Dinosaur: Live stream from Kings Place, EFG London Jazz Festival - Nov. 15

Laura Jurd (trumpet); Elliot Galvin (piano); Conor Chaplin (double bass); Corrie Dick (drums).

(Review & screen grabs by Amy Sibley-Allen)

Perhaps to give the authentic feel of a live jazz gig the live stream didn’t start at the time advertised, in was in fact the result of technical issues. However once resolved Mercury-nominated quartet Dinosaur delivered a fine rendition of their 3^rd Studio Album To The Earth. Released on Edition Records in May this is its first outing. A predominately acoustic album, in contrast to their more ‘plugged in’ prior albums, Together as One and Wonder Trail, this is a perfect fit for Kings Place’s Hall 1.

As always, bandleader, composer and trumpeter Laura Jurd’s modest, unassuming energy, makes for an incredibly relaxed concert - whilst her underlying confidence in her music- making still shines through.

Opening with the album’s title track To The Earth Conor Chaplin’s bass vamp reels us in and the concert gets off to a great start. The languorous Slow Loris lives up to the title and is both deliberate and unhurried with a plodding bass line interspersed with Jurd’s trumpet growls and Eliott Glavin’s cascading piano.

Corrie Dick’s drums skills are showcased in the exuberant Mosking, a track inspired by the Norwegian piano trio Moskus, which opens with a playful duo between Dick and Jurd and followed later by a groovy drum solo utilising the tin can perched on Dick’s cymbals.  

All tracks on the album are composed by Jurd besides a cover of Billy Strayhorn’s Absinthe, from Duke Ellington’s album Afro-Bossa. A wonderful spacey synth vibe prevails throughout. A fun and rhymical Banning St Blues leads into the tender and melancholic For One - a perfect end to the set.  

Overall the evening was a joy, if there was any gripe at all perhaps the drums seemed a little lost in the mix, but other than that the sound and visuals were truly excellent. Now in their tenth year of music making together Dinosaur continue to evolve and go from strength to strength. Whatever comes next for them let’s hope to be able to applaud in person. Although, as several people noted in the chat feature having the fridge within easy reach has its plus sides.

Amy Sibley-Allen