We had to wait a whole month for this gig. It was hugely worth it, a wonderful gig. We had Joel Barford powerful on drums, Ross Stanley world class on the Hammond B3, Vasilis Xenopoulos on tenor and Nigel Price leading on guitar. They have been on tour for a while, so they are very tight together, but are still having a ton of fun with the music. It was mostly music by or loved by Wes Montgomery. So we had world class music played by stunning musicians having a great time.
The gig was called “Wes Re Imagined”. Nigel had orchestrated versions of the music in different vibes from the originals. He is a very good presenter, and told us all about his ideas for each song. So why, I ask myself, did I bloody not write it all down?
They began with an up-tempo “This Could Be the Start of Something Big”, which got us right in the mood from the off. Jimmy Smith’s `’Mellow Mood” gave is a great view of what could be done on the B3. Who knew that Ross could play chords on the pedal board? What an amazing player. The first set ended with Montgomery’s “Leila”, beautiful.
And of course, it got even better in the second set. Watching the accompaniment during the solos was such a treat. They knew each other, and they listened hard. They each came out with riffs that made their colleagues grin.
Joel is a very young, very very talented player. His solos were pretty spectacular and powerful. In our small room, maybe he was a bit too powerful.
If you were not there, I am sad for you. But you have a chance to hear one of the greats on 12 October, when Antonio Forcione will be with us. Don’t miss it.
Take care,
Dave
Steve Jordan provided a set list.
This Could Be The Start of Something Big (Steve Allen)
Far Wes (John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery)
Mellow Mood (Jimmy Smith) subsequently recorded by Dr Lonnie Smith on the album, Spiral
Dreamsville (Henry Mancini)
Leila (John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery)
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Wet and Dry (Nigel Price) part of the new melody is lifted from Ed Bickert’s solo on Come Rain or Come Shine by Arlen & Mercer
Jingles (John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery) played as a samba
On Wednesday last, Zoe Schwarz brought her band, Blue Commotion, to Fleece Jazz. On guitar was Zoe’s long-standing musical partner and husband, Rob Koral. On organ, we had the Fleece regular and audience favourite, Pete Whittaker and on drums the human powerhouse, Paul Robinson.
Before the gig, the music playlist made by our sound tech, Gerry, was playing what I thought to be the growling, other-worldly voice of Howlin’ Wolf singing ‘Spoonful’. I was wrong – it turned out to be a cover version by an artist doing a remarkably close impression of the great man’s voice. Thankfully, we didn’t get any such treatment of blues standards from Zoe and the band; no deferential, paint-by-numbers versions of classic numbers. What we did get were unique interpretations of some blues standards mixed in with a wealth of impressive songs penned by Zoe and Rob, delivered with a crossover of styles, often within individual songs.
The set began with Broken Heart Blues, a mid-tempo number featuring the fluid blues licks of Rob’s guitar, the warm organ grooves from Pete and the hard-driving beat of the drums from Paul. The tempo dropped to a sensual shuffling groove for the next number with Zoe stretching her vocal cords to deliver a throaty growl (think Janis Joplin and Maggie Bell). Before the next song, Zoe explained that Rob was largely responsible for the music while she wrote the lyrics, but recently that division had become blurred. So, no surprises then, that Rob had written My Handsome Man for Zoe to sing. Peter Green’s I Need Your Love So Bad was the first cover and a good example of how there were to be no slavish attempts to copy the delivery of the original artist. This was a fine, tender interpretation from Zoe, replacing the wistful dread of Green’s voice with a more delicate yearning, the pain reflected in Rob’s keening guitar and Pete’s sensual organ breaks. Shades of the fragility and ache so characteristic of Billie Holliday’s voice are also heard from Zoe in I’ll Be Yours Tonight before the tempo picks up again with the rollicking Give Me The Key to Your Heart, driven by the drumming of Paul Robinson. Rob Koral’s Heroes was a slow-burning, mournful blues ballad about missing a lover and beautifully executed by the whole band with each instrument bringing a pleading and yearning to the song’s story. The first set concluded with a famous blues standard: Willie Dixon’s I’m Ready, made famous by Muddy Waters, but here the tempo is faster, yet still with the defiance of the original.
The rocking blues of I Can’t Live Like That opened the second set, an autobiographical account of the advice given to Zoe as she grew up to become a blues singer. She sings the story with feeling and, once again, one is struck by her expressiveness, both in her voice and in her body as she moves around the stage. Brook Benton’s beautiful ballad I’ll Take Care of You brought the tempo down and the heart-breaking lyrics were delivered with feeling. Once again, the tempo is increased to full-pelt, almost countrified rocking with People, quickly followed by the song inspired by the birth of their daughter, Pebble In My Pond. It is a brave move to attempt to re-work a classic from the treasured Billie Holliday, given her unique voice with its manipulation of phrasing and tempo, but Fine and Mellow was a highlight of the evening, not least because Zoe’s delivery brought a different interpretation to the song, a more positive and less resigned approach. Say It Isn’t So was a more up-tempo number, once again showcasing Rob’s deft work on guitar and Pete’s gorgeous organ breaks. The smoky ballad, Don’t Hold Back and the heartfelt, up-tempo Thank You brought the evening to a close, thanking the audience for “coming all this way”. THANK YOU! ZOE and ROB for coming all the way from Poole in Dorset to play at our club and, of course, to Paul and Pete who I believe are slightly more local. But it didn’t end there and we got our much desired encore with Willie Dixon’s scorching I Can’t Quit You Baby, an old favourite of Zoe’s from listening to Led Zeppelin. And I couldn’t hear a trace of Robert Plant’s histrionics in her delivery! Not that I would have minded.
It is a rare thing for me to talk about a gig outside our own dear club, but this was something special.
It was quite a day for us. Drive to Snape and spend the afternoon with a recital of a dozen fine young opera singers and their superb accompanists. They had just finished a week of intense master classes at Snape, and were quite marvellous. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the pianists: their pianism and partnership were very strong.
Then a lovely dinner at the Plough and Sail, then rolling past the Kali at the Dome to the Maltings for the concert. The stage is set with the Steinway, a chair and four monster (but low level) blinders.
The first thing did was tell us a bit about himself. He travelled quite young from his home in Texas to work with masters at one of the great NYC schools of music. Eight bars in the first song, and it is clear that he is technically a master. Quickly after that it is clear that his heart and musicality are also masterful. It was a stunning evening.
When he said that he wrote music for The Martha Graham Company, some of his compositions came into even clearer focus. You could feel the movement in his playing.
He also is interested in making the instrument sing in different ways. He said he felt the lowest register was neglected. To correct this, he played a song derived from the sound of a Dominican barber shop in NYC. He stood, used the bottom two notes, while fingering the length of the strings making the most amazing, often beautiful sounds while never losing the rhythm of the area. He had the lighting engineer add a slow blackout which intensifyied the experience. It was one of those events where the applause was delayed while the audience caught their breath.
I wonder what he would make of the Bosendorfer with the extra 4 bass keys.
And he played an incredible blues for Chicago pianists.
Enough. Buy his records. It was a pity that it was far from a sell out evening.
The Horn Factory was with us on Wednesday. Local they may be but they provided us with great music and fine solos. They choose as a band to play some very difficult and intricate arrangements, I guess because they are fun to work on. The important point is that they do them very well indeed.
It was a big rig for us and for them, and it took a little while for them to go from playing well to having fun. What might have helped is discovering when I went to do the raffle that they were all in their seats waiting for me to announce the second set. Well, they took it in good heart, and applauded and riffed every raffle winner
Steve Jordan has annotated the programme running order, for which many thanks. There were very many fine solos, and he has mentioned some of them.
Take care,
Dave
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1. Good News (Bob Mintzer)
2. Queen Bee (Sammy Nestico) the composer was an arranger for Count Basie
3. Fireshaker (Maynard Ferguson) featuring the trumpet section.
4. Mueva Los Huesos (Gordon Goodwin)
5. Blues Down Below (Jeff Steinberg) featuring Mike Tatt on bass guitar; Susannah West on baritone sax; Dave Charles on bass trombone
6. Merlin (Paul Baker) quite a complex piece with many changes, rather like a suite.
7. A Few Good Men(Gordon Goodwin) suggested as being a potential alternative them for Dads’ Army.
8. Apollo’s Reel(Tim Molten) with undertones of celtic folk, for me the highpoint of the first set.
* * * * * * *
9. Manteca (Dizzy Gillespie) a wonderful salsa-like number from Diz
10. Happy Faces (Sonny Stitt, arr. Quincy Jones) played in traditional Big Band style.
11. Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk) featuring Gilly Burgoyne on alto sax. A gorgeous rendition, a highlight of the gig.
12. Dark Side of the Blues (Andrew Classen)
13. Huntin’ Wabbits (Gordon Goodwin) surely a tribute to Elmer Fudd of Bugs Bunny fame
14. Strasbourg/St Denis (Roy Hargrove) featuring trumpet and flugel horn. Recorded on the album, Earfood, which is highly recommended
15. Birdland (Joe Zawinul) recorded, of course, by the pioneering jazz fusion supergroup, Weather Report. Just because it was popular doesn’t mean it wasn’t good!
We had been looking forward to this gig since 2020. We just lost it to the beginning of the first lockdown. This was the first opportunity to book them. I was going to make a video with full audio recording of this wonderful band. So many people, myself very much included, rank Bryan Corbett with the masters: Steve ranks him with Freddie Hubbard, and I agree.
Then in the morning of the gig, a call from Bryan. There are health problems with two of the band. What to do? Well, with Bryan’s permission, we tried valiantly to find two appropriate musicians, and almost made it. We and Bryan agreed that we had to cancel.
I had to send a note to all of our email subscribers with the bad news. What was lovely was the many responses wishing the band members well. We do too. We will have this great band back as soon as we possibly can.
This outstanding quintet celebrate the year 1959 in jazz that saw the release of some of the most revered albums such as Miles Davis’ ‘Kind Of Blue’, Charles Mingus’ ‘Mingus Ah Um’, Dave Brubeck’s ‘Time Out’ and Ornette Coleman’s ‘The Shape Of Jazz To Come’ as well as ‘Blowing The Blues Away’ by Horace Silver amongst others by Benny Golson etc etc……
As well as performing under his own name, Bryan Corbett has been performing with world renowned stars, a who’s who in the jazz and commercial world. Bryan is not only a great performer of the jazz standards repertoire but an artist who pushes the boundaries writing and performing original works with his various line-ups. ‘A warm brilliant tone and formidable technique’ (the Independent).
My favourite quote: “Bryan is one of the chosen few. Class, pure class, plays from the heart, every note has a reason to live. Truly someone who can sing through his instrument.”{Andy Taylor, who makes Bryan’s trumpets).
Saxophonist Chris Bowden works as an arranger and performer with a highly individual style. He first came to prominence with his 1996 funk/acid/Latin-jazz album ‘Time Capsule’. Matt Ratcliffe has performed with a wide range of jazz musicians in clubs and festivals across the U.K.
“This well-balanced and finely integrated quintet speaks bebop fluently….their cohesion and familiarity with some clean, unfussy and elegant arrangements is remarkable” – Jazz Journal
In 2015 Glen Manby was awarded an Arts Council of Wales Project Grant to compose, arrange and record a new repertoire with his recently-formed quintet. It was recorded with Steve Waterman,Leon Greening and Matt Home (we have Joe Dessaeur for our gig) with Adam King on bass (we have Jeremy Brown for our gig). The resulting CD, “Homecoming”, is available on the Mainstem jazz label, but we will have the great pleasure of hearing it live.
Here is part of a review of the CD by Dave Gelly of the Observer, headed “Glen Manby Quintet: Homecoming review – stylish hard bop ****”
“Jazz is constantly throwing up new genres and forms, but hard bop continues to outlive them all. Perhaps because it is technically demanding, it seems to attract more than its fair share of talented musicians too. Alto saxophonist Glen Manby is a case in point. Fully at home in the idiom, with a polished technique and mature tone, he’s an eloquent player. Normally based in Cardiff, he appears here with four of Britain’s A-team: trumpeter Steve Waterman, pianist Leon Greening, bassist Adam King and drummer Matt Home. Most of the tunes are Manby originals, plus pieces by Wayne Shorter, Quincy Jones et al. All round, it’s a stylish session, with a good variety of mood and tempo.”
” Hard bop lives and is in no better hands than the Glen Manby Quintet” – London Jazz News
“…this is British jazz at its best” – The Jazz Rag
“A first-rate trio..an excellent set..Themen is one of the very few totally original, utterly engaging jazz musicians around” – **** Dave Gelly – THE OBSERVER
What we have here is a first-rate trio playing jazz standards by such greats as Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock and Cannonball Adderley. Art Themen is one of the very few totally original, and at the same time utterly engaging jazz musicians around.
Usually, even with the best, you have some idea of where the improvisation is going, some route from A to B, but Themen will pile up ideas, apparently at random, maybe with the odd outlandish quotation for good measure, and when he’s finished, it all seems to have made sense.
The wonderful organist Pete Whittaker and the superb George Double on drums complete the trio.
“Themen, a veteran master now, in such eloquent form” – **** Peter Vacher – JAZZWISE
“Boistrous and inventive as ever..funky and swinging” – HI FI NEWS & RECORD REVIEW
In any other country he’d be regarded as a national treasure” – Leonard Weinrich – LONDON JAZZ NEWS
From the first moment Antonio walks on stage to rapturous applause, a humble smile on his face, guitar in hand, you know you are in the presence of a true artist and are in for an evening with a touch of magic. And as the first deep, warm, intense notes float through the auditorium, you can hear a pin drop and feel the sonic spell of his guitar weaving through the room. As one critic put it “Imagine an Italian hybrid of Michael Hedges, John McLaughlin and Django Reinhardt … ferocious, rampaging, controlled power, meticulous precision and clarity of expression … astonishing musical personality”
Antonio’s impressive 21 albums and extensive international tours in festivals and theatres – both as a solo artist, in duo and with his acoustic quartet – have brought high critical acclaim from as far as Australia and Hong Kong to the Caribbean, Russia and all over Europe. He has the ‘hands of a tarantula and the heart of a lion’, as another critic so expressively phrased it!
“Wes Montgomery guitar fans need look no further than the UK’s Nigel Price on Wes Reimagined (Ubuntu) – respectful in catching Montgomery’s warmth, but also the work of a thoroughly contemporary enthusiast.” -John Fordham –
Some 54 years after Wes Montgomery passed, his music and playing still inspire musicians and listeners. Wes’ music puts a smile on faces with its blend of bebop and blues. The music is sometimes simple, full of interest and always accessible.
The band is a delight. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, award-winning jazz guitarist Nigel Price has become widely acknowledged as one of the hardest working musicians in the business. Musically, his blend of flowing bebop lines, deep blues sensibility and his mastery of chording continue to delight audiences and fellow musicians alike.
This band is a celebration of Montgomery: they are not a tribute band. There is room for every one of these top drawer musicians to solo and shine, honouring, not copying Montgomery.
“When the players are Vasilis Xenopoulos and Nigel Price…..the outcome is downright irresistible” – The Guardian ★★★★
How many Hammond endorsees do we ever get to hear. Ross Stanley is an amazing organist. We are delighted to welcome Joel Barford to Fleece Jazz.
