Ryan's Gig Guide - February 2019

to locating significant but often lesser-known American bluesmen, bringing them in from the USA to tour and record. Enjoying all the advantages of being absolutely independent with only the bank manager to an- swer to, Big Bear has always enjoyed going off at a tangent. The only house rule is that the music has to be good. ‘Real Music, Properly Played’ has long been the maxim. So alongside the blues albums there were excursions into soul and funk with Roy Gee, who was later to join The Drifters and the blue-eyed soul band Muscles who took on UK and European sup- port slots on tours byThe Fatback Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Commodores, Tower of Power and more. Big Bear’s contribution to the punk movement included Garbo’s Celluloid Heroes and The Quads whose 1979 hit “There Must Be Thousands” was declared by John Peel to be his favourite single of the decade, and is included in the famous John Peel box-set. Meanwhile, flying under the flag of Big Bear Music, the company continued to tour the artists it recorded, as well as organising events. The most significant of these was launched in 1985 and is planning its 35th year:The Birming- ham, Solihull & Sandwell Jazz Festival. Over the years, the festival has presented more than 6500 performances to a total of 2.8 million people. Headliners have included Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie Orchestra, Buddy Rich Orchestra, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, The Blues Brothers Band from that film, BB King,Al- bert King, Freddy King and The Buddy Guy/Ju- niorWells Band. Events organised by Big Bear include The Mar- bella Jazz Festival for five years,The Arctic Bor- der Blues Festival in Norway and The Soviet Union, Birmingham Super Prix Trackside Enter- tainment, The National Jazz Festival New York Non Stop with British Airways and Soho Jazz Festival. Every year since 1987 Big Bear has organised The British Jazz Awards, known as The Jazz Os- cars, which recognise the finest British jazz per- formers. The winners are selected by popular vote with as many as 5000 voters across the 17 categories. This is the most important formal event in The British Jazz calendar and achieved international significance when Miles Davis won the Getzen Fairweather Award and Nina Si- mone flew into Birmingham to receive her Plat- inum Record for “My Baby Just Cares For Me”. The artist agency aspect of Big Bear Music has always been prominent in much of the com- pany’s activity. Initially set up to market the bands on the record label, which it still does, it represents a roster of interesting bands. Not content with discovering, nurturing, record- ing and promoting unknown bands, Big Bear have produced memorable shows to bring something unusual to the table.There was, still is when called upon, Drummin’ Man, a showcase for the drumnastics of the legendary Gene Krupa from his days with Benny Goodman, his own Big Band and his small combos. The band features the tremendous Birmingham drummer Pete York – he of Spencer Davis Group fame, think “Keep On Runnin’”,“I’mA Man” and more – and an all-star handpicked seven piece band. “Beiderbecke andAllThat Jazz” enjoyed a simple but effective formula. Playwright Alan Plater [“The BeiderbeckeTapes”,“The BeiderbeckeAf- fair” etc] told his own stories which the all-star band onstage clearly found fascinating.Then the band played which left Alan overcome with joy. An evening never passed so quickly or so enjoy- ably. Big Bear has long been a caring bedfellow with photography.The catalogue of some 2500 black and white 2 1/4'' square negatives from the 1960s has so far yielded six exhibitions in the UK and Spain, and that’s from the only 150 neg- atives to be so far digitised. Leading Dutch photographer Merlin Daleman, twice winner of the Silver Camera Award for Best Documentary Photographer in Holland is resident photographer at Big Bear events and has seen his work featured in annual major ex- hibitions including extended displays on the Main Concourse of Birmingham New Street Station. To celebrate the 50th, there will be a pro- gramme of rock, blues, jazz events and photog- raphy exhibitions throughout Big Bear’s anniversary year, culminating with the 33rd British Jazz Awards in October 2019. After that, with any luck, it will be Business As Usual!  www.bigbearmusic.com Photos  Jim Simpson rgg Feb 2019 25 www.ryansgigguide.com