(Review by Jerry)
If,
on my first visit here, I found the bar/café area impressive, the theatre is
jaw-dropping! I know as much about architecture as I do about jazz and I guess
this is neo-gothic with its panelling and its statues projecting from the beams
like benevolent gargoyles. I think I like neo-gothic: I know I liked the jazz!
The
opener, Almost Like Being in Love,
showed, immediately, the intuitive understanding these two musicians have after
a decade or more of playing together. Vas joked that they were like “an old
married couple” – each able to finish the other’s musical sentences before they
got there themselves. I hope, as half of an old married couple, that this was
meant to be a positive! Either way, the interplay between the two instruments/musicians
throughout the set was almost uncanny!
Alone Together showed they could do quiet and thoughtful while Night and Day, Latin style as played by
Getz, demonstrated that magical interplay to perfection.
Michel
Legrand’s sensitive, romantic What Are
You Doing for the Rest of Your Life? had
the audience thinking “sitting here to listen to you, if that’s OK?” then
Monk’s quirky, spiky Well You Needn’t,
with a nod to Georgia Brown (who
always gets in somewhere, when Vas is playing!) had them tapping their feet
again.
A
playful Alice in Wonderland followed
before Denzil Best’s foot-tapping Move
drummed us to the interval. Terrific!
If
I (jazznoramus) had to sum up the appeal of Vas as a saxophonist I’d describe
it as understated brilliance: no seeking to dazzle with tricks or faze you with
too many notes – just sensitive, technically accomplished renditions of great
music.
After
the interval, Paul Edis donned his musical director/conductor hat while Vas
became a guest front-man (on some numbers) with The Gala Big Band…….who were
great. I enjoyed seeing them about 12 months ago in Durham and (I hope this is
not seen as a “cack-handed compliment” from one who keeps emphasising his lack
of musical knowledge) they have come on a ton since then with more “oomph” to
the ensemble work and much more confidence with the solos. According to their
leader, they are also tackling “more challenging music.”
There
was “comfortable” swing with On the Sunny
Side of the Street and Li’l Darlin’,
which featured a muted trumpet solo by Dave Skipsey. The closing number,
Basie’s One o’Clock Jump, had several
well-received solos including trombone, trumpet and bass (sorry if I’ve missed
anyone!).
In
between these we had Edis originals, including some flagged up as “world
premières”. Straight to the Point
featured solos by one of the youngest, and possibly one of the oldest band
members, Francis Tulip on guitar and George Hetherington on piano, which summed
up, for me, the laudably inclusive nature of this ensemble.
In the Nick of Time, a filmic piece which felt as though it really ought
to have a narrative, gave Matthew Mackellar a chance to solo on drums. But the
“stand-out” piece of the set was Techtonic (I hope I got that spelling right
as I think there should be a
deliberate “h” in there, but haven’t had a chance to check it) which was a
jazz-rock fusion on which the baritone saxes and Francis Tulip (very amplified
and in his element) moved plates in the distant café! The audience cheered it
to the echo!
Jerry.
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