Philip Clouts (keys); Sammy Eagles (alto/soprano sax); Tim Fairhall (bass); Kiran Bhatt (drums).
(Review by Lance).
One minute they were standing shoulder to shoulder at the downstairs bar of the Jazz Coop's operational base, The Globe, and next minute they weren't. The vast majority had supped up and offed to the nearby Arena where Mark Knopfler appeared to have pulled a cup final sized crowd.
Back at The Globe, the tango dancers filed in upstairs and, thankfully, the downstairs bar filled up - perhaps they'd been to the Arena for a pre-gig pint!
On stage, Cape Town-born Clouts and his cohorts set-up before taking us on an ethnic journey round the Townships. It began lowkey and ended in a similar vein but, in between, we had some scintillating music - indeed, one of Clouts' compositions was titled Scintillate!
The Globe blurb described Eagles as a rising star which he most certainly is. On the evidence of this gig and a previous appearance or two at 11 Railway St. his star is well and truly in the ascendancy. Soaring comet-like he impressed on both alto and soprano, his tone on the straight sax as good as any I've heard avoiding both the wide Bechet-like vibrato and the strangulated sounds Coltrane was sometimes prone to.
Clouts' linear approach included some chorded riffs where I swear he had six fingers on each hand. His compositions, although inspired by such as Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim when he was still Dollar Brand, encompassed a more global landscape so we had, Latin tinged music, gospelly blues, and contemporary experimentation.
Fairhall was impressive on bass whilst Bhatt kept the jazz-rock, Afro-beat rhythms going without resorting to over-the-top exhibitionism.
I left in a good mood swept along by the departing Knopflerians. Seems as though we'd all had an enjoyable evening.
Lance.
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