EXTREME MEASURES: Pete Tanton (trumpet & flugelhorn); Mark Williams (guitar); Stu Collingwood (keyboards); Stuart Davies (bass); David Carnegie (drums)
By some strange incidence - minus the 'co' - this was the first time I'd heard David's band and, with the recent arrival of Pete Tanton, it was obviously my lucky day! You're right Lance, he certainly was the new star over the manger last night; his wonderful phrasing shining on David and the other 3 kings as they delivered their rare gifts with perfect timing; Stu's bright gold piano sound - power chords that some piano players can only dream of, beneath chromatic blizzards of brilliance - Evans meets Jarrett meets Martial Solal; Mark really has found himself with the 335 - significantly a gift from someone special - as he double bends the 10's gauge, enveloping us in swooning billows of fast-fingered frankincense - Frisell plays Metheney plays McLaughlin; Stuart Davies' modest bass lines like myrrh, not easily discernible yet as essential as breath itself for our quasi-religious experience - his witty composition Double Bubble really brought home the Full English to me! But let's not forget who built the shelter, this stable of comfort and joy - David Carnegie, such a master of percussive fluidity you barely know he's there, and his arrangement of God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen - such inspired mirth has rarely been heard since Coltrane reworked My Favourite Things - More of a case of the Jim Naughtie - did I hear "Gerry Mentalmen"!
The new album, including Best Laid Plans, Inconvenient Truth And Stu Collingwood's Nautical, had already been perfectly roasted but the departure of the sax player burned the turkey and will be re-served in March with all the trimmings from last night's performance - eagerly awaited.
George M.
(Who supplied the photo).
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