Simon H Fell was approached to produce a piece for a small-group which examined the legacy of the earliest days of jazz from the perspective of 100 years later.

The resulting piece is an exploration of the links between early jazz and contemporary improvised music, along the way referencing a remarkably varied list of figures from jazz history: Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Larry Coryell, Eric Dolphy, Duke Ellington, Joe Lovano, Charles Mingus, Jelly Roll Morton, Joe ‘King’ Oliver, Gunther Schuller, Edgard Varèse & Anton Webern.

Premiere Broadcast

‘The Ragging of Time’ was premiered as part of the New Stream at the 2014 Festival, and subsequently broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Jazz On 3, where Jez Nelson declared the piece “a fun affair”. But such fun as there might be is tragi-comic, invoking serious questions about history, context, reverence and innovation.

Simon Fell’s Lecture

Fast-forward to September 2017, and Simon returned to Marsden to present a lecture on the creation of the piece which presents a fascinating insight into the creative processes involved in such a commission.

Simon has made an illustrated transcript of his lecture which can be downloaded by clicking on the link below:-

Marsden and The Ragging of Time

Simon’s presentation includes references to a number of music samples, which can be heard here:

The Ragging of Time lecture – Tracks 1 -17

Purchase a CD

To purchase a CD or Download of The Ragging of Time, recorded live at the 2014 Marsden Jazz Festival, click here

The magnificently restored nineteenth century Mechanics Institute hall is the hub of the beautiful, West Yorkshire village of Marsden, as well as the headline venue for the annual Marsden Jazz Festival.

But did you know it has history as a music venue and starting point for parades?

In the early decades of the 19th Century there was little formal education available to working men and even less for women. With the rise of the industrial revolution, the demand for education was great. Whilst employers helped to meet this demand, recognising an educated workforce would be particularly good for business, it was often groups of workers that came together to undertake self improvement through education, with many of the tutors barely more educated than the men they were teaching.

This movement first appeared at the end of the 19th century with the formation of the literary and philosophical societies, founded all over the country, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Derby, Bristol, Bath, Sheffield, Hull and Whitby.

In Glasgow, based on the city’s literary and philosophical society, the Andersonian was the first technical college to provide scientific instruction with the opportunity for practical application of ideas. It was the first institution in the world to provide evening classes in science to women as well as men.

In 1823, the Andersonian was superseded by Glasgow’s Mechanics’ Institute and was the first in the country. Mechanics’ Institutes were then developed all over the country.

It was November 1841 when the Mechanics’ Institution in Marsden held its first meeting in a cottage near to the Old New Inn, on Carrs Road. Very little is known of the activities in the Institution’s first home. On the 16th March, a vocal and instrumental concert was held in the Institution’s ‘large room’ with the Marsden Military Band providing the music. This was the first event of its kind, but the room was not large enough to accommodate the numbers who applied for admission. According to Lewis(1), the Mechanics moved from its first location to the large room above Dan Ineson’s Smithy at Ing Head off Carrs Road.

By the middle of the 1850s, the membership of the Institution had grown to such a size that J. B. Robinson a local mill owner and President of the Institution planned to build a new hall which would become the present day building. The building would contain two classrooms that could be converted into a single room if necessary, a reading and news room, a library, rooms for a caretaker and a hall (75 feet long, 38 feet 4 inches wide, 26 feet high). It had a gallery with a committee room underneath it. It was claimed in the newspapers of the time that the hall could comfortably seat 1000 people.

The laying of the Foundation Stone was a major village event. On 9th June, 1859, a glorious summer’s day, the Stone was laid. The celebrations began with a parade that started outside the New Inn on Manchester Road. It moved on to the the Rising Sun located at West Slaithwaite, returning along Carrs Road to the Marsden Foundry, ending up at the site of the new building. The parade was led by Mr John Crowther on horseback and made up of the building committee, the police, members of other local mechanics institutions, Sunday Schools’ pupils, school masters and visitors. There were four bands providing the music and the public were invited to follow behind.

The Hall was finally opened in 1861. It had cost around £2500, far more than the original plans, and it took many years for the remaining debt to be paid off. When the building was finished there was no clock tower. It was built as a result of a legacy left by William Henry Firth. However, the building’s foundations and walls were not strong enough to bear the extra weight of a stone tower. Consequently, the tower was built of wood.
The Mechanics institute continued to be a venue for public celebrations, with spells as a library, a nursery and a youth club, until the hall fell into disuse around 1969.

Marsden Community Association, formed in 1978, aimed to take the buidling back into community ownership. This took many years, a significant milestone being the near £1million pound refurbishment and modernisation plan and reopening in 1990/1. It was a plan that finally came to fruition in 2016, when the Marsden Community Trust took over ownership of the hall that was built for the people of Marsden through public subscription.

Further Reading

Bygone Marsden. Lewis Buckley Whitehead(1)
Journal of the Huddersfield Local History Society – Marsden Mechanics Institute before the Hall. Steve Challenger
Journal of the Huddersfield Local History Society – Marsden Mechanics Institute: the Hall and final years. Steve Challenger

Thanks to Alan Matthews and Tom Lonsdale for additional information.

Marsden Jazz Festival has a long tradition of inviting youth big bands from the region to play to large, appreciative crowds. Hundreds of young musicians have graced Marsden’s stages throughout the years, and they now have their own dedicated Bandstand in the Park, where festival goers can catch rising stars from Colne Valley Junior and Big Band, Honley High School, Shelley College Jazz Band, Greenhead Big Band, Kirklees Musica Soul Band, Greenhead College Big Band, Wakefield Youth Jazz Orchestra, Blackley Centre Stage Band, Holme Valley Big Band, Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra and many more ensembles.

We’ve asked a few young musicians what they love most about playing or being at Marsden Jazz Festival, and here’s what they told us.

“I love playing jazz and really getting into the music while performing. I love playing to the crowd and getting ourselves out there. I love seeing all the other bands performing, especially the younger bands.”

“The opportunity to play alongside other musicians.”

“Seeing groovy jazz bands, and showing off what we’ve been practising in rehearsals.”

“The atmosphere of music in such a nice area and the enjoyment of watching people dancing in the rain whilst playing with my swing band a song from ‘The Jungle Book’. I really enjoy playing for the audience as it makes such a difference when people truly appreciate the effort and performance you put on.”

“Performing with incredibly talented musicians and listening to music that I wouldn’t normally listen to.”

“Coming together with the community and experiencing jazz all around you.”

“Getting the chance to see other youth groups at the festival.”

And what do their teachers think about the festival?

“One of our performance highlights.  It is a fantastic event where our band feel really comfortable and regularly play to large and appreciative audiences.”

“It’s a great chance to take part and play for the public.”

“A real local, community based festival drawing in great acts from across the country.  The atmosphere created around the village each year is what makes it very special.”

“Young players always love a trip out together to play. They love MJF and eagerly scan the listings for when and where they are playing.  For them it feels more than just another gig and regularly they bring many family members and friends to watch. They have pride in being involved at MJF.”

In 1978, I moved to Marsden with Mikron, the theatre company I had founded a few years before. I really wanted to create work and tour nationally, outside London, and being based in Marsden we had the opportunity to develop a unique theatre company that would tour by narrowboat in the summer and by road the rest of the year.

Newcomers were not very welcome in those days, especially arty types! But we soon got busy locally trying to save the Mechanics Hall. There were talks of tearing it down to build a major road going through the village. It took 10 years, but we managed to get a Village Hall Restoration fund and to re-open it in 1991. I wanted to bring the arts into the building, on a regular basis, and I also started thinking of an annual event to highlight Marsden and show what an amazing village it is. Huddersfield already had a contemporary music festival, Holmfirth had folk – so I settled for jazz!

So we started, in October 1992, with gigs at the Mechanics, in pubs and outdoors. Not everyone was keen the first few years, but when they realised what a great day out it was – and that it was bringing money in – they came on board.

Audiences went up every year, with more and more pubs and clubs as venues, more events on the street – from outside the Mechanics to the bridge – and even a band on a boat and one on a train.

The idea was always to have an eclectic jazz festival, with many styles of music, going from marching band and trad to world and avant-garde.

In 1978 Marsden was a moribund village. In 1998, half the shops were still empty. Today, when people visit for the Jazz Festival or Cuckoo’s Day, they can see a vibrant village with a functioning community – it’s not just a tourist attraction, despite all the filming that goes on.

The presence of Mikron and the Jazz Festival have been influential in transforming the village and attracting a large number of new residents with an artistic bent, but what’s worked really well is that all the communities here meet and talk.

Jazz bands, magical musical contraptions, dancers and festival visitors join the fun as the parade winds its way along Peel Street through the centre of the village.

An established part of the festival and different every year, past parades have included a variety of styles of bands, such as Bhangra and traditional New Orleans jazz, to homemade kazoos and weird improvised instruments, band battles and even strange wheeled contraptions. It seems that the creativity within the street parade is limitless, and with musicians both amateur and professional, also invited to bring their instruments, wear costumes and join the performance, it can get really big and really noisy.

Since his first gig at Marsden Jazz Festival in the early 2000s, Doncaster star trombonist Dennis Rollins has seen the festival grow, but some things haven’t changed at all.

“What I felt immediately was the sense of community: it was apparent that it was more than just a little festival in a little village. It’s a passionate collective of people. I was singing the praises of this little festival straight away; it has more love than so many of the festivals I play. It is a real honour to perform at a festival where the audience have passion and have your interests at heart. MJF shows itself to have a lot of respect for British artists, and what it does particularly well is embrace a wide range of artists, from the mainstream to the absolutely avant garde.

Musicians highly respect it because of the way they are treated by the team. If I dare compare, some festivals want you in and out. Marsden is the total opposite. There are some great festivals in the North but there is something about Marsden Jazz Festival. It’s about more than just the music, it’s about the way that people are with each other. It sings out to visiting artists and they feel it. It’s taken seriously by the rest of the jazz world too.

From a performance perspective, the festival has gotten slicker over time. Not slick to the point of losing its roots, but very well organised, with a calm and efficient team in charge. I don’t feel that it has changed drastically over time, and when I pull into Marsden, it feels like home. It’s an easy place to be.

I have noticed that Marsden runs more educational workshops than other festivals and these are well attended. There is a big young musician and Big Band programme, but small band combos are also nurtured. It’s great to watch young musicians grow over the years and start to perform in their own right – and they can get up close to real musicians, learn from them. That can sometimes be an alarming thing… they remember working with you in the workshops years after!

I think this is a festival that is going to grow. I just hope the funding continues to keep pace with the promise. I have a lot of admiration for Barney as Festival Producer. He is never looking just a year ahead, he is always thinking much further along the road.

I am humbled to have been chosen to feature in one of the celebratory portraits. I can see how the energy put in by the team is much bigger than just the music. I can see that the vision goes so far beyond just playing music and performing to an audience. It is so inclusive. It is using music to send a message about joy and community.”

Rod Mason has played at every single gig since the festival began. Last year, his impressive record increased to 51/2 gigs across the weekend.
Why 1/2 a gig?
“I wasn’t actually on the bill, but ended up playing anyway”

The first gig Rod played at the first ever Marsden Jazz Festival was at the Hey Green Hotel. He played with Ben Crosland and Alan Skidmore. He remembered that it was quite full, the audience being comprised of general music fans rather than jazz fans in particular, friends and followers and people who weren’t really sure what it was all about but were prepared to suck it and see! Rod commented “Now, by contrast, its very busy, especially if the weather is nice. It’s a much bigger buzz, more busy, with stuff going on all over the place”.

Do you have any stand out festival years?
“There were two Friday night gigs working with John Surman at the Hey Green and Jim Heat , when he played at the British Legion. Maybe the second and third years? I loved those two gigs to death. Surman is God. If I’d have had to pack up the day after and given up music I could have, having been at those gigs. Everything with him involved is extra special. The Jim Heat gig, set pieces by Steps Ahead, which had a vibraphone saxophone frontline, was unbelievable. We had only been able to practise without the sax, when we got to the gig warm up and played together it was euphoric – everything was incredibly perfect and Jim is so amiable, it’s just a pleasure. There have been loads of great moments over the years.

What makes the MJF experience?
“It’s the banter that comes with it. Having played every year I know everyone.I love to be heckled when I’m introduced and I am always heckled. The festival has evolved so much… literally there is something going on in every nook and cranny. I like the new stream stuff, its ace. I don’t know how much more the festival could be. Its so friendly too and people really chat. You’re walking around and you will just hear someone shout ‘where’s your horn?” or have a joke with you. It really adds to the experience”.

What’s the craziest thing you have ever been involved in at the festival?
“… that would have to be the big fight improvisation. It was the southern softie musicians versus the northern heavies. There were three two minute rounds of improvisation against each other in … a boxing ring. A real ring. It was completely chaotic. Musicians would play out of the ring as well as in, and no quotes were allowed, otherwise the ref would give you a warning. Its so entertaining to do gigs like that, there are real opportunities for audience involvement. And for the record… the northern heavies won that one!”

Has anything changed over the years that you have been performing?
“I have noticed changes in the village throughout the last 25 years too. I notice that everyone gets involved now. Special things are put on for the festival weekend. Its as if Marsden Village is just looking for an excuse to join in a party. It feels like there is more and more happening. There are some lovely shops in the village now. So many places to go for a great coffee or for a walk. And the village reaps the rewards when the festival is on too. The chip shop has a permanent queue; the Riverhead brewery is packed. Especially when they are brewing the jazz festival beer! If you haven’t tried it…”

“There are some guys from Lichfield and from Bournemouth who bring their motorhomes and tents up. That’s where this festival is at these days. The Marsden Jazz Festival is being taken seriously in the jazz circuit. It’s still quite a small festival because of the size of Marsden, but it attracts big named people. I imagine that it’s always a hard job to get the balance between artistic, traditional and new and different music and also get bums on seats. I like to go to the more experimental stuff. Jazz in the north is so much more happening than jazz in the south. There’s a good pedigree of musicians in the north, maybe through the Leeds colleges. People like the Cory brothers, Jimmy Russell, Matt Holme, Tom Challenger”

Rod also commented on the involvement of young people in the festival:
“The other thing the MJF has in spades in the focus on families. I took part in the street parade last year and that was bonkers! We didn’t do a thing that we had practised for two days – it was way more of a free for all!. It was nice to see the parents bringing the kids down and having a laugh. Also, there is the music centre big band theme. This is such an opportunity for children to learn and improve their music. That is how we started. Getting an opportunity to play in public. That is where the learning happens. You can practise as much as you like at home, but you don’t learn until you are performing in public. I can remember my first solo. It was rubbish. I didn’t know what I was doing. I hadn’t had any lessons in improvisation or jazz music. I just had a go. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. There seems to be many more opportunities for school and junior bands to play at Marsden than at other festivals. It really does push younger players’ involvement in jazz”.

Marsden Park and bandstand have long been an integral part of the Marsden Jazz Festival. The bandstand has been a venue for musicians for many years. Originally affected by the weather, recent improvements have included lighting, an electricity supply for microphones and the addition of panels, designed and manufactured to provide musicians with some shelter from the elements, particularly with the festival taking place in October!

But have you ever considered how it came about?
It was during social reform in the 1850’s that attention was given to the plight of the poor and provision for public parks formed a part of this, through the Parks Movement. As a respite from poor living and working conditions, and to improve health and wellbeing, Marsden followed the national trend with some of its wealthy industrialists donating a large field opposite Ing Head, for the purpose of a ‘pleasure ground’.

Commissioned and built between 1910 and 1912, as the only public recreational space in the village, the park was designed with features common in other parks. These included a lodge at the park entrance, enabling the park keeper to monitor visitors and day to day park activity. Other features included a bandstand, bowling green and tennis court.

The planting of hardy plants and trees formed an important part of the park. Few of the population had their own gardens at this time and the park was thus able to provide both access to nature and the opportunity to learn about horticulture. A perimeter path was designed to encourage visitors to take a healthy walk in the fresh air. Seating was also given high priority.
‘The seating should face a view, to enrich the soul of the park visitor’
‘This new park was a place of beauty and relaxation, set in the midst of the industry and mills of Edwardian Marsden. It was the only park in the Colne Valley.

The park’s rich history of music started right at the beginning, with records showing the first concert performance of Marsden Brass Band in May 1912. According to the Colne Valley Guardian, ‘quite a large number of people listened to the programme of music submitted and expressions of satisfaction and pleasure were frequently heard’.

Band concerts have proved to be enduringly popular with local inhabitants throughout the years. There are frequent references in council minutes to the booking of bands to play in the bandstand throughout the summer months and many local newspaper reports about the excellent concerts.

Marsden’s last resident park keeper, John Casson, recalled that you would know when the band was on its way as you would hear them playing as they marched up Peel Street to advertise the fact that they were going to be playing in the park.

With thanks to The Friends of Marsden Park for allowing us to use information from Marsden Park Centenary 1912 – 2012, A History of Marsden Park by Friends of Marsden Park.

New Stream: A Marsden Jazz Festival Sampler

Marsden Jazz festival New Stream gigs feature cutting edge and experimental jazz music as well as new commissions, some of which have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The playlist is on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/marsdenjazz/sets/new-stream-marsden-jazz

Stuart McCallum – Dr Doctor
https://soundcloud.com/stuartmccallum/sets/dr-doctor

Blue Eyed Hawk – Oyster Trails
https://soundcloud.com/seriouslive/01-oyster-trails

World Service Project – Barmy Army
https://soundcloud.com/minirock-music/world-service-project-barmy-army

Sons of Kemet – Beware
https://soundcloud.com/naimrecs/08-beware

Kit Downes – Skip James
https://soundcloud.com/leftxbrain/kit-downes-trio-skip-james

Fraser Fifield & Graeme Stephen – Chase it Catch it
https://soundcloud.com/fraserfifield/chase-it-catch-it

Metamorphic – I Bet You Want Blood
https://soundcloud.com/metamorphic-laura/08-i-bet-you-want-blood

Let Spin – A Change is Coming
https://soundcloud.com/mossfreed/a-change-is-coming

Trio VD – Kesh
https://soundcloud.com/triovd/kesh

Roller Trio – Roller Toaster
https://soundcloud.com/stormfestival/roller-trio-roller-toaster

In the late 80s I was actively involved with Huddersfield Jazz, playing in the house band, and as a committee member. In 1990 or 1991, Mike Lucas invited us to help out with the Marsden Jazz Festival – and that’s how it all started, with a few gigs over 3 days the first year, and Digby Fairweather as compère. At the end of the festival, Mike got up and asked if people wanted another one – and it just built and built over the years!

Apart from 2012, where I messed up and took another gig elsewhere because I got the dates wrong, I’ve done at least one gig every year at the festival. It has affected me and my career massively. I have been fortunate enough to play with fantastic guest artists, some of whom have become personal friends, and some I continue to play with in bands we’ve put together. I couldn’t have done what little I have achieved without MJF.

I have also been fortunate to be commissioned twice. 2011, I put together a brass group and wrote music inspired by the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and most recently, it was the Ray Davis project, which is still touring and has produced a well-received album.

When the festival started, I was a local band leader. I started playing jazz in the early 80s, got involved in the summer course run by the Dankworths for several years, and started band-leading in the early 90s – at the same time as Marsden Jazz Festival began. My involvement has helped to give me a higher profile, and I really enjoy making suggestions for bands and guest artists – I feel like a kid in a sweetshop!

It’s a real luxury to have such a festival on my doorstep, so varied and welcoming, yet taking risks – we’ve had anything from Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk through to John Surman and everything in between, and now we also have the New Stream for the cutting-edge. Having so many local Youth Big Bands at the festival is also absolutely fantastic, and I hope it will provide a platform to many more future musicians and jazz lovers.

We asked some people out and about at the festival to share their experiences and memorable moments. This portrait is in video format, but below are some excerpts.

‘I come to the MJF every year. What do I like about the festival… It’s very friendly. I love the music, especially the Bad Back Blues Band. The beer is fantastic. It’s so great to come every year and I’m glad that it is on. ‘
Steve

‘Keep on with the good work and keep encouraging young musicians. There’s a lot of talk about live music being dead. Well, for a period in the early 1960’s the big bands in particular virtually disappeared from the music scene. Well, they’re back here with a vengeance and I think we need to encourage that quality of musicianship. ‘
Mike

‘We really love the artisan market in the park. Just the really good atmosphere in Marsden. It’s been a really good weekend. ‘
Sarah and Beth

‘It’s nice to see everybody turn out for something that they don’t know. An original band that they don’t know and enjoy it. It’s a really comfortable vibe.’
‘Great location, plenty of beer, lovely people, a really warm reception. What more could you ask for?’
‘We quite liked how people came into the tents when it rained. Getting people to stick around was a good thing.’
‘Really good crowd, really fun venue. Pretty chilled out atmosphere. ‘
Tom, Nick, Gabriel and Jack

‘I’ve been in Marsden for 28 years. I came to the first jazz festival with my mum and dad, who were over from Cheshire. My dad has been a lifelong fan of jazz, a member of Ronnie Scott’s jazz club, so to come to the first MJF and see all that going on in the village that we had just moved to was fantastic. We have been coming every year. ‘
Mark
_
‘When I first saw Extra-curricular perform, this was at a little club just outside of the village. It was a late booking up at the club. They were absolutely outstanding. They were a young band, we didn’t know what to expect. The room was absolutely packed. The sound was absolutely fantastic. They went on to do the late night spot a couple of years later at the Mechanics and they were just fantastic then. ‘_
Louise

“I’ve been interested in jazz and particularly Big Band music since the 1950’s. I’ve been coming to the MJF for something like 15 years. It’s always a wonderful experience and one of the outstanding features of the festival here is the emphasis on young people. The local Musica operation is something… I’m just amazed by the quality of the musicians that are coming out and especially the Doncaster Youth Jazz Orchestra, that I’ve just finished hearing.

‘Yesterday afternoon, at the battle of the bands, we had one of the biggest crowds in the middle of Peel Street and there were four bands that were competing with each other and competing with the crowd. There was dancing and laughing and people were dancing and jumping up and down and being extremely merry. ‘
Naeem

‘I’m a trad jazz person really, so I enjoy the people like Kenny Ball. We’ve had some notable people at the festival, so obviously he was a nice one for me. We’ve had Tommy Burton, Acker Bilk was absolutely fantastic. So those are my favourite moments, but the whole festival is amazing. The atmosphere, the buzz of it all, it’s just really nice to be part of.’
Tina

It takes an enormous number of volunteers to produce the Marsden Jazz Festival, many of whom have been with the festival since the start. Whilst for many years the festival was managed and produced by volunteers alone, it now requires year round staff to manage the vast array of tasks alongside the dedicated core of volunteers, particularly to manage the programming and finance elements.

June is the festival’s Finance Manager, a role she loves. June’s introduction to the festival came when she moved to Marsden in 1999 and was shortly recruited to the catering section.

“It was a good way to meet people in the village and socialise. It was great fun in the catering team and we were fortunate to meet many of the large bands. One highlight was having our photo taken with Andy Sheppard”.

The festival had employed a part time administrator for a number of years before June took the role in 2007/8 and the role has grown to include the finance management, becoming a full time role.

“The role has changed over the years, there has been a continual drive to move towards greater professionalism with a dramatic increase in the size of the festival and the number of volunteers needed to manage it. The festival now has well over a hundred events, the majority of which are free.
I am very proud to have been a part of the team driving the direction of the festival and in particular, proud of how innovative the programme has become. It just seems to evolve, year on year. Last year we held a launch party for the first time, this year, an event in the tunnel at Standedge. We are still going strong after 25 years, despite a backdrop of cuts in funding for this type of programme. Now that is an achievement.”
What have been your highlights of the festival?
“The biggest highlights for me in being involved in the festival are in meeting the musicians and my interactions with the festival volunteers. I wasn’t knowledgeable about jazz in the beginning, but through my involvement I have had the opportunity of working with some incredibly enthusiastic and professional people, who are totally committed to producing a fabulous festival.”

Barney is the festival’s Artistic Director. His first introduction to the festival was through getting to know one of the trustees on the train commute to Manchester.
“I had been interested in jazz since my early teens and didn’t take much convincing!”.

One of the significant things Barney got involved in was the development of the performance space of the Marquee on the Bridge into more of a major stage area. He recalls that he could see the potential of holding bigger events there, that could be watched by quite large audiences along the river. Shortly after that, John Quail stepped down as Chair and Barney stood for election and was duly appointed as a festival trustee and Chair.

Barney really enjoyed his five years as Chair, particularly working closely with the then festival coordinator Taru Sinclair. She carried out the role with the enthusiasm and flair that seems to be a prerequisite for people involved in the festival. Taru and Barney had a very positive “can do” approach to the festival, sparking off each other, they built a solid relationship with the Arts Council and doubled the turnover of the festival within five years.

They proved great at finding funding for special projects, like ‘Mill and Moors’ and ‘The Marsden Menuscript’ and when Taru moved on from the post, Barney was very well placed to take over as Festival Producer.

From 2013 onwards, with encouragement from the Arts Council, the Festival Producer and committee increased their focus on networking, partnerships and collaboration. Involvement with organisations such as NORVOL Jazz (Northern Voluntary Jazz Promoters’ Network) quickly paid dividends and the festival benefitted from attracting international artists such as Ellery Eskelin. This led on to Barney joining the Jazz Promotion Network as a board member, alongside significant people from other jazz festivals around the UK, which continued to lead to bigger and better things.
“As a result of new partnerships, this year we are staging a triple bill event with Match&Fuse festival, featuring musicians from the UK, Belgium and France as well as workshops and a performance with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra”.

What changes have you seen since you have been involved with the festival?
“There have certainly been changes in terms of scale. It’s always been on a big scale for such a small village, but it just continues to get bigger in terms of the calibre of artists it attracts and the number of headline gigs. The diversity is ever increasing, in terms of musical diversity and ethnic / cultural diversity, as well as how the festival is promoted. For example it is now an online box office, which has been critical in its success for growth. Also it has continued its focus on young people, through workshops, the parade and family friendly gigs, such as ‘I Have A Duck Who Can Roar’, specially commissioned for the festival in 2014, that has gone on to be performed at numerous other festivals around the country”.

So what does Barney have planned for the future?
“More in the way of partnerships and collaboration… like working with an artist in residence, further booking of international artists and more in the education sector”.

“A big focus will be on attracting sponsorship and becoming less reliant on grant income. We’re constantly brainstorming new ideas, like a spring youth jazz festival or a new commission. You will just have to wait and see!”.

Dr John Quail is known in some circles as a housing specialist with a PhD in the History of Management, author of a book about the 1880-1930 history of British anarchists – but he’s had even more hats in Marsden.

“When we moved here, at the start of the festival, there were a lot of empty shops. There are none now. The place is now a destination.”

Involved in the festival since 1994 thanks to a fortuitous meeting with the Mikron team in the Railway pub, he was originally recruited to cook pizzas…the catering volunteers being an important source of income in the early days – and supported the festival through its evolution from a loose volunteer committee to the present more formal structure.

“The jazz festival has given me the opportunity to meet my heroes – like the sax player Ellery Eskelin, and trombone ace Dennis Rollins .”

Inspired by the vibrancy of the Leeds scene, John started the New Stream strand in 2007. The first New Stream gig was a showcase for the Leeds Improvised Music Association. In 2008 the New Stream moved to the Legion, which allowed it to grow to four gigs and has remained so thereafter.

“There’s so much modern jazz that is routine, formulaic. That is why I am passionate about the New Stream. It brings individual voices, somebody who is speaking personally, as opposed to reading from a book.”

In 2008, John took over from Mike as Chair and discovered just how much work was involved in running a festival! John had two spells as chair after Barney Stevenson, his successor, changed roles from chair to festival organiser. John stepped down from the chair for the second time in 2016. He handed the chair over to Chas Ball and continues to be involved as an active trustee, to programme the New Stream and to develop commissions with artists, starting with Leeds-based drummer Tommy Evans in 2010 – who went on to win a BASCA award. The Jazz Festival team continue to commission works. The 2017 commission is Alexander Bone and Toby Comeau, mixing avant jazz and dance beats.

“The festival has retained its sense of place and being a part of the community. People who were involved as children started to have their own children and they became involved, playing locally. Now there is a sense that the festival is a part of the village fabric.”

In all these years of Marsden Jazz Festival, he’s had his fair share of stand-out moments – such as the 1945 anniversary swing event in 2005 that was priced at 3 shillings – the cost of a dance in the war – for anyone over 70. There was also the 2014 commission by Simon Fell, ‘The Ragging of Time’, which resulted in a sold-out gig, a Radio 3 broadcast, a CD, and one more way to put Marsden on the map. It also resulted in a London premiere at King’s Place in 2018. They take a while to catch up down there…

“I am proud to have brought the New Stream into collective consciousness. When Simon Fell was so well received I couldn’t stop grinning. New Stream is not narrowly experimental, it’s just new!”

Reflecting on the direction the festival has taken, John is proud that the Festival offers a platform to young players, with musicians like Tom Challenger now making a name for themselves on the national scene.

“There is a sense that you can do it, amongst these young performers. It is a great introduction to growing up.”

What do other people have to say about John?

“Without his tireless support there would have been no way I could have written a big piece of music for MJF and I have no doubt that his enthusiasm has profoundly helped and inspired many other artists like myself.”
Tommy Evans

“John’s promotion and staging of Billy Jenkins Big Fight Night in 1999 was an unforgettable spectacle for those of us who were privileged enough to be able to be there. The gig proved to be hugely successful and, though not for the feint hearted or trad jazz lovers, it in many ways became the forerunner of his now hugely successful New Stream gigs programmed at the Legion.”
Kate Button

“Possibly the most striking feature of the Marsden Jazz Festival is its breadth: of musical participants, of venues and themes and musical/artistic policy. John Quail is, for many musicians, the symbol of the breadth of vision which makes this festival successful.”
Simon H. Fell

The Marsden Jazz Festival prides itself on its efforts to include children and young people meaningfully in the festival and many volunteers who have participated in the 25 portraits project have commented on how well the festival focuses on getting young people involved, as musicians, volunteers and as audience members:

‘The other thing the festival has in spades is the focus on families. It was nice to see the parents bringing the kids down and having a laugh. There seems to be much more opportunity for school and junior bands to play at Marsden than at other festivals.’
Rod Mason

This portrait asked two groups of young people to comment on their experience, both of living in Marsden, and of the festival. Firstly, here are some of the comments from young people who make up the Colne Valley Skate Project, aged from 13 -18 and from Marsden Scout group, aged from 10 to 14.

The first theme they identified was a pleasure and pride about the outdoor landscape of Marsden.

‘One of the best things about growing up in Marsden is the views. Gypsy Falls is a great place to hangout. It’s a waterfall that people like to jump off of in summer. Mind you, that’s when we have a summer. I think it’s been proven that Marsden gets 50% more rain than Huddersfield, because of the hills. ‘

‘There are some good places to hang out. The churchyard is good, the stairs are great for practising skate tricks. We also like to go camping up Wessenden. Sometimes in small groups and sometimes with what seems like everyone in Marsden! We also like to go swimming in Sparth. It’s not that cold because it‘s not running water.’

‘It’s good that we’ve got a skate spot at the old goods yard but it will be better if we can get some proper facilities. We do go biking – around the mills, on the canal to Slaithwaite. It would be good if there were better mountain bike tracks around Marsden. ‘

“There’s a lot to do outdoors. Playing football, playing on the moors, whittling and bushcraft. It’s fun and there are always sheep”

“There’s a lot of sports you can do without even leaving the village- tennis, cricket and football”

“The scenery is great. It’s much better than it would be to live in a city”

“When I open my window and look out, I can see the whole of Marsden around me and it’s beautiful”

“Eastergate pebble beach is a great place to go to swim and play”

They commented on changes in the village, during their lifetimes:

“Marsden does have reasonable shops. Owt for Nowt is a favourite amongst our age kids. The chippy and takeaways are good too. Marsden is definitely good for food.”

“The shops have definitely improved since we’ve been growing up. There is a lot of variety and when there is a festival on, like jazz or Cuckoo Day, it feels really busy and fun and exciting. There has been quite a lot of filming here too. Watching the last zombie film being shot was funny!”

“There seems to be a lot of movies filmed in Marsden like “Walk like a panther”. It’s quite cool to watch the filming but sometimes annoyingly busy. It’s great when you can show off in the cinema though.“

They commented on feeling a part of the village:
“Sometimes we feel like we get bad press, like we get the blame for things. We do get involved in village stuff. We are trying to raise money for a skate park and we have done coffee mornings, worked with Friends of Marsden Park and events at the Mechanics Hall.”

And finally, on the jazz festival:
The jazz festival weekend is … interesting! There is definitely some weird music! It’s great to see different stuff in the outdoor venues and taking part in the duck race in the hope of winning a cash prize.

“MJF is LOUD and there are loads of crazy people dancing all over the place. The parade is fun and there is load of variety- music, food, stalls and dancing”

“MJF is a really safe place to be. Even though it gets really crowded, everyone is there to have a good time and that shows.”

The Standedge Tunnel and Visitor Centre is situated on the banks of the historic Huddersfield Narrow Canal, about a mile from Marsden village centre. Marsden Jazz Festival gig goers have enjoyed a short walk along the scenic canal bank for the past fifteen years. Often used as a setting for family friendly activities such as picnics and craft days, the canalside has hosted memorable gigs, including 2007 where a performance by the LIMA (Leeds Improvised Music Association) Orchestra in an open-sided marquee in terrible weather attracted about 10 attendees. However, this inauspicious start was the progenitor for what became the New Stream.

Also in 2014 ‘I have a Duck Who Can Roar’ – a children’s performance commissioned by Marsden Jazz Festival and combining storytelling, live music, interaction and artwork, which was written by Chris Bridges and illustrated by Ann Gilligan.

Watch ‘I have a Duck Who Can Roar’ online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H3aJSgovII

The 2017 Marsden Jazz Festival saw the tunnel become a festival venue for the first time! It was a unique concert in the Standedge canal tunnel, with the audience travelling by boat to hear cellist and composer Maja Bugge create music in dialogue with this unique space and its particular acoustic. The CD of the live performance can be purchased here: https://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/no-exit-74cd

There are four Standedge Tunnels that run parallel, beneath the Pennine landscape. Three are railway tunnels and the fourth is the canal tunnel. They are located at the Standedge crossing point between Marsden and Diggle, across the boundary between the West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester conurbations.

The canal tunnel is on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal. It is 5,000 metres long, 190 metres underground at its deepest point, and 196 metres above sea level. Inside the tunnel width varies, with four wider areas for passing, known as ‘wides’

The canal tunnel opened for use in 1811 and is the longest and oldest of the four tunnels, as well as being the longest and highest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. It is also one of the longest operational canal tunnels in the world. The tunnel was dug by hand using pickaxes, shovels and gunpowder by men known as ‘navvies’, short for navigators.

As with many ambitious projects, the construction of the tunnel was beset by problems and ended up taking much longer than was originally envisioned, with the canal finally becoming a through route some 17 years after work first began.

On 9 June 1809, the two ends of the tunnel finally met. Nearly two years after that, on 26 March 1811, the tunnel was declared to be complete and a grand opening ceremony was held on 4 April. A party of invited guests, followed by several working boats, entered the tunnel at Diggle and completed the journey to Marsden in one hour and forty minutes. The tunnel had cost some £160,000 and was the most expensive canal tunnel built in Britain.

As the tunnel is only wide enough for one narrowboat for much of its length and to save on cost, as in some other canal tunnels in England, a tow-path was not provided. As canal boats were originally horse-drawn, the boats had to be legged through the tunnel – a process where by usually two men lay on their backs and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. Professional leggers were paid one shilling and six pence for working a boat through the tunnel, which took an average of four hours. Horses were unhitched and had to be walked over Standedge Moor as most of the canal users couldn’t afford to ßhave additional horses waiting on the other side of the hill.

Between 1811 and 1840, the tunnel was used on average by 40 boats daily.

In 2010, the Ilkley Literature Festival commissioned leading UK poet, Simon Armitage, to create a series of poems responding to the landscape of the Pennine Watershed.

These poems were then carved into rock at six atmospheric locations along the Watershed from Marsden to Ilkley.

All of the poems celebrate or pay their respects to the elements which gave shape and form to the region, namely water. The water that sculpted the valleys and powered the industries.

The Snow Stone, the first to be carved, is situated in an old quarry on Pule Hill above the village of Marsden where Simon was born and grew up.

Many people visiting the Marsden Jazz Festival comment on the beauty of the landscape and value the opportunity of taking a walk or drive through the Pennine landscape whilst visiting the festival.

Simon has kindly allowed us to reproduce his poem Snow below. If you would like to take a walk to see this poem carved into rock at Pule Hill for yourself, you can download a copy of the Stanza Stones poetry trail from ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk

SNOW

The sky has delivered
its blank missive.
The moor in coma.
Snow, like water asleep,
a coded muteness
to baffle all noise,
to stall movement,
still time.
What can it mean
that colourless water
can dream
such depth of white?
We should make the most
of the light.

Stars snag
on its crystal points.
The odd, unnatural pheasant
struts and slides.
Snow, snow, snow
is how the snow speaks,
is how its clean page reads.
Then it wakes, and thaws
and weeps.

Simon Armitage

With thanks to Simon Armitage for his permission to reproduce his poem, Snow.
Stanza Stones is a collaboration between imove, Ilkley Literature Festival, Simon Armitage and Pennine Prospects

The Cuckoo’s Nest on Peel Street, in Marsden, Have you been?
They have shoes and ships and sealing wax and everything in-between.
Fifty stalwart volunteers to keep the ship afloat,
Powered by boundless energy, but that’s not all she wrote.
Born in June, two thousand one, with community at heart,
To date six hundred thousand, to good causes given out.
Most recently a helping hand to children torn by war,
To local cause and far away, they find a little more.

A little here a little there soon becomes a flood,
Thank you to the Cuckoo’s Nest for doing so much good.

More than a hundred causes have been blessed by your support,
Theatre groups and bands, park friends and of course, many a sport
Sailing, Bowling, British Legion, Mountain Rescue team,
History, Lunch club, National Trust, You allowed our young to dream.
Not just clubs but big events, festivals and more,
each one binds us closer, a community at core.
Thank you for the Imbolc and your name sake Cuckoo day,
for supporting Christmas lights which chase the winter blues away.

A little here a little there soon becomes a flood,
Thank you to the Cuckoo’s Nest for doing so much good.

And every year you help support the Festival of Jazz,
A music extravaganza like no other village has.
Brought by you to Marsden, from lands so very far away,
In club and pub and car park, musicians jig and sing and play.
So hats off to the committee, to volunteers old and new,
to all who donated clothes and toys, bric-a-brac or shoe.
Thanks from the Marsden Jazz Festival, for all of your support,
and for all that happens “in the back” so you never come up short.

A little here a little there soon becomes a flood,
Thank you to the Cuckoo’s Nest for doing so much good.

My earliest memory is running around the Mechanics Hall with other kids – and my mum being annoyed at me – but I can’t remember who was playing that day!

My first gig at Marsden was as a member of the North Stars Steel Orchestra, playing with Dennis Rollins on a national tour. A couple of years later, I had my first public performance as a singer, with Jack Button and Dirty Boy Jazz Massive. I even did a song with Harry Beckett at the Mechanics Hall!

I think I was actually quite terrible on that first gig, but the festival gave me confidence and inspired me to get better. I’m so grateful to have been offered this incredible platform to start my career. I’ve played about 8 or 9 times since, in different venues and with different projects – Submotion Orchestra, the Sugar Sisters… – including my own solo project, Loopology – just me and a loop pedal.

I also discovered artists who made me think differently, like Soweto Kinch when I was still at Leeds College of Music – he was the first musician I saw mixing jazz and hip hop. Not to mention all the great singers I got the chance to see live, like Clare Teal, and all the great musicians I had the chance to play with.

All the young people living around Marsden are so lucky to be able to see world-class artists in such a small village. You can see them close-up and then bump into them in a pub after their gig! It has been a fantastic source of inspiration for me, and I look forward to the next 25 years of the festival.

The Royal British Legion was formed on 15 May 1921, bringing together four national organisations of ex-Servicemen that had established themselves after the First World War.

The main purpose of the Legion was straightforward: to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces during the war, whether through their own service or through that of a husband, father or son.

The British Legion building in Marsden was built in 1939 on land gifted by Marsden village benefactor John Edward Crowther for the benefit of ex-soldiers of the village, who worked together to build the hall.

The hall proved really popular with local families, with servicemen entitled to apply for family memberships. The venue was used for a range of social events, with regular ballroom dancing. In fact, anecdotal evidence suggests that if you didn’t get to the legion early in the evening you wouldn’t get a seat!

This popularity meant that the venue needed to expand, so in approx. 1961, the function room was added on. This meant that the bar had to be moved and it was relocated in the middle of the building.

The Legion continued to thrive, with several well known and exciting acts playing there. These included the comedian Charlie Williams and Josh White. A high point was when British cabaret performer Mo Moreland, The Mighty Atom, star of the tap-dancing troupe the Roly Polys performed. To put this into context she had notched up as many as five Royal Variety Show performances during her career and had toured worldwide in her heyday.

Following on from these very busy days, things started to change in Marsden through the eighties and nineties, with the decline of traditional industries meaning that not everyone worked in the same mill together and people were travelling further afield to work. This had the knock on effect of reducing club membership and use.

The relationship between the Legion and the jazz festival is a long standing one, initially with one gig each year, and this relationship contributed to a change in fortunes for the legion as a venue. Things changed in 2007 when Ben Crosland moved his Friday night gig to the Legion and the New Stream moved there on the Saturday in 2008. The Legion continued with a Sunday afternoon gig so their involvement with the festival expanded significantly from this point.

Many bands doing festival gigs at the legion played on the floor in front of the small stage. Through discussion with members of the jazz committee, it was suggested that the venue would be greatly improved by redesigning the stage and in order to achieve this, grant funding was sought and secured with assistance from the jazz festival committee.

Since the addition of the function room there had always been a stage, but part of the stage space was taken up with two changing rooms (reflecting the cabaret entertainment fashion) as well as a booth (known as the sooty box) where the DJ sat.

The collective vision was to extend the usable stage area by removing the changing rooms and the Sooty box and opening the stage up to the ceiling. As has been a theme with the legion, much of this work was done by friends and committee members.

The transformation to the space was immense – the space was really opened up and the acoustics were vastly improved. Following on from the initial works, improvements continued with new electrics, lighting and heating.

Consequently, much bigger bands have been able to play at the Legion and it has been the venue for a wide range of activities – from Christmas and birthday parties, darts tournaments and even as a film set for a zombie movie!

“All the Legion gigs have been great, fantastic, wonderful! For me though the stand out gigs within this elevated collection have been: Stuart Mc Callum’s multi layered solo guitar pieces, Jenni Molloy’s ‘Bach reloaded’ and Sons of Kemet. Formidable!”
John Quail

As is the case all over the country, the venue continues to thrive thanks to its voluntary committees, who go above and beyond to keep it open and moving forwards.

Enjoy Art – Gallery & Gift Shop
Enjoy Art can be found on Peel Street, opposite the Mechanics Hall. Run by Sharon Turner and local artist Kevin Threlfall, the gallery features work from a wide range of local & regional artists & makers, encompassing art & gifts including cards, ceramics, paintings, textiles, glass, wood, jewellery and other mediums.

Sharon’s late husband Chris ran Enjoy Photography and during the Jazz Festival, whilst he was out & about taking photos, he let local artists hold a “pop up shop” as an outlet for artists to show and sell their work. Enjoy Art officially started on 1st August 2014 (Yorkshire Day!) and since then it’s evolved from a “pop up” shop into a thriving gallery.

The Jazz Festival brings a great many people into the gallery both for the first time and also as returning customers; the influx of visitors to the village provides a great opportunity for the gallery to showcase artists’ work to a wider audience.

Sharon and Kevin take a very hands on approach to choosing what is featured meeting artists personally, visiting their studios, hosting solo exhibitions and commissioning bespoke artwork for their customers. They are firmly embedded in village life, working with local schools, groups and community initiatives, such as Marsden Poetry Village & the Electric Theatre Cinema

Roger‘s Bakery
Roger’s Bakery is a family run wholesale artisan micro-bakery is based on Warehouse Hill Road, just off Peel Street, for the past two years, producing in excess of 1000 loaves and patisserie per week. It uses a made to order model, supplying restaurants, cafes, pubs and shops in the area”.

“I meet some really interesting characters. I cater for special events. It’s very hands on, but I like it because there is no waste, like in a traditional model of bakery. We are proud of our village and embrace the strong community spirit here by contributing free bread to causes such as Meet and Eat Lunch club, local fundraising events Christmas lights and Cuckoo Day as well as regular donations to the Huddersfield Change Project homeless charity”.

This year Roger’s will be baking bread for the second time for the Jazz Festival. Roger’s work closely with the neighbouring business, Hanson’s to feed and entertain guests in a variety of gigs. At various points in the day they will be supplying bread and focaccia to local restaurants such as Marsden Moose and Mozzarellas and then they will switch to pizzas for the evening musical event at Hansons. “The Jazz festival is a big festival for such a small village and we notice the extra demand for bread, particularly through the restaurants we supply. It’s exciting being involved. This is a great place to work, with its festivals and regular film crews descending and people tell us they love our bread, which makes us happy!”

Hanson’s
Alastair Hanson began his musical instruments business in 1989 from his parent’s garden shed in Bradford. Having studied music, instrument technology, engineering and physics at Leeds University College of Music he was well prepared and the business is about to celebrate it’s 30th year.

The business moved premises several times as Hanson’s continued to grow and evolve with Alastair working as a consultant to manufacturers in the Far East, Europe and America, then with a scenic drive over Standedge life changed as Alastair and his wife Jenny that a move to Marsden would be their next great idea.

Alastair and Jenny moved to Marsden in 2004 and relocated the business to the barns of their farm on the moor above the village. By 2011 more space was needed and home for Hanson Music became the current premises just off Peel Street. Hanson’s has continued to build an international reputation in the manufacture, restoration and repair of musical instruments, such as clarinets, saxophones, violins, guitars, trumpets, cornets and tenor horns. Jazz musicians will know of the prestigious Hanson’s LX and Monarch Saxophones, which are lovingly hand made in Marsden.

“We are proud of our instruments and proud of our international reputation, but don’t just take my word for it,” Alastair says. “…we’ve made, built and customised instruments for top players all around the World and they’re used by famous and diverse ensembles such as the Black Dyke Band brass band and the London Symphony Orchestra, bands for Shirley Bassey, Michael Bublé, George Michael, Van Morrison and Bryan Adams”.

“For many years I wasn’t able to take part in the festival, as it clashes with the International Music Manufacturers Trade Exhibition in Shanghai. In 2014 I stayed home to see what it was all about. We had a great first year and realised we wanted to stay involved, so last year we staged a number of music events in the programme. The feedback was great and we had visitors from Holland, Germany and the USA. Now we encourage customers to combine a visit to us to coincide with the festival and we get great feedback about the shop, the village and the festival.”

Founded in 1972, also by Mike Lucas, and established in Marsden in 1978, Mikron is a professional theatre company that performs “anywhere for everyone by canal, river and road”. In 46 years, they have performed at allotments, care homes, community centres, dry docks, festivals, lifeboat stations, pubs, rallies, restaurants, village halls and Youth Hostels – not to mention inside a tunnel, in the bows of a docked boat and in people’s very own front rooms. With 150 venues in 2017 alone, they are the most prolific touring company in the UK, touring by road in spring and autumn and on their 1936 narrowboat ‘Tyseley’ in the summer.

Mikron’s Artistic Director and long-time Marsden resident Marianne McNamara shares her impressions of the jazz festival:

“If I tell people I’m from Marsden, they say – oh yes, the Jazz Festival! I do think that really defines Marsden. People come here for that reason and that’s how they remember it: glorious sunshine (hopefully!), and lots of music.”

“I’ve journeyed through the jazz festival: as an actor working for Mikron, when I came along and listened to everything, when Mike [Lucas] was involved; as a young mother, nosing around with the pram, nipping in and out of gigs; and now with the boys, 8 and 10, being very much part of the festival! “When’s the parade, mum? What bands are we going to see this year? Do we get to stay up late?”.

It’s wonderful, so exciting, so vibrant. It makes you proud to be a part of it. I will never forget, 2 years ago, watching the parade with these magnificent machines pounding out smoke of different colours and music, and the school children and their families so involved… I felt so emotional, and so admiring that Barney, who is a neighbour and very good friend, managed to create, from the nugget of an idea, this huge event that everybody is a part of, that we all belong to. Everything that makes people come together, that makes you smile, that lightens up where you live, of course it stays with us. In that sense, the Jazz Festival is like theatre – it’s a shared event.

Marsden, and Slaithwaite next door, are wonderful creative villages, with lots of people doing exciting things – animators, actors, musicians… It makes life so much richer. It also make our children think that creativity is “normal” – which is not something that I experienced myself as a child growing up in Salford!