Reviews
Reviews of our recent gigs, the most recent first.
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Lianne Carroll RAFA Club 21 Oct 2008
Unusually for Coljazz, this was a Tuesday night joint promotion. A large sized crowd attended the RAFA Club to see award winning Lianne Carroll.
This pleasingly, was also for a good cause in these days of relentlessly bleak news from the media; it is lovely to see people trying to help others and in this case enable struggling young people to receive counselling. So a big collective pat on the back to all involved with the P.EA.C.H.Y charity and for those who made the night possible.
The show began with the trio consisting of Annie Chalcraft on vocals, Pete Weller on guitar and Russell Kitto on Bass. They warmed the crowd for Lianne with three standards.
An ebullient Lianne was greeted with loud applause. Apart from having a great voice, she has such a sunny disposition that strikes great empathy with the audience. She is no shrinking violet and has a stage presence that illuminates the stage.
Lianne accompanied herself on keyboards showing what an excellent pianist she is. A mixture of standards and more recent songs dominated the set although her own composition “Dublin Morning” was a stand out moment.
Her selection of newer songs consisted of a little known Tom Waits track: “ The Briar And the Rose” which transcended the original. I personally, admire an artist who can find little gems on forgotten albums. A delightful Steely Dan medley also showed this knack of hers again.
In the second set, Lianne took a back seat and accompanied the trio that had started the evening. Annie was very brave taking over lead vocals, as it must have been rather daunting. They performed a number of classic songs which culminated in a James Bond medley including Van Morrison’s “Moondance”. To my ears this sounded rather complicated, so well done all for trying.
Hopefully much money was raised, the reception received by the performers proved that everyone had enjoyed the event. It would be great if Coljazz could book Lianne for one of their Friday night gigs.
Lee Guyatt
25 October 2008
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Benn Clatworthy Quartet RAFA Club 17 October 2008
I'd heard of Clatworthy before and had a couple of albums of his that he recorded in the States. Also heard he was a bit of a "character".
So what was the gig like. In two words, bloody fantastic.
It augured well, he had an experienced and top professional rhythm section, Robin Aspland (piano), Simon Thorpe (bass) and the amazing Martin Drew (drums), however all that would have been nothing if Clatworthy hadn't been up to their standard. He was.
Starting with a burning "Giant Steps", Clatworthy whizzed through the changes. Unfortunately they hadn't quite got the sound quite right on this first number and his saxophone wasn't quite loud enough in the mix, but it was still audible enough to hear that he was an exceptional tenorist, with on this number, a strong Coltrane influence. There was a agile and forceful solo by Robin Aspland which matched Clatworthy's fire.
Benn announced that the next number would be "I get a kick out of you" and naturally enough I expected a medium bounce tempo, but the band surprised with a lovely, slow, slow, rhapsodic intro by Aspland before Benn eased into a slow delineation of the theme. Once again for me anyway, the tenor was very Tranish, but this was the Trane of the "Ballad" album. During the solos, the tempo picked up until they were swinging in a quiet subtle way. Aspland's solo was stunning with some lovely block chords. Nice bass solo from Simon easing into the theme again at the original slow tempo.
I'm not going to emote at length about every tune they played but would mention Benn's original 'Just another addiction' which was again very Coltrane Quartet influenced, with Martin cooking up an Elvin-ish storm on drums.
There was medium- up version of Monk's 'Off Minor', with another excellent, if relatively short solo by Clatworthy followed by some superb Aspland, sounding most un- Monk like.
Monks 'Pannonica' dedicated to the Baroness Konigswater, a great friend and patron to many of the great New York Jazz musicians. Excellent low register control by Benn on this, one of Monk's more affecting themes. Great solos all round on this tune.
Then straight into to Benn's closer, 'The Theme' and the first half was over.
Second half started with Coltrane's 'Lonnie's Lament'' which included a lengthy tenor/ drum exchange backed by repeated figures from piano and bass. There followed a rather too long, for me that is, unaccompanied coda by Benn, utilising multiphonics.
Other tunes heard in this second set were Horace Silver's 'Peace' which segued into a stomping jazz calypso 'Sly Mongoose' which included an absolutely sensational roaring piano solo by Robin Aspland. I'm a big fan of Aspland and have seen him a number of times but I had never heard him better than this. Tonight he was nothing short of superb, a truly remarkable jazz piano player. An added plus was that his electronic keyboard actually sounded like a piano. Nice.
Thorpe was perfect on bass, he is such an unselfish bass player and tonight he played lovely lines and he swung. Martin Drew was at his magisterial best. He always plays for the BAND and this evening his playing fully reflected that, whether it was his Elvin like aggression on the more Coltrane-like numbers or his subtle but swinging mallet work on another number, he was just the perfect drummer. As an amateur jazz drummer myself, I'm never sure after hearing Martin, whether I am inspired to get better or should I just give up and just burn my drums.
All in all it was a great evening of uncompromising modern jazz, with unfortunately a smallish audience. For those who didn't come I can tell you missed something rather special.
Don Emanuel
22 October 2008
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Derek Nash Quintet - RAFA Club 19th September 2008
Derek Nash, soprano, alto, tenor saxes, Dave Lewis, tenor sax, Carl Orr, Guitar, Pete Adams, Keyboards, Darren Farruga, drums, Winston Blissett, bass
If anyonIe bothers to look up the word “Funk” in their dictionaries, you will find it described in the musical context as unsophisticated, earthy, and soulful. It is also stated as a latest musical fashion (hardly) and kinky(!) so you can take your pick!!
Most of the audience know what they are going to get from a “Nashy” gig and he did not disappoint . The RAFA Club on 19th September had all excitement you would come to expect as Derek was in his best foot stamping form throughout the evening as he whipped up a storm with such funky classic tunes as “Put it where you want it” and the Bill Withers song “Lean On Me”
The gig WAS NOT for the fainthearted , and on Derek’s instructions, it was Loud, loud, loud!! However to prove the playlist wasn’t all funky, the band played George Benson’s “Masquerade” with a real warm tenderness that was most welcome, followed by a straight ahead take on “This I dig of You”, from the Hank Mobley songbook!
While the two saxophonists, Derek Nash and Dave Lewis took the lions share of things, guitarist Carl Orr must not be overlooked as he made a major contribution throughout, playing with great fluency and a rich variety of phrasing. Carl told me during intermission “ I started learning the guitar as a kid in Australia and although I was keen on all the current rock stars of the time, I listened a lot to records in my fathers collection by Django, Charlie Christian, and Wes of course. But later my favourite and who I revered most was John Mclaughlin and to this day I owe John a great debt in the way I now play”
As well as being a great guitarist, Carl is a composer of good tunes as witnessed by the band’s performance of a lovely bossa nova from his new CD called “Deep Down”. Excellent.
An integral member of the band was pianist Pete Adams whose dazzling fleet fingered work kept the audience quite spellbound at times and the question must be asked “has the man as many fingers as the rest of us”! Darren Farruga on drums and Winston Blissett bass provided enough funky support to keep the inspired front line musicians happy
As most people know, Derek Nash is a great communicator and quickly asked Elliot and his two colleagues from KYJO to join the band in the encore jam session. This was appreciated by both the young musicians and the audience and was an appropriate note on which to finish an evening of wonderful entertainment.
Ian Fleckney
22 September 2008
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Jo Fooks (tenor Sax) Karen Sharp (tenor/baritone Saxes) Dave Cliff (guitar) Buster Birch (drums) Amy Baldwin (bass) RAFA Club 15 August 2008
The history of jazz is littered with great saxophone partnerships, for instance Wardell Gray and Dexter Gordon from the bop era who were known for their frenzied tenor sax battles. Then followed the wonderful collaboration between Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, which started in the early fifties and continued well into the seventies on many inspired gigs and recordings that still influences jazz musicians today.
So the audience at the RAFA Club on Friday 15th August were able to witness a brand new sax partnership between ex Humph stars Karen Sharp and Jo Fooks, whose fluent but muscular solos combined together in a programme stamped with direction and energy few could match. Their playing was always sure footed and they were happy to lock horns on anything from standards, ballads and some intriguing tunes composed by Jo Fooks. In fact her tunes always had unusual titles to them such as “Faffin”, “Song for Sid” and even “Bums on Seats”. Asked about this during the break Jo said “ I call my compositions the first thing that comes into my head” It must be a Scottish thing!!!
Karen Sharp showed that she was equally at home on baritone sax on the Mulligan tune “Line for Lyons” where the tenor/baritone pairing really came into its own on this tribute to the great man himself. Their interplay was truly sublime and the performance lifted to a higher level that the audience clearly appreciated. One of the highlights was another original by Jo called” Dr No Blues” where the influence and feel of New Orleans was unmistakable in the music. Spurred along by some wonderful rhythmic drumming by Buster Birch, the band was soon swinging mightily in a bluesy groove that at its conclusion the crowd reaction nearly brought the house down. Great stuff.
The success of the gig was due in no small measure to the excellent guitar work by Dave Cliff, whose melodic solo work was a joy to hear. With the addition of Buster Birch on drums and Amy Baldwin on bass, the band was guaranteed to swing along like mad, with both supporting the front line at all times.
Coljazz must be given credit for organising yet another great jazz gig and it was most appropriate that one half of this organisation, Shirley Smith, had a tune composed for her by Jo called “One for Shirley”, it was a swinger as well and much appreciated by everyone.
Just to add iceing on the cake, I was told by Karen and Jo that there is a strong possibility they will form a permanent band next year and so will have an opportunity of playing together on a regular basis. Great news for the UK jazz scene. Let us hope there will be a further Coljazz gig by this great line up sometime in the future, they will be most welcome.
Ian Fleckney
PS This is true! At the time Dave Cliff went to Leeds College of Music to study jazz guitar in the 1960’s, jazz was still rather a dirty word in the academic world. Therefore at the end of his studies, his diploma said that he had completed the course studying “Light Music”!! Thank goodness the world of music has changed for the better these days.
18 August 2008
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Wow! Wow! Wow!
Simon Bates – Harry Harris
Good Intent – Rochester 1st August 2008
Well it sure as hell wasn’t hard bop, so what was it. It was just simply two consummate, eclectic musicians having a great time, as did we.
I was familiar with Simon’s playing, no tenor this time, just alto, clarinet and flute. I had obviously heard of Harry but hadn’t actually heard his playing before. OK he ain’t Bill Evans or Oscar Peterson but he is an absolutely incredible piano player who seemed set on us enjoying ourselves. Unusually for me I didn’t make a note of the tunes they played, but that was also eclectic and at times unusual for a jazz gig.
What we heard wasn’t all strictly jazz but it was played by two musicians who were fully aware of the jazz vocabulary and therefore almost everything they played was imbued with a jazz sensibility. For instance they played a Gershwin Medley which started off with the well known clarinet intro to “Rhapsody in Blue"” and segued into other Gershwin pieces, I think there was “I Got Rhythm” in there and “Strike up the Band” and some other Gershwin favourites. What it was, even if it wasn’t strictly all jazz, was masterful. This was a piece that they had obviously worked on, no charts in sight all evening. These guys are so familiar with each others playing that it was like they were an extension of each other. Having seen nearly sixty years of live jazz I don’t think I’ve ever before seen two musicians who were so attuned to each others playing. Not only was it musically superb, they made it enormous fun.
Someone (it was Bunny) asked for Brubecks “Blue Rondo a’la Turk”. I expected them to say “sod off” but they didn’t, they instead played a Brubeck medley which included that tune as well as “Take Five”. I was amazed at Simon on this, because his playing was a giant nod towards Paul Desmond, without any slavish copying. Beautiful.
Other highlights were an uproarious ragtime opening by Harry to the second set, in which he ran through a number of ragtime pieces at a ridiculously fast tempo, including a piece I had heard Winifred Attwell play (but not nearly as well) in about 1950.
Asking for requests towards the end, I shouted out for Bill Evan’s “Waltz for Debby” and Colin for “Sweet Georgia Brown”, so they played them both. Harry’s solo on “Debby” brilliantly and subtly hinted at the “Georgia Brown” to come. A knockout performance.
I could go on all night about this gig, it really was that exceptional an evening of music making. One more thing, I’ve mentioned before about my trepidation at bands not having a rhythm section, there can be a lack of pulse and swing. Not here, Harry plays so much piano that I really cannot think how a bass player and drummer would have made this gig any better or for that matter, swing more.
So thanks guys, it was a fun, thought provoking and inspiring evening of music making. I loved it and so did the modest crowd. You who didn’t come missed a fantastic gig.
Don Emanuel
1 August 2008
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RAFA Club 18th July - Geoff Eales Quartet
Geoff Eales Piano, Michael Coates Saxes, Mark Fletcher Drums, Paul Morgan Bass.
Geoff Eales arrived at the RAFA gig on 18th July with a big reputation. Not only had he recently released his 7th CD, it was well known that he is guaranteed to excite the audience with an eclectic array of piano styles and dazzling improvisations. This Welsh wizard did not disappoint and with head swinging madly from side to side, this wonderful musician indulged everyone with a program of standards, ballads and originals, few others could match.
From the lively opener “It’s You or No One” and the swinging “Like Someone in Love” to his lyrical take on the lovely tune “My Romance” and bossa treatment of Jobim’s “Trieste”, Geoff Eales upstaged everyone with his magical solos. Sometimes short and snappy, and then running riot with tumbling runs and leaps into the unknown. However, one of more poignant moments came during the trios “Alice in Wonderland”, a tribute to Geoff’s musical hero Bill Evans, where his sensitive interpretation touched new heights of inventiveness.
For this gig, the trio was supported by the superb Canadian saxophonist Michael Coates, whose influence of the late great Dexter Gordon was all apparent, especially through “Body and Soul” and then on soprano playing “Polka Dots and Moonbeams. Michael’s measured straight ahead tenor lines were the perfect foil to Geoff’s tour de force piano work. Mark Fletcher’s drumming was quite superb all the evening, being both aggressive and sensitive as the tune demanded, while Paul Morgan’s bass underpinned everything the other musicians had to say. His solos were not bad either!
A steaming “Doxy” featuring the dynamic Mr Fletcher and finally “Billie’s Bounce” wound up an exciting evening of great jazz. Do not miss the Geoff Eales trio when they come back to the Brook Theatre Chatham on 4th November. On this showing it should be a sell out.
Ian Fleckney
22 July 2008
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Steve Waterman Quintet.
RAFA Club 16 May 2008
Steve Waterman – trumpet, Dave O’Higgins – saxophone, Nick Weldon – piano Andrew Cleyndert – bass
Clark Tracey – drums.
Coljazz has hosted many memorable nights of top quality music, but this gig was possibly the best of the bunch. Yes, the RAFA was the place to be to witness outstanding performances from the front line of Steve Waterman and Dave O’Higgins and backed up by one of the best rhythm sections around of Messrs. Weldon, Tracey and Cleyndert.
Benny Golson’s writing took pride of place and his tunes gave the band just the right platform on which to stamp their musical personalities. Kicking off with two of his compositions “Blues after Dark” and “Stablemates”, they gave everyone a chance to show off their brilliant improvisational skills with the trumpet player leading from the front with his open brassy lines and then breaking out with his trademark octave leaps into the higher register. Dave O’Higgins tenor sax concentrated on artful sinewy and skilful phrases, which together with the rich deep sound of his hero Dexter Gordon, confirmed he is one of the best contemporary players around today
Steve Waterman’s own composition “Destination Unknown” threw up a real jaw dropping moment as his long extended solo incorporated the great skill of circular breathing. Saxophonists Jimmy Hastings and Andy Sheppard are well known for this, but a trumpet player? Asked about this at the interval, Steve said “ I have been practicing this technique for a long time, but I cannot put into words how it is done” Nor much help then, but my colleague local trumpeter Bill Robinson came up with a succinct answer “Just think of how a glassblower plies his trade and there you have the technique for circular breathing” Not a lot of people know that!!
Steve Waterman’s lyrical side was fully extended as he took the lead in Golson’s wonderful tune “I remember Clifford”, in memory of the late Clifford Brown, playing the melody with beautiful control and passion and it came to this writer that alongside “Round Midnight”, this is probably THE definitive jazz ballad of all time.
Andy Cleyndert came into his own laying down a solid bass groove on “Whisper Not” while an up tempo “Cantalope Island” gave pianist Nick Weldon a chance to play some scintillating piano that showed that he too, is one of the best around. Of course there had to be an encore and “Blues March” proved a winner, with Clark Tracey playing through the whole gamut of drum roles and rhythmic patterns to support the soloists. There was even an outbreak of “Sing along a Rafa” again from the audience that proved everyone was going home happy. It must be emphasised once again how well the rhythm section played, with the bass work of Andy quite sensational with his full round sound and impeccable timing, coupled with Clark and Nick showing they are indeed world class musicians. A great night all round.
Ian Fleckney
22 May 2008
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Alan Barnes All Stars
RAFA Club - 18 April 2008
Alan Barnes- Alto/Baritone Saxes, Enrico Tomasso-Trumpet, Mark Nightingale-Trombone. John Horler-Piano, Bobby Worth-Drums, Andy Cleyndert-Bass.
The phrase “All Stars” may not be as hip as it once was, but make no mistake, these “All Stars”, brilliantly led by Alan Barnes, were truly just that. The large crowd at the RAFA Club on Friday 18th April were treated to an excellent session and one where every member of the band was a virtuoso of his instrument in both their solo work and as a rock solid band unit. Enrico Tomasso was particularly inspired leading from the front with his Roy Eldridge influenced trumpet work. Not only did he have a wide range on his instrument, his solos reached out from charming simplicity to high energy levels of improvisation that usually ended up in the trumpet stratosphere! When i complimented Enrico on his performance during the interval, he said “ I enjoy playing across all styles of jazz. Although i grew up playing Dixieland and Swing, i also leaned to love the post war greats such as Brownie, Miles and Lee Morgan. They all have had an influence on my playing” Amen to all that.
Down to their play list. The evening began with the appropriate Gershwin tune “Strike up the band” with Barnesy bubbling along superbly on baritone sax and which also gave everyone a chance to get into their stride. Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” gave pianist John Horler the chance to shine- he is quite simply one of the best in the business and his solos are always full of ideas and execution. “Emily” slowed down the tempo with a lilting waltz time introduction by Alan Barnes on alto.
Those of us who know Alan Barnes' self deprecating humour will appreciate his remarks when introducing “There will never be another You” when he pointed to John Horler saying “You are the welsh sheep farmer” while “ the good looking Andy Cleyndart is the Yew” Groans all round!
“Good Bait” by Tadd Dameron, or as it was introduced “ Scotlands finest Tadd Cameron”, provided the band a chance to produce a tight ensemble sound with again, great solos all round. Then a surprise package for the audience as Enricco introduced a vocal number called “A pocket full of Dreams”. This was a tune sung years ago by Bing Crosby and he sang it just to prove that crooning was still in style, but this time, embellished by some restrained and lyrical trumpet playing . Excellent. A request by Shirley for “Times a Wasting” got the band into a shuffling Ellingtonion mood with Bobby Worth;s drums keeping everyone in strict time. It also gave John Horler another opportunity to show off his “Dukish” side! Following an introduction from trumpet and drums, the band swung into a feature for trombonist Mark Nightingale called “ Limehouse Blues”. His take on this old war horse was fast and furious and ideas poured out of his instrument in an inventive flood. What a player.
At this point, it must be said that the trio of John Horler, Bobby Worth and Andy Cleyndert were excellent and all evening gave everything in supporting the front line musicians.
Coljazz must be given a huge pat on the back for organising such an “all Star” collaboration to play at the RAFA Club, and especially to Alan Barnes who held the crowd in his palm, whether playing his instruments or providing many humorous moments during the session. As Alan said “ What more could you want – playing with musical friends and just having a ball”. Yes Alan, thanks a million.
One final thought, when asked what advice he had to give the young KYJO musicians who again played brilliantly during the reception and the interval to further their careers Alan said “ If you continue to practice hard and have good luck, in 30 years time you will be as skint as i am” Nuff said!
Ian Fleckney
19 April 2008
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Andra Sparks Quintet. RAFA Club
21 March 2008
Andra Sparks (voice)
Nick Weldon (piano and arrangements)
Art Themen (tenor and soprano saxes)
Jeff Clyne (bass)
Trevor Tomkins (drums)
Wow!!!!
I wasn't familiar with Andra's work, other than a few snippets I'd heard on the web. BUT I did know the work of the guys in the band as they are simply legends of the British Jazz scene. So worth the visit just to hear them AND Nick Weldon is just one of my favourite pianists from anywhere.
So what was it like. Firstly it wasn't just a vocalist with jazz accompaniment. This was a band. The superb arrangements were by Nick Weldon and a great deal of care was taken to envelop every song with something meaningful behind and around the vocalising.
The choice of songs was exemplary.
The gig started with a medium tempo "Weaver of dreams" with Jeff soloing on bass. Jeff really is one of the true bass masters, great sound, lovely lines. This was followed by nice solos by Nick on piano and then Art on tenor.
There really wasn't a lackluster performance in the two sets we heard. Highlights for me were a lovely "Skylark" with an affecting vocal plus some iconoclastic tenor from Art sounding like a mad cross between Stan Getz and Albert Ayler. There were some strange sounds coming from the speakers during Jeff's inspired solo on this tune, which Nick advised afterwards was Jeff getting in touch with the "other side".
"Cheek to cheek" had swinging Andra plus stomping piano from NIck then some exciting eights between Art and drummer Trevor Tomkins.
Andra exposed her vocal abilities with just bass and drum accompaniment on "Just Squeeze Me" and was not found wanting.
Apart from the excellent choice of standards, Andra and Nick found some un- hackneyed material Bob Dorough's "Small day tomorrow", Pat Metheny's "Question & Answer", Wolf and Landesman's "Ballad of the sad young men" and Kenny Wheeler's "For Jan".
An absolute knockout was Nick Weldon's inspired replacement lyrics to the most male chauvinist lyrics ever penned "Girl Talk", for this evening called "Man Talk". Absolutely brilliant and very funny.
All of the musicians showed why they are so revered in the jazz world, absolute artistry. Nick's sensitive and then stomping piano, often in the same tune. Jeff's superb pulse, choice of notes and swing and Trevor's subtle but driving drums (as a sort of drummer myself, I wanted to go home and burn my kit after this display of percussion mastery). Art Themen was just Art, identifiable within two bars and always the "sound of surprise".
Finally how about Andra Sparks. Firstly she has a great instrument (voice) plus her phrasing was immaculate and she sang perfectly in tune. She made the lyrics come alive, she was both affecting and emotional.
In addition, she was an effective, warm leader. She kept us informed about what she was going to be singing in a friendly conversational way and the audience really warmed to her approach.
All in all a knockout evening of inventive and satisfying music.
Thanks guys.
Don Emanuel
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Derek Nash with Level 4 ( Elliot Galvin keyboard, Ben Pierce Guitar, Matt Jones Drums, Richard Coughlan bass)
RAFA Club 15th February 2008
This was the first gig of the year from Coljazz and the RAFA club was bulging at the seams on 15th February with the audience waiting in anticipation and feeling that something special was going to happen. Combining the old pro. Jazzer ( excuse the phrase) with a fledgling group of young musicians from KYJO was to many, likened to everyone diving into the deep end without knowing who will sink or swim. With the old pro being multi reedman Derek Nash the evening was bound to be a success, but as he said to the crowd “ This evening wasn’t achieved without a lot of hard work and i have rehersed more for this than any other gig. The lads have thrown serious stuff at me just to find out if i was up to it!” And the band was definitely up for it, whether it was straight ahead jazz or the more funky stuff. Everyone found their own groove with Derek encouraging each musician on their improvisational solo round.
During the interval Elliot told me “ Thelonious Monk is one of my favourite composers, but i enjoy putting my own slant on certain tunes of his and just see how they come out. I also like throwing around ideas on the piano and sometimes a new tune emerges. Its all great fun” And these points were brilliantly illustrated with his own composition Try it again and a latin arrangement of Monk’s I Mean You.
Whether the tunes played during the evening were composed by Grover Washington, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock or Victor Feldman, Elliot, Ben,Matt and Richard played with a true professional approach, great ability on their instruments and perhaps more importantly with every respect for the music. Their background of playing regularly with KYJO means their musical strengths are always being tested, but perhaps not as much as tonight with their first gig with Nashy. They came through so well and it was good to see many friends from their band and their school came along to support them. Perhaps some will return to the RAFA for other gigs, we hope so. Derek Nash once again proved to be a perfect foil and told them to go full steam ahead in their musical ambitions. Hopefully they can all do it again sometime, if so we will be there
Ian
Steve Waterman/ Matt Wates Quintet
16th November 2007
No doubt about it, if the Coljazz RAFA Club sessions continue to attract top jazz musicians to play at the venue and are regularly appreciated by a capacity crowd, then there is no reason why it cannot become one of the top jazz venues in the South East of England.
At the session on 16th November, Matt Wates told me he has known Steve Waterman for nearly 20 years now and when they meet up on stage, it's still as exciting for them as playing for the first time together all those years ago. In fact he said playing with Steve was “ just like wearing an old pair of slippers” Work that out! However later on when speaking about his musical influences, Matt spoke lovingly about the Art Pepper and Cannonball Adderley LP’s he listened to so enthusiastically and perhaps more surprisingly that his biggest influence was Stan Getz. He was certainly right about the G factor, especially in the opener “Alone Together” where Matt’s liquid tone and cool approach emulated perfectly the Getz early recordings of the 40s and 50’s. So comment proven.
“Joyspring” by Clifford Brown found favour with the crowd and their take on the Miles Davis masterpiece “All Blues” was noted for a wonderful section where only the double bass of Simon Thorpe underpinned Steve’s Miles influenced trumpet solo perfectly.
Steve Waterman’s trumpet usually favours a more extrovert approach and he constantly enjoys ripping it up in a flurry of notes and occasional stratospheric phrases. However on his ballad feature “I thought about you” his performance was a model of constraint and restrained intensity and for many listening created just the right mood.
The young musicians from KYJO joined the band for a jam session on “Blue Trane” and it was good to see trumpeter Phil Dias joining them. He is also from KYJO and he adds his weight to Elliot, Richard and Chris in bringing a breath of fresh air in to the local scene. Not only to the RAFA but now in other local venues such as the Eagle Tavern and the Roffen Club. Everyone hopes their experience of playing with professional jazz musicians will help them along their musical paths and chosen careers.
And what about the new trend starting at the club - not sing-a long- a max or even the sound of music, but sing- a-long- bebop!! Yes voices were heard raised singing along to the opening lines of “Good Bait” and the encore “Blue Monk”. Its a sure fire guarantee that Messrs. Dameron and Monk were smiling down approvingly at these moments from their musical heaven! I am not suggested that the singing was due to influence of alcohol but you cannot but wonder!
Finally the backing trio was superb. John Donaldson is known as one of the most exciting jazz pianists around. His sense of swing, inventive solos and support for the front line was excellent and confirmed his rightful place as first call pianist for many top jazz groups, not only the UK, but around the world. Simon Thorpe and Dave Barry completed the rhythm section and provided a strong and sympathetic back up at all times.
There is now a break at the RAFA Club gigs for a couple of months, starting again on 15th February 2008 with Derek Nash and the young musicians from KYJO. Cannot Wait.
Ian.
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Stan Robinson / Geoff Castle Duo, Good Intent 2nd November 2007
I was first introduced to tenorist Stan Robinson in the late fifties at the original Ronnie Scott's Club in Gerrard Street by a drummer aquaintance of mine, Pete Baker (later to become the famed drummer in Cream, Ginger Baker). Stan was then one of the young lions of the British Jazz scene along with fellow tenorist, the late lamented Dick Morrissey. That was many years ago and in the intervening years Stan has served the British scene well, appearing with Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Maynard Ferguson, Francy Boland and the Charlie Watts Big Band to name but a few. He has also appeared many times at the new Ronnie's with his own quartet featuring his duo partner for this evening, Geoff Castle.
Geoff has appeared with Nucleus, Paz, NYJO, Graham Collier, Sax Appeal and American Jazz Stars George Coleman, Jimmy Guiffre, James Moody and Art Farmer.
So both have had illustrious careers in the jazz world, would tonights gig match up to those careers?. Firstly Stan at 71 years young has the playing enthusiasm of a man half his age. He has a very big sound, with a superb lower register, but then Stan uses the whole range of the horn, no wispy effete tenor sound here, this was a man's sound, tough, muscular and full. He is a bebopper and his sound and ideas reflect that. Geoff on his Yamaha electric piano was the first duo musician that I've heard at the Good Intent to use the lower end of his instrument to simulate a bass player, and this for me added a great deal to the performance. Often with a horn and keyboard duo you can't but help missing the rhythm section, but Geoff's playing of the bass line helped largely to avoid that with this duo.
Geoff is a creative player and does not play cliches and you could hear Stan voice his approval several times during the procedings at many of Castle's turns of phrase. An excellent, thoughtful and exciting pianist.
Tunes were imaginative, jazz standards such as, Paradox, Milestones (not, as Stan pointed out the Kind of Blue tune but an earlier Miles one), Bebop, Minority, Eternal Triangle, Joe Henderson's Recorda Mi, my favourite Gillespie tune the lovely Con Alma, a couple of Geoff's imaginative originals and some of the American Song book. This included a truly exquisite ballad reading of "For Heavens sake", for me the best thing in the whole evening. Close to this quality was Stan's playing on a lovely Vic Feldman ballad "Falling in love" (a tune of Feldman's that I had never heard before, and I'm a massive fan of Feldman's writing) on which there was a distinct touch of Getz-like sound and melodicism. It just goes to show that a committed bebopper like Stan can play ballads equal to anybody.
It was obvious that Stan and Geoff had played together many times and that they had a musical and personal empathy that is often sadly missing on our jazz scene.
Thanks guys for a stimulating evening of music making, shame there weren't more people there to appreciate it.
Don
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RAFA Club, Dock Road Chatham Kent.
!9th October 2007 Derek Nash - Cameron Pierre Band.
Speaking to the Dominican born guitarist Cameron Pierre in the break about the gig, he said “Yes, Derek called me to join him tonight and i am enjoying every minute. This the first time we have played together and it seems as if we are playing as one”. Cameron was pleased with the big crowd and the atmosphere it created. He added “ we need more jazz venues like this and I wish it every success in the future. Amen to that.
It seemed that the band had agreed to a “no need to warm up philosophy “ as they raced at 100mph into the boppish Monk opener "Straight no Chaser", yes it was light the blue touch paper and stand back time, fierce solos to get the crowd in the mood. A swinging "Just Friends" added to the flavour while the slow "Body and Soul" gave Cameron the opportunity to show his skills with a beautifully honed Russell Malone influenced solo that fitted the mood perfectly. Following shouts from the audience of “get your baritone out”, Derek duly obliged with a forceful "In a Mellowtone", while at the same time swinging his instrument up and down in time with his improvisations. He must get plenty of practice doing this with Jools Holland!
Not only is Cameron a brilliant technician, he can play blues guitar with the best as he demonstrated on Sweets Blues. It was as if the great B.B. King was on stage. The audience loved it of course.
The band was joined in a funky version of "Watermelon Man" by KYJO musicians Elliott on Keyboard and Richard on Bass. They are now part of the furniture at the RAFA playing the reception jazz role and their contribution to the Watermelon cause was near comparable to the track on Herbie Hancocks Head Hunters famous album. Great solos from them as well as inspired ones by the main men.
Requested by Colin "Ain’t no sunshine" became the closing tune. Derek must have played this many times but on this gig every soulful note was played with a passion rarely heard these days, it was a wonderful note on which to close the show.
The front line was most ably backed up and supported by Martin James-piano, Phil Laslett-drums and Andy Wall bass
All in all a great gig and enjoyed I'm sure, by everyone present.
Ian
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Friday 5th October 2007 Good Intent - Jo Fooks (tenor saxophone) Ted Beament (piano)
Not sure what to expect on this gig, from Jo's website she sounded like another competent tenor player. Should be a reasonable evening!. Wow, was I in for a surprise. First Jo's sound on tenor. Full, and mellifluous with a sound that had distinct touches of the late great Zoot Sims. Both her lower and upper registers were full and round and projected beautifully even without a microphone. We then had a two excellent sets of superb jazz tenor, whizzing through the usual standard repertoire along with a very melodic and appealing original "One for Sid". The enthusiastic crowd demanded two encores.
Her pianist for the evening was fellow Humphrey Lyttleton member, Ted Beament. To call him an accompanist was to slight him. He was on towering form, spurring and supporting Jo with a great bass line and comping beautifully. When it came to his solos, he was magnificent. Exciting single lines, block chords, parallel lines and rollicking stride. He really is a very rounded pianist. I almost said the last of the two handed piano players but I'm sure there are more out there, I just haven't heard them lately. This wasn't Jo with accompanist; this was a merging of musical friends and minds.
Another plus - the tunes were relatively short, no ten minute extended blowing, this was, say your piece in a chorus or two, get off and over to the other player. Then at other times at the ends of tunes, eights, fours, and out, unusual but effective, Plus we got through some great tunes. I personally could have done without another version of Bye Bye Blackbird, but the crowd obviously loved it.
All in all an excellent evening of excellent jazz, with the musicians seemingly enjoying it as much as the audience. Plus both of them seemed to be really nice people, which sure as hell doesn't hurt.
Jo and Ted, come back soon.
Don
These are some of the bands that have appeared for Coljazz presentations
Dave Lewis Funk BandJazz Funk Spectacular
Johnny Boston - Sax & Vocals - Pete Whittaker - Organ
Quentin Collins Quartet
Derek Nash Duo
Simon Spillett Quartet-Tribute to Tubby Hayes
Steve Parkin - TromboneMartin James - Piano
Greg Abate & Alan Barnes Quintet
Dave Quincy - Sax - Kenny Shaw - Guitar
Gilad Atzmon Quartet
The Derek Nash & Snake Davis QuintetJazz-Funk Band
Simon Bates - SaxPaul Harry Harris - Piano
Alex Garnett & Brandon Allen Quintet
Christine Tobin Quartet featuring Phil Robson - Guitar
Steve Parkin Quintet