Mark Williams & Joel McCullough @ The Jazz Café. August 8

Mark Williams (guitar) & Joel McCullough (guitar)

(Review by Russell).

Friends from way back, Irishmen Mark Williams and Joel McCullough hooked up once again to play some jazz guitar together at their old haunt, the Jazz Café on Pink Lane. A small number of jazz guitar enthusiasts took their seats as the duo began with Stella By Starlight.

The seated Williams and McCullough complemented one another stylistically; Williams’ intricate harmonic progressions, McCullough’s linear lines light of touch. Rhythm duties shared, the duo developed solos in turn. A mutual appreciation of Steve Swallow’s tunes saw two such in the set. Jokingly Williams enquired: Why are we playing a bass player’s tune? Swallow’s compositions – Falling Grace and Ladies in Mercedes – were given due respect, the musicianship of a high order.

Tadd Dameron’s Lady Bird stood out, McCullough finding his way around the fret board with ease, then doing it all again taking a different route. There There There, a Williams’ original composition, unsurprisingly posed few problems to the composer (!), his partner took a look at it and got it, the duo dovetailing to great effect. The Saturday night crowd grew in number and, in due course, the voluble were clearly audible. The few enthusiasts weren’t about to allow their concentration to be broken and right on cue a major highlight came in the form of Joe Henderson’s The Inner Urge. Gargantuan playing from both men appreciated by those with (non-cloth) ears. The set concluded in a blues vein; Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You? Two friends playing jazz guitar, entirely non-competitively. A night for the enthusiast.     

Russell.