Sam Gardner Quartet @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle.

Sam Gardner (dms); Krysztof Urbanski (ten/sop); Sam Vicary (bs); Jamil Sheriff (keys).

(Review by Lance.)

The first day of term and a goodly turn out of folk for the first Splinter @ The Bridge concert of the Autumn.

And what a concert! I'd heard all four musicians individually in the past but this was the first time I'd heard these guys as a unit

I think leader Gardner said that this was only their second gig but I could have misheard as, apart from some hesitancy at the endings, this was as tight a ship as ever sailed from Leeds to Newcastle.

Urbanski is a superb modern tenor player. Contemporary yes but well within the bounds of sanity. Great tone and an endless outpouring of ideas. On soprano, even on those numbers with an eastern feel he successfully avoided sounding like a snake charmer as so many of his contemporaries do! 

Gardner is not only a master technician behind the kit but a composer of merit - with the exception of I'll Remember April and Tom Harrell's Angela all pieces were his own compositions. What is the world coming to? Drummers composing? They'll be calling themselves musicians next! Seriously, Gardner is a fine composer and his originals were just that, original with tempo changes, mood swings, rhythmic variation and sound harmonic and melodic content.

Vicary handled everything with ease. A pulsating foundation, creative solos and frequently offering challenging lines to the other three.

Sheriff did likewise, his ever changing expressions as he silently sang along to his solos were a joy to behold as was indeed the actual notes played. Content to let his left hand lay down the chords his right hand dazzled as his fingers did the talking.

Tell me, what is this band going to be like with a few more gigs under their belt?

Next week it's jam session time.
Photos.
Lance.