John Turville Quintet featuring Julian Arguelles – 1 March 2019
The musicians were John Turville on piano, Julian Arguelles on tenor and soprano sax, Robbie Robson on trumpet, Dave Whitford on bass and James Maddren on drums. So we were assured of musiacianship of the highest order. And what about the music? Well, it was excellent, some of it stunning, some a little challenging (a good thing in my view). Some tunes were written by John, one by Robbie, and the rest were standards. The programme had a nice variation in tempo and style. John varied the composition of the band, with quartets and duos. All of the tunes were…
Clark Tracey Quintet: “No Doubt” – 22 February 2019
Except for the presence of the wonderful Clark Tracey, the combined age of the musicians was actually less than mine. I hate it when that happens. Clark has been working with these four musicians for a couple of years, during which they all have garnered garlands and awards. Their musicianship is just stunning. So Clark (on drums, for those that don’t know) led and arranged the music for Alex Ridout on trumpet, Sean Payne on alto sax, Elliott Sansom on piano and James Ouston on bass. Clark planned just a few long numbers in each set so that everybody got…
Deelee Dubé and Renato D’Aliello – 15 February 2019
Because of my medical problems, I have not had time to write up this stunning gig. As a holding exercise, can I just say that Deelee sang like several varieties of angel, Renato played his butt off. The arrangements were his, and great. Bruno Montrone is a superb pianist. A strong bassist was needed, and Adam King filled the bill. The young Alfonso Vitale is a wonderful drummer. The audience was delighted by a great gig.
Chris Bowden Quintet featuring Brian Corbett: “Unlikely Being” – 8 February 2019
I don’t know what to write about this great gig. Superb and tuneful writing, great musicianship, fine solos, super accompaniment all the way through, and a very happy audience. That kind of does it. Details, details. The personnel were Chris Bowden on tenor and alto saxes, Bryan Corbett on trumpet, flugel and stompbox, Jim Watson on piano and keyboard, Chris Dodd on electric bass and Neil Bullock on drums. Chris Bowden writes fine tunes. His orchestration is delightful and varied. He uses the two horns brilliantly. Bryan can vary his timbre either naturally, with a mute or with his stompbox…
Basil Hodge Quartet – 1 February 2019
On Saturday after the gig, we went to visit my daughter to celebrate her birthday (50th!!), and this is the first time I have had to write about the truly splendid gig. No problems with remembering. The Basil Hodge Quartet had Basil on piano, and alll of the compositions were his. Ed Jones played tenor and soprano saxes. Oli Hayhurst was our bassistl Winston Clifford was the drummer. Dream team. Basil writes great tunes. Some are beautiful tunes, new, but easy to listen to. Some tell a tougher story and tell it well. His piano playing is a bit Monkish…