Resolution 88 @ Hoochie Coochie - May 19

Tom O'Grady (keys/Rhodes); Alex Hitchcock (ten); Tiago Coimbra (bs gtr); Ric Elsworth (dms).

(Review by Lance).

Hoochie was crowded, the lure of 241 cocktails and shots proving as big a draw as the band. I stuck with a bottle of London Pride. Despite the crowds, there was an empty seat at our table - see the previous post...

Resolution 88 came on with all guns blazing. Think Herbie Hancock, Headhunters, decibels - particularly decibels! This was the heavy metal end of jazz funk and it took some adjustment before my mindset became attuned.

O'Grady coordinates the onslaught from his Fender Rhodes and Nord Stage 2 keyboard. Elsworth's middle name is ferocity - he makes a Ginger Baker solo seem like a guy keeping time. Portuguese bass guitarist Coimbra provides the pulse, the batida de coraçäo of the band whilst out front, Hitchcock blows contemporary post-Coltrane tenor soaring up into the outer limits playing notes that only dogs could hear. Or maybe it was the triple mic drum kit that caused him to be at times inaudible.

The numbers, all originals from an already released album and one that's on the blocks.

It's powerhouse stuff, put the boot in and don't take no prisoners! Broken Beat - exactly what it says on the tin. Multiple cross rhythms, syncopated syncopation, a three-legged dance,
And yet, at times, there was subtlety and even light and shade - at times.
The groove was in, proving that it can mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
Another winner for Warren
Photos.
Lance.