Elliot Galvin – Piano; Tom McCreadle – Double Bass; Simon Roth -
Percussion
(Review by Steve H).
When a Newcastle jazz audience is double the size of those up there on
stage then that can be a good thing providing it is a big band they have come
to see. However, when it is a piano, bass and drums combo then that's
not so good. Sadly, at the Lit and Phil on Friday night, the latter applied but
it did not stop the Eliot Galvin Trio from producing a wonderful set which
completely enthralled the select and, dare I say it?, rather discerning audience
present.
The trio, undaunted by the under capacity crowd, performed a fascinating
and challenging set. The music swung from the almost totally free to the near
classical. Most of the tunes played were from their debut album Dreamland but there were also a couple
of well-known standards Lulu’s Back in Town and Mack
the Knife on which the famous melody was played on Glockenspiel
by drummer Roth. Roth in fact seemed to have many additions to the standard
drum kit adding all manner of crazy augmentations to the proceedings.
Galvin also played a fascinating range of instruments including a
marimba, musical boxes, a stylophone , a homemade double melodian and a toy
piano which seems to be a particular favourite. In fact I felt a bit sorry for
Tom McCreadle who only got to play the bass albeit magnificently especially
when using the bow. The highlight of the evening for me was Tipu’s
Tiger which was inspired by an exhibit at the V&A of a life size
automation of a tiger eating a European! (see photo) Galvin strumming the insides of the
grand piano to great effect and the whole piece really evoked the feeling of
colonial India. At the conclusion of the set the enthused crowd asked for an
encore and the band cordially agreed and performed Punch and Judy,
aided by a cassette player with samples of an actual Punch and Judy show. At
the end of the gig the delightful trio hung around to chat to the audience and
the ratio of CD sales to audience members must have been close to 100%. As Mr Punch
would say ‘That’s the way to do it’!
Steve H.
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