James
Romaine (alto sax); Asaph Tal (double bass); Kai Chareunsy (drums).
(Review/PHOTOS by Lance).
There was no shortage of choice with gigs on Tyne, Tees and Wear - Newcastle alone had three tempting sessions - so BSH's resources were fully stretched. After much deliberation, I opted for the JR Trio from that hotbed of jazz the Birmingham Conservatoire.
I suspected that this pianoless/guitarless trio of young musicians would unleash a sack of 'originals' of the "I wrote this one on the top deck of a bus after I'd split up with my girlfriend" variety.
I couldn't have been more wrong!
The rarely heard Monk tune, Wee See, let the numbers present know that these guys not only knew where they were going but also where they'd been. The music verged on free but without any loss of sensitivity that was typified by the balladic rendition of These Foolish Things. The signature dish of the Great British Songbook had Romaine taking a meandering stab at the theme demonstrating his warm, round tone before going into a more intricate solo that explored the full dynamic range of his instrument. Tal's choice of notes was meaningful and compatible whilst Chareunsy was the soul of discretion on drums. A 5-star performance.
Discretion gave way to valour on Ornette Coleman's Congeniality. All three interacting effectively.
A number by a Danish tenor player whose name I didn't catch on a tune the title of which I didn't catch either was an absolute blast going from A to B via XY and Z - the whole nine yards.
Back to the standards and Cole Porter's What is This Thing Called Love? The extra percussion noises weren't due to Chareunsy but were caused by the sound of Porter turning over in his grave. This isn't a criticism, he did the same thing, according to Larry Adler, when Sinatra sang one of his songs and the composer wasn't even dead then! This was a stupendous end to the first set not least because of the drum solo/fours at the climax.
Time for a beer!
The second set opened with Mack the Knife but this was no Threepenny Opera but the full shilling culminating in a frenetic no-holds-barred ending that somehow segued into I'll Be Seeing You. Could these have been Mack's parting words to the 'body oozing life'?
Alone Together; In Your Own Sweet Way; Ornithology and a couple more then it was all over and time to reflect on what had been a great evening. I tend to think of trios without a chordal instrument to fill in the gaps being rather like a string quartet without the viola or the second violin but this wasn't the case with the JR triumvirate simply because there were no gaps only spaces as demanded by the direction of the music.
I could have saved time and described this evening at the Jazz Coop HQ in one word - MEMORABLE!
Lance.
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