Led Bib @ the Bridge Hotel May 5

Chris Williams, Pete Grogan (alto saxes); Toby McLaren (keyboards); Liran Donin (bass); Mark Holub (drums)

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

Led Bib have been frequent visitors to Tyneside ever since JNE supremo Paul Bream heard them playing on a boat in London in 2005 and thought they were worth a punt. I have been lucky enough to see them several time over the years and have always thoroughly enjoyed them.  I reviewed their last gig in Newcastle, at The Jazz Café almost 18 months ago, very positively.  However, on Sunday night the band seemed to have taken a quantum leap such was the quality and level of their performance. I would say it was the best gig I had seen from a British based band in years. The capacity audience, some of whom had travelled from far and wide, seemed to be in agreement. The band always play thumping, raucous, rocking jazz but on Sunday the performance seemed more nuanced, taking us all on a marvellous, uplifting, exhilarating journey.

Although the individual members all played wonderful solos these were not the highlights of the gig, rather it was the feel of the ensemble playing which really took one’s breath away. The twin altos of Williams and Grogan certainly gave the music a certain original bounce, Donin’s bass playing was sensational and McLaren was wonderfully inventive on keyboards. The whole shooting match was driven by the relentless, powerhouse, creative drumming of bandleader Holub.

All the tunes played bar one were from their latest album Umbrella Weather. After the gig whilst purchasing the aforementioned CD I mentioned to the band that I was buying it despite the fact that my favourite piece of the evening was not even on it. They apologised but explained that they were not able to reproduce the work in the studio in the same inspirational way that they had managed to perform it for us that evening. Proving that the joy of attending live music is that you never know what you might get and that sometimes you are lucky enough to be euphorically swept away by a band at the top of their game.

Steve H