Notes on Past Gigs

On Wednesday night last, the Ed Jones Quartet led by British saxophonist and composer Ed Jones returned to Fleece Jazz for the first time in five years. Initially inspired by the music of Wayne Shorter with a style reminiscent of John Coltrane, the group includes pianist Ross Stanley, bassist Riaan Vosloo and drummer Tim Giles. Together for over ten years, they have forged a unique identity of powerfully driven fire music with atmospheric improvised soundscapes that draws from original compositions and fresh interpretations of the American songbook repertoire. The programme featured a mix of material from the For Your Ears…

When Joanna Eden and Chris Ingham appear together, they usually do a double act. Not this time. It was Joanna’s show, and what a wonderful show it was. She took us from the beginning of Ella Fitzgerald’s career to the end. She was backed by Chris on piano, Andres Lafone on bass and George Double on drums, a perfect trio to support the lady (“Ella’s fellas”). Joanna had structured the programme beautifully. She opened with a blast, “Get Happy”, which Ella often opened with. She kept to the structure of Ella’s career. I did not know that she wrote the…

Maybe it is something to do with the club. After the gig, Trish was radiant: she was happy with the performance, but she spoke about the club. She mentioned the setup, the help, the sound (thank you). Her music is not easy, and not to everybody’s taste. It requires some work and close listening, and some thought afterward. This is my favourite kind of music.  The musicianship, of course, was splendid. The band was led by Trish Clowes on tenor sax, Ross Stanley on Hammond B3, Chris Montague on guitar, and drummer Joel Barford.  The band’s music is about power,…

Let us start with words from Steve Jordan, who supplied the setlist: “As Elvin Jones said: ‘If you want to know who John Coltrane was, you have to know A Love Supreme.’ So all respect to the genius who was John Coltrane but also to the musicians who performed it on Wednesday evening at Fleece Jazz. They did it full justice and more and not a sheet of music in sight! No sign of nerves but of intense respect for the wonder and beauty of the magnificent jazz suite that is A Love Supreme.  For 35 minutes, they took us…

What, no Drums? The four instumruments had much more clarity and presence than with a drummer. Even with the individual presence, the group sounded together. That is interesting considering that the piano and guitar have roughly the same pitch range and fought each other as sometimes happens: it can be a sound guy’s nightmare to provide them with clarity. It was really great to see and hear Andrew Cleyndert lead the group on bass. His pianist was Mark Edwards, Martin Shaw played Flugel throughout, with the trumpet firmly on its stand. Colin Oxley is a favourite guitarist. This band has…