few years ago it would have been laughed back in their faces.
It was also the busiest festival I've ever seen. I don't think there were many spaces in any concert/stroller venue on Saturday - something I've not witnessed for many years. Some of this has to be attributed to the "Radio 2" factor and I don't think certain audiences quite appreciated what they were seeing and hearing at times.
What a festival!
Mon Aug 15 20:37:42 2005
Matthew, Brecon
This was my first time at the festival and I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of spontaneity and creativity that abounded on the streets of Brecon.
Mon Aug 15 13:19:32 2005
Albert, Brecon
I'm a fan of anything that let's everybody have a good time!
Mon Aug 15 13:17:20 2005
Philip Chadwick North Yorkshire
I am a regular Brecon Jazz visitor, and went again this year.
I cannot say this was the best year..musically the bands were very good, but the organisation of this years festival was quite frankly rubbish. The festival is normally one of the best organised festivals of the year...
Issues that we faced were:
Not enough festival camping...we had to go outside the town this year to find accomodation. Added to this nobody in the festival organisation was available to help.
Worse still was the lack of stroller tickets. We got to Brecon on Friday and the Saturday stroller was sold out. Organisers cannot claim that more of these were sold as there was definately less people there this year. This is greed taking over the festival...we had to buy more expensive concert tickets as a result of less strollers.
The festival was also let down by noise inside the concert halls (from outside). Why the stewards could not pull closed fire doors to keep out the noise. Alternatively do something about the local kids who were causing the problems outside the venues.
Mon Aug 15 12:33:32 2005
Karen Moss, Bicester Oxon
I just wanted to say that I attended the Brecon Jazz Festival for the first time this year and was totally overwhelmed with the artists, atmosphere and general ambience of the event. The atmosphere in the town was fantastic and it was great to wander around listening to the artists and visiting the local businesses who all seemed to be participating. I bought a fantastic painting from the A Frame Gallery in the Bulwark which will be a lasting souvenir of a fantastic weekend.
Mon Aug 15 10:50:52 2005
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