Abbie Finn (drums); Paul
Grainger (bass); Dean Stockdale (piano); Graham Hardy (trumpet/flugel); Harry
Keeble (tenor sax).
(Review/photos by (Roly).
This new band, a
quintet, played their inaugural concert at the Black Bull and a very fine
opening gig it was. The band is in the classic hard bop quintet style – think
Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Tubby Hayes through to Miles with Wayne Shorter. A
golden period in jazz history.
It was the first
time I’d heard Abbie Finn and Harry Keeble. They are part of a wave of
really fantastic young jazz players coming through. They do their music
degrees and emerge onto the scene with at times quite astonishing maturity and
skill for their age. Awareness of presentation skills too. There is a vanguard
of great young pros and the future of jazz is in very good hands!
We’ve heard Dean,
Graham & Paul at Blaydon many times – seasoned players, masters at what
they do. Putting them together with two of the most outstanding of the up and
coming stars – which was Blakey’s own formula – made for a great quintet
playing a mix of classic repertoire from this era plus some strong and varied
compositions contributed by each member of the band.
Here is a brief
resume of the set list:
Set 1
Dat Dere
– Bobby Timmons (a la Blakey).
Armando’s Blues
– Chic Corea
Dear Johnny B
– Tubby Hayes (Dedicated to Johnny Butts)
Umlazi Morning
– Paul Grainger (a theme reflecting the joy and happiness of the local people
in the SA Durban area, despite their economic hardship).
Step Five
– Graham Hardy (based on a pentatonic scale)
Lonely Voyager
– Harry Keeble (an atmospheric theme dedicated to the Voyager missions).
Set 2
Swinging at the Haven
– Ellis Marsalis
Nutville
– Horace Silver
Walkabout
– Abbie Finn
They Can’t Take That Away From Me – George Gershwin (a big band style
arrangement condensed down for quintet by Dean Stockdale).
Bem-vinda
– Paul Grainger (means ‘welcome’ in Portuguese).
Nica’s Dream
– Horace Silver
Great band - Great set of tunes – Go and hear them!
Roly
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