Jeff Herr Corporation @ Jazz Cafe - Sept.29

Jeff Herr Drums; Maxime Bender  Sax; Laurent Payfert  double bass

(Review by Steve H/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew.)

Prior to attending this gig I had the rather unpleasant experience of dining in one of those all you can eat world buffets so popular with the social media generation of today. One is able to sample food from all over the planet  burgers,  burritos,  Bolognese,  black bean beef and  bhuna to name but a few which seem to have nothing in common apart from a lack in overall quality. Funnily enough there was no food on offer from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg but luckily, on the same evening, there was a gig on at The Jazz Cafe where this small European country was represented and this time the fare certainly didn't lack any quality.

The drum, bass and saxophone trio format seems to be becoming increasingly popular. The absence of a piano seems to increase the intensity of the performance.  The Jeff Herr Corporation hail from Luxembourg  and on Tuesday night produced two sets of high octane, complex  and invigorating jazz in their first ever UK performance. Each band member is a gifted musician in his own right but when they played together they really hit a groove and were able to carry the audience with them.  Apart from a marvellous interpretation of David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World, with the theme magnificently improvised on sax by Maxime Bender, all the other tunes were originals including a sumptuous ballad inspired by Herr's 6 year old daughter. The piece, entitled Journey To Bliss, was introduced with a wonderful bass solo from the only non-native Luxembourger in the band - French man Laurent Payment. The final piece, the title track of their album, Layer Cake included a mesmerising drum solo from the band leader, and incredibly affable MC, Jeff Herr.  So, after a rather indigestible start to the evening a musical delight emerged.  I can safely say that the Luxembourger trumped the Hamburger.

Steve H.