Moody blues at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, plus May’s best classical, opera and jazz
4/5
This year’s Festival ran online, thanks to the musicians who performed streamed sets for free. It wasn’t perfect, but it had plenty of soul
3 May 2021 • 2:10pm
Lara Jones s set, writes Ivan Hewett, was a moody highlight of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Credit: Cheltenham Jazz Festival
Cheltenham Jazz Festival
★★★★☆
“Let’s hear some noise for my excellent band!” said saxophonist Soweto Kinch during one of his two filmed sets for Cheltenham Jazz Festival, before introducing the other musicians. There was an inevitable silence. “Well, I can’t hear you, but I can feel you,” he added ironically. It was a vivid reminder that without an audience a jazz gig is only half-alive.