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.
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