Tom
Dennis (trumpet), Michael Underwood (tenor saxophone), Sam James (keyboards),
Conor Chaplin (double bass) & Corrie Dick (drums)
(Review by Russell).
A toyshop, a youngster’s dream.
I'll have two sets of, let me see…hard bop, please. Toyshop, a quintet, got
together at Trinity London, each member having fingers in numerous jazz jam
jars and of late have acquired a taste for the music of the late, great, hard
bop trumpeter Clifford Brown.
It was t-shirts and jeans on the
stand but the music was that of the sharp-suited American heroes of the era;
Brown, Roach, Blakey, Rollins and co.. Toyshop, unassuming, polite and so, so
good. Cool, committed to the music, the frontline horns played unamplified and
piano, bass and drums had their volume levels spot-on right from the start.
The music? Classic Clifford with
one or two tremendous original compositions for good measure. The bass and
drums pairing of Conor Chaplin and Corrie Dick (no strangers to Tyneside) were
beyond good, swinging it as it should be swung. Pianist Sam James is one to
watch - and hear - in future. An assured, listening player (a minor irritation
in the context of this gig was the Fender Rhodes-like sound), James will surely
become an established name on the scene.
Tenor saxophonist Michael
Underwood - and MC on the night - blew the coolest of cool complementing
trumpeter Tom Brownie Dennis’
superbly crafted solos. The name Dennis invites comparison with the north
east’s top trumpet player Noel Dennis (currently exiled north of the border).
The Dennis trumpeters share at least one musical trait - the perfectly
conceived and executed extended solo. Tom Dennis is destined for the premier
league of British trumpet players.
The tunes - including the
historic gems Jacqui, Parisian Thoroughfare and Daahoud interspersed with Corrie Dick
compositions Mo Dhachaidh and Wee Red Car - were a delight from start
to finish. The audience loved it. Dennis said of the Splinter night at the
Bridge: Lovely room. He went on to
say it was the band’s most enjoyable night of their tour. Any jazz club
promoter anywhere couldn't go wrong with Toyshop. A delight.
Russell.
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