Steve said:

For all the right reasons, it is a struggle to articulate the sensation caused by Theo Travis’ Doubletalk as they returned to Fleece Jazz for the first time in just over seven years. The music was an emotional rollercoaster and, at times, completely overwhelming in its intensity. Judging from the wild applause, as well as the whoops and the cries of delight from our highly appreciative audience after almost every number, I was far from alone in feeling this way.

The gospel-tinged organ sound of Pete Whittaker that introduced the first number, ‘Ascending’, soon opens up for Theo Travis to weave his magic on soprano sax with the central, haunting melody followed by the first of many stunning and enrapturing guitar solos from Mike Outram. Throughout, the driving beat from Nic France’s drums sets the pulse racing and the sheer joy on his face as he looks to his fellow musicians reflects how many of us feel and reminds us of how patently aware the band are of each other’s musical thoughts.  The pace doesn’t let up with ‘Fire Mountain’, inspired by a volcanic national park on the Canary Islands. The tempo is ramped up even further as organ and drums set the rhythm with guitar mirroring the runs on tenor sax with excoriating energy. Fittingly, the band seemed truly on fire! The pace then eases for the lovely ballad, ‘Shore Thing’, which featured a memorable solo from Mike’s guitar. Somewhat of a departure for the band, but completely in tune with Theo’s influences, is Pharoah Sanders’ ‘The Creator Has A Master Plan’ with Theo’s flute-playing featuring for the first time this evening. Sanders’ tune was a kind of sequel to his mentor John Coltrane’s legendary 1964 recording ‘A Love Supreme’ and has the same spiritual feeling, which comes across superbly from the quartet before leading seamlessly into Floating Points’ ‘Peroration Six’. The first set concludes with the title track of the quartet’s second album, ‘Transgression’, another longform piece of progressive music in the jazz idiom, a heady mix that ticks all the boxes – jazz, rock and prog. As with all the numbers played this evening, there is a rigorous musicality beneath the sound and fury.

The second set kicks off with a piece by The Beatles’ record producer, George Martin, made famous by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, ‘Theme One’. The piece develops into a catchy anthem concluding with Outram sparring with Travis. One of Theo’s older numbers, ‘Lulworth Night’, features an inspiring solo from Whittaker who elsewhere largely binds the sound of the whole band with a sublety that gives free rein to the more ecstatic contributions of Outram and Travis. ‘Freedom Coda’ is a reworking of ‘Freedom’ and ‘Song for Samuel’ is a joyous, vivacious tribute to Theo’s son. Another prog-rock-jazz epic, ‘A Place In The Queue’ once again features Pete Whittaker resplendent on keys as he mixes Larry Young-style modal jazz into the overall sound and does so once again on the much demanded encore, ‘The Relegation of Pluto’, fittingly introduced with otherworldly sounds from the organ which crystallised into a funky, swampy sound, before the sax, guitar and drums resumed.

We want them back soon.

Dave said:

I loved this show for all the reasons that Steve recorded above. For techies, I can say that it was great fun to run the sound desk for this one. The prime job was to keep Theo in front when he was soloing. His tenor came to me directly from a mic. The flute and soprano used his mic, which was connected to a stomp box connected to me. These two instruments needed different volume and reverb changes, which were also dependent on the volume of the other four. That kept me hopping. The nice thing was that the technology was used with delicacy and relevance. Nice.

For me, the favourite bit of the gig was Mike and Theo trading 4’s, and them all trading with Nic. “Polyrhythms Are Us”.I

In three weeks time, we have the return of the wonderful Norwegian piano trio, the Oddgeir Berg Trio, with Audun Ramo on bass and  Lars Berntsen on drums. We loved them when they were here last. Don’t miss them.

Take care,

Dave

SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 24/7/2

All compositions by Theo Travis except for 4 and 6

1. Ascending
2. Fire Mountain
3. Shore Thing
4. The Creator Has A Master Plan (Pharoah Sanders and Leon Thomas) / Peroration Six (Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points)
5. Transgression

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Theme One (George Martin)
7. Lulworth Night
8. Freedom Coda
9. Everything I Feared 
10. Song for Samuel
11. A Place In The Queue

Encore: The Relegation of Pluto

In tribute to the 1958 “West Coast Cool” recording of the Cal Tjader and Stan Getz sextet, Mark Crooks and Nat Steele treated us to an enjoyable selection of jazz standards and Tjader originals.  Mark described what we heard from the first three numbers as a “listenable dynamic” with a “lack of racket” and indeed it was; a welcome antidote to what was taking place simultaneously in Dortmund. Bracing and calming like the best of West Coast, the album itself is a hidden gem and a real cool classic with a simply incredible line-up including pianist Vince Guaraldi, guitarist Eddie Duran, bassist Scott La Faro and drummer Billy Higgins. 

The jaunty “Ginza Samba” sets the scene with nimble and imaginative contributions from all soloists. Nat Steele is a vigorous, resourceful performer who demonstrated his wizardry on vibes throughout the evening – all eyes were on his speed and dexterity as he took each solo, including those of compere and fellow frontman, Mark Crooks. Like Getz and Tjader, the warm, silky sound of Mark’s tenor blended effortlessly with Nat’s vibes, especially on the beautiful ballad, “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face”. Both frontmen showed an ability to switch from lyric smoothness as on the waltz, “Liz-Anne” and “For All We Know” to gutsy swing as on “Ginza Samba”, “Big Bear” and “Crow’s Nest”. 

Cole Porter’s “Get Out of Town”, which Mark wryly dedicated to former members of the cabinet, was performed as a quartet with Nat and Mátyás sitting out for this one number, allowing us to witness a superb, tight interplay between the tenor and rhythm section. The liquid, bluesy sound of Colin Oxley’s guitar, Jeremy Brown’s extraordinary agility across the whole range of the bass (especially on Tjader’s beautiful waltz, “Liz-Anne”) and Mark Taylor’s versatility of style were present across both sets.

We finished with “Parker 51”, a number covered most famously by Stan Getz and based on the changes of Bird’s “Cherokee”, the most animated (frenetic?) tune heard all evening that gave every band member an opportunity to demonstrate their agile technique and featured a rousing drum solo from Mark Taylor.

A final word on our pianist, Mátyás Gayer, who played a key role throughout both sets .  His solos were thoughtful, always gentle, appropriate to the West Coast cool. His obligato though came out of intense listening to his colleagues, very fine.

The next gig has the return of Theo Travis (tenor sax) with organist Pete Whittaker, Mike Outram on guitar, and Nic France on drums. The passion and flow of ideas will amaze you. We hope to see you on Wednesday July 24.

Take care,

Steve

CAL TJADER-STAN GETZ SEXTET ALBUM TRIBUTE

SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 10/7/24

1. Ginza Samba (Vince Guaraldi)
2. Liz-Anne (Cal Tjader)
3. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Loewe/Lerner)
4. Get Out Of Town (Cole Porter)
5. Crow’s Nest (Cal Tjader)

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Fried Bananas (Dexter Gordon)
7. For All We Know (J. Fred Coots)
8. Speak Low (Kurt Weill) 
9. Big Bear (Cal Tjader)
10. Nobody Else But Me (Jerome Kern)
11. Parker 51 (Jimmy Raney)

Steve says:

Fletch’s Brew – it doesn’t take much imagination to guess how they got their name but rarely has a band been so accurately defined by it.  What we had last night was, indeed, a heady intoxicating brew, a melting pot of musical genres ranging from electric blues to jazz-funk and jazz-rock, creating the much-maligned jazz-fusion sound that originated in the late 1960s and was probably made most famous by Miles Davis with Bitches Brew.

The impact of the band’s sound took some getting used to as they treated us to an aural rollercoaster-ride through the first number, Pat Metheny’s “Timeline”: the clash of Mark Fletcher’s cymbals overlaid by the funky grooves of Jim Watson’s electric piano and Steve Pearce’s electric bass set the scene before Freddie Gavita and Paul Stacey on electric trumpet and electric guitar, respectively, traded bars to create an exhilarating “wall of sound”. The second number, a funky arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s “Beauty and the Beast” has become an ever-welcome signature tune for the band and John Scofield’s “Peculiar” was highly appreciated by several members of our audience who couldn’t resist moving to the funky beat.

Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” (an elegy for Lester Young) brought the tempo and the volume down and allowed for a moment of sad contemplation and reflection which was enhanced magnificently by Paul Stacey’s guitar adding an element of keening electric blues. Mark Fletcher mentioned that Joni Mitchell later covered the song on her album, Mingus. Those in the know may have recalled her added lyrics which highlighted the racism experienced by Lester, not least due to his mixed-race marriage.

In his arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s “Fat Albert Rotunda”, featuring more evidence of the virtuosity of each band member, Freddie Gavita uses trumpet and pedal effects to such impressive effect and did so once again to overlay electronic sci-fi sounds on Shorter’s “Footprints” in the second set.  In direct contrast, the beautiful ballad, “Infant Eyes”, also by Shorter provided another oasis of calm before the tempo was ramped up with Ornette Coleman’s “Law Years” (“feel free to join in if you know it!” quipped Fletch).

Joshua Redman Elastic Band’s driving and punchy “Greasy G” featured Jim Watson and Steve Pearce laying down some deep grooves combined with jazz harmony on electric piano and electric bass before Freddie Gavita took the lead on Freddie Hubbard’s “Birdlike”. 

I haven’t mentioned Mark Fletcher anything like as much as I should have. Mark can do all-guns blazing, animated pyrotechnics on his drumkit as effectively as he can do restrained, quiet contemplation with sensitive brushwork as he did on “Infant Eyes”. He is incredibly energetic, fast and highly co-ordinated as he creates some seemingly complex rhythms that anchor and complement the other musicians. It truly is Fletch’s Brew.

Dave says:

Steve has said most of what I thought of this amazing gig. Fire and soul from Mark Fletcher on drums, Freddie Gavita on trumpet, flugel and stomp-box, Jim Watson on keyboard, Paul Stacey on electric guitar, and on Steve Pearce on bass guitar. Both guitarists had their own stomp-boxes, but Freddie’s was a wonder to behold. He used it for the trumpet and produced amazing sounds as well as clear trumpet, but the flugel was on a simple mic, and sounded great.

I thought that after the Bill Evans gig two weeks ago, with Mark on delicate, intricate brushwork, that we would have an evening of total wow this time. The wow was there in spades, diamonds and heart. But the quiet brushwork was there too, in “Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat” and “Infant Eyes”.

It was fascinating to me that even at the volume that the guys produced, the individual instruments were not hidden, as often happens when the volume is high. Underneath the solos, the obligato was both one distinct sound, but you could hear the interesting things that the backing guys did, and how they interacted with each other.

That interaction was vital. It was clear that the band were having the time of their lives up there. Mark’s arrangements left a ton of room for trading, cross-rhythms and counterpoint, and other fun stuff.

On July 10th, we have a superb tribute to the Cal Tjader/Stan Getz Sextet. It is led by Nat Steele on vibes and Mark Crooks on tenor, with Colin Oxley on guitar, pianist Matyas Gayer, bassist Jeremy Brown and Mark Taylor on drums. Do join us. It will be a lovely evening

Take care,

Dave

“FLETCH’S BREW” SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 26/6/24

1. Timeline (Pat Metheny)
2. Beauty and the Beast (Wayne Shorter)
3. Peculiar (John Scofield)
4. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Charles Mingus)
5. Fat Albert Rotunda (Herbie Hancock)

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Young and Fine (Josef Zawinul)
7. Footprints (Wayne Shorter)
8. Infant Eyes (Wayne Shorter) 
9. Law Years (Ornette Coleman)
10. Greasy G (Joshua Redman)
11. Birdlike (Freddie Hubbard)

Steve says:

Adrian York’s passion for the music of Bill Evans was very much in evidence as he presented an overview of the tortured soul and creative genius, from his early work as leader in 1956 with the album New Jazz Conceptions up until his premature death in 1980. 

Each number was interspersed with biographical details of Bill’s life and work, as well as the changing line-up of the trio from its early days. Several members of our audience appreciated having the development of Bill’s work put into context, along with the odd amusing anecdote.

The repertoire varied from the aching beauty and delicacy of Waltz for Debby, My Foolish Heart and Peace Piece (the latter drawing appreciative gasps from the audience) to the swinging, uptempo rendition of Autumn Leaves and Stella by Starlight reminding us of the influence of Bud Powell on Evans’ style which Adrian York delivered to perfection. The sting in the tail of some of the more lyrical pieces wasn’t glossed over either, particularly on Turn Out The Stars.

It is too easy to focus exclusively on the pianist during a gig that pays homage to the lead musician, but we were fortunate to have the animated Mark Fletcher who delighted with his delicate brushwork on My Foolish Heart as well as his flurries of astounding freedom on the drumkit. Equally, our bassist, Paul Whitten, rose above the role of timekeeper with solos that were much freer and creative and complemented the lyricism of York on piano, with Fletch taking a sensitive and unobtrusive role as he did so.

Dave says:

I do love piano trios, and this one was a delight. There were some young people in our audience, and “Peace Piece” had an emotional effect on them. Even though I knew it, me too.

You can listen to this music lightly, and enjoy the superb playing, and the great tunes. This show, for me, needed a deeper listen. I found out part of the reason for this. I took a sneak peek at some of the music (all but the encore had written heads). The sheets were dense with annotations, the result of serious research and knowledge. We didn’t hear the research, we heard the music. The encore was played with empty music stands, and was just free and fun. 

What a lovely gig. And by the way what a wonderful, intense and often quiet drummer. Well, we will see Mark Fletcher in a very different guise in two weeks time, when he brings back “Fletch’s Brew” to us. The title is a pun on “Bitches Brew”, and the gig will be wild. Join us if you dare. 

CONVERSATIONS WITH BILL: THE MUSIC OF BILL EVANS

SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 12/6/24

1. What Is This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter) from the album Portrait in Jazz
2. So What intro (Gil Evans)/Blue in Green (Bill Evans) from the Miles Davis album A Kind of Blue
3. Someday My Prince Will Come (Morey/Churchill) from the album Portrait in Jazz
4. I Love You (Cole Porter) from the album New Jazz Conceptions
5. My Funny Valentine (Rodgers/Hart) from the album Behind the Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings
6. Alice in Wonderland (Fain-Hilliard) from the album Sunday at the Village Vanguard
7. Night and Day (Cole Porter) from the album Everybody Digs Bill Evans

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

8. Peri’s Scope (Bill Evans) from the album Portrait in Jazz
9. Turn Out The Stars (Bill Evans)a mash-up of versionsfrom the albums Live at the Town Hall and Behind the Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings
10. Autumn Leaves (Mercer/Kosmo/Prevert) from the album Portrait in Jazz

11. Waltz for Debby (Bill Evans) from the album Sunday at the Village Vanguard
12. My Romance (Rodgers-Hart) from the album Waltz for Debby
13. My Foolish Heart (Washington-Young) from the album Waltz for Debby and The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans album
14. Peace Piece (Bill Evans) from the album Everybody Digs Bill Evans
15. Stella by Starlight (Washington-Young) from the album Bill Evans Trio at Shelley’s Manne-Hole
16. Encore: Beautiful Love (Gillespie/Young/ Van Alstyne/King) from the album Explorations

To witness five musicians of this calibre on their very best form was a privilege and one that will remain with me for years. Newcomer RJ Gilbert on alto sax is still studying at Birmingham Conservatoire and if he were nervous to be playing with such established and highly accomplished musicians, it didn’t show. He was a cool customer who looked to be enjoying himself as he played off and with the others, particularly David Newton whom he obviously admired deeply (and who can blame him!)  I particularly liked his feature on the jazz standard My One and Only Love where he displayed seemingly effortless fluency and breath control throughout his sweet lyrical performance.

A Bitta Bittadose, based very closely on Bobby Watson’s A Bitter Dose, was a great crowd pleaser and gave each musician a chance to rise to the occasion in this later period Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers blues. The stunning pianism and inventiveness of David Newton complemented by the fine work on double bass, Simon Allen and RJ Gilbert leading the horn chorus and Clark Tracey demonstrating why he is consistently rated as the UK’s best drummer with his inventive use of his kit.

Thelonious Monk’s Blue Monk stood out in the equally enthralling second set. It cannot be easy to play the work of such a musical eccentric and maverick, but David Newton seemed to relish the experience and deliver a stunning performance which he made his own. 

There were memorable solos throughout the gig, but i think people should take time to hear the obligatos. The inventiveness and intense listening provided by bass, drums, piano lifted the solos and put smiles on the faces of the musicians.

I may have misheard Clark announce the next number as In A Semi Mental Mood rather than In a Sentimental Mood, although never doubt his playfulness and dry wit especially when Simon Allen’s rendition on soprano saxophone was a quirky interpretation which tinkered with the time signature of the Ellington original. Equally as beautiful but not a slavish cover of that truly beautiful jazz standard.

Sonny Rollins’ St Thomas was played as a fittingly drum-led Latin shuffle by the whole band and concluded the set. I listened carefully to Clark’s use of little mallets on this one, and was flabbergasted to hear him weave three simultaneous cross-rhythms. 

The short but sweet encore was Hank Mobley’s This I Dig of You. Several members of our audience were moved to give the quintet a standing ovation and quite rightly so.

I am greatly looking forward to the conversations with Bill Evans provided by the Adrian York Trio, on June 12th. It promises to be an evening of quietly intense beauty, not to be missed.

Take care,

Dave

THE CLARK TRACEY QUINTET

SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 22/5/24

1. Rainbow at the Five Mile Road (Stan Tracey) from the 1969 Stan Tracey Quartet album, Free An’ One
2. Euphony (Stan Tracey) Stan’s first recorded composition from 1952 with Victor Feldman’s All Stars.  
3. My One and Only Love (Guy Wood/Robert Mellin) 
4. Remind Me In Three (Clark Tracey)based on the chord progression of Joe Henderson’s Recorda Me
5. A Bitta Bittadose (Bobby Watson) based on Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers’ Bitter Dose

*          *          *           *        *        *        *

6. A Funky Day in Tiger Bay (Stan Tracey) from the album Stan Tracey’s Hexad: Live at Ronnie Scott’s
7. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk)
8. In A Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)
9. St Thomas (Sonny Rollins)
10. Encore: This I Dig Of You (Hank Mobley)

In the great debate about the superiority or otherwise of the audio quality of analogue sound (vinyl) as opposed to digital (CD and download), there is one listening experience that can be forgotten and that, of course, is live music.  Nothing beats it, especially when the band delivers to such a high standard as Wakey Blakey, the sextet led by Rory Ingham and James Davison playing the music of the classic sextet lineup of Art Blakey and The Jazz Mesengers.  It’s not just the immediacy of the experience and the fidelity of sound or even the spontaneity and sheer joy of improvised music, but being able to witness first-hand how musicians work together.

Last night was a cracker of an evening, a feast of hard bop by a superlative sextet who gave us the music of Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and Curtis Fuller originally recorded by Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.  These albums are getting a fresh play today as I relive last night’s gig and marvel at the music once again.  

I am lucky to have seen Wayne Shorter many times as well as Cedar Walton and Freddie Hubbard once each, but not all in the same room at the same time with Art Blakey and the others. “Wakey Blakey” was a real treat and an awakening to how wonderful this music sounds live.  I was struck by the similarity of James Davison’s tone and urgency of delivery to that of Freddie Hubbard from the beginning during “Time Off”. He was very powerful, yet completely soulful and sensitive when required as on the beautiful rendition of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Skylark”.  I loved the bluesy growl of Rory’s trombone-playing in several numbers, especially “Hammerhead”.  An old Fleece regular used to say that the trombone was an “awkward instrument in the modern setting” but he hadn’t heard Rory play it as sensitively and as fluently as he did last night.  Rory was also a very amusing and playful compere who balanced humour with respect for the music of the Jazz Messengers.  Alex Garnett was a dep for another Alex and it was one of his best performances on tenor sax that I have seen from him in a while.  He played with conviction and soul and delivered some warm solos throughout.  

Pianist Matt Carter provided a constant propulsive rhythm throughout many numbers and did so faultlessly, with occasional bursts of freer improvisation. Misha Mullov-Abbado was a tall presence alongside his double bass, using his long frame and long dextrous fingers at such a rapid pace to provide the propulsive beat demanded by the faster numbers. I especially loved his solo that introduced Hubbard’s “The Core”. I’ve left our drummer until last which is how it often is, but this was a homage to the great Art Blakey, a huge presence who played with so much drive and passion. Luke Tomlinson was, like Art, sensitive to what was going on around the music and had two memorable and powerful solos on “Free For All” and “Ping Pong” that penetrated to the core.

The last word goes to Carlos Santana: “Art Blakey’s drive, passion, soulfulness, heart and innovation were and still are inspirations that help and require us to move the music ever forward.” That was very much in evidence in last night’s performance from Wakey Blakey.

Take care,

Steve

Dave says:

That was an accurate review of a great show. The sound check was terrific fun to be part of, even though the only mics were piano and leader.

WAKEY BLAKEY: THE MUSIC OF ART BLAKEY’S JAZZ MESSENGERS

SETLIST, FLEECE JAZZ 08/5/24

Towards the beginning of the gig, Rory Ingham explained that the numbers they would be playing were originally performed by the classic sextet lineup of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers: Wayne Shorter (tenor sax); Freddie Hubbard (trumpet); Curtis Fuller (trombone); Cedar Walton (Piano); Reggie Workman (Bass); as well as Art Blakey (drums) himself. The selections were mostly from the albums Mosaic (1961), Caravan (1962), Ugetsu (1963) and Free For All (1964

1. Time Off (Curtis Fuller) from the album Ugetsu
2. Hammerhead (Wayne Shorter) from the album Free For All
3. Free For All (Wayne Shorter) from the album Free For All
4. Skylark (Hoagy Carmichael)from the album Caravan
5. One By One (Wayne Shorter) from the album Ugetsu

*          *          *           *         *        *        *

6. Children of the Night (Wayne Shorter) from the album Mosaic
7. In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning (David Mann)from the album Caravan
8. The Core (Freddie Hubbard) from the album Free For All
9. Miyako (Wayne Shorter) from his album Schizophrenia 
10. Ping Pong (Wayne Shorter) from the album Ugetsu
11. Encore: Down Under (Freddie Hubbard) from the album Mosaic