David Austin Grey (keyboards),
Chris Young (alto saxophone), Nick Jurd (double bass & electric bass) &
James Bashford (drums)
Cluny they were great vehicles for the band
to improvise upon. The quartet worked well as a unit and the band leader
offered generous solo space to altoist Chris Young. Young by name and Young in
years, note the name as he is sure to be heard again - a real talent. Grey’s
solo spots revealed a cast iron technique, rattling good piano (retro Fender
Rhodes!), a rich blues seam was there to be mined and a shuttle full of the
baroque and ‘new music’ references were at his finger tips. The bass and drums
team - bassist Nick Jurd and drummer James Bashford - were up there with the
best of the new generation of jazz players. Jurd’s precise articulation and
swing feel (a rare combination) marks him out as a serious contender and
Bashford made it look easy and of course, it ain’t! Four excellent musicians,
one excellent band, you will be hearing more from the Greyish Quartet. Check
them out.
(Review by Russell).
Schmazz, promoters of original
music, having formally merged with Jazz North East, showed a renewed enthusiasm
for all things new (original composition, the emerging musician, the ‘new’
jazz) with the booking of the Greyish Quartet. The band, led by pianist David
Austin Grey, flourished in the hot house environs of the Birmingham Conservatoire
and a debut CD - The Dark Red Room -
showed great promise, so a gig on Tyneside was long overdue.
Grey writes the tunes and plays
with an elegance recalling Dave Brubeck or perhaps John Lewis. The pianist’s
declared influences range from Wynton Kelly to Chick Corea to Kenny Kirkland.
Grey’s compositions tend to have great titles - Why So Negative? (a photography reference), A Crowd of Lonely People (a new composition, written on the road), Resolution, Celestial Kestrel - and in performance at the
Russell
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