The QOW Trio assembled, originally, to explore their love of Sonny Rollins’ piano-less trios of the 1950s but expanded their interest to encompass other big voiced tenorists with a full phat sound. The best sax trios have a rhythm section that pushes and prods the leader on and never allows the listener to wonder if there should be another horn or a pianist in the band. You need a monster bassist and a propulsive drummer, just like the QOW Trio. There is occasional space here, but the sax echoes into it and there is no sense of anything missing. This is music for the middle of a pandemic, recorded in one afternoon, where the band have shut out whatever lockdown we were in at the time and have convened to just blow. Cobwebs have no chance.
I started to play it at a
low volume so as to not annoy the neighbours. That was a mistake as volume is the
order of the day if you want to feel the full benefit of this prescription.
This is powerful energetic music for the feet and the bum. There are seven
covers of nine tracks, from Frank Loesser, Dewey Redman, Joe Henderson, Charlie
Parker and Cole Porter (twice), plus two by Riley Stone-Lonergan. Sonny Rollins
is present in spirit if not in the writing credits.
It starts with A Slowboat to China but this is a boat
with a motor on it. We get the track QOW
which is a butt-shaking fiesta and Qowfirmation
which is a swinging dance. God Bless the
Child slows the pace and includes a lovely round, fat bass solo from Eddie
Myer. (Myer, incidentally, was in Turin Brakes, but was not so lively back
then.) Pound for Prez, a RS-L
original, starts like it was recorded in black and white through a haze of
rising cigarette smoke before developing into something more joyous and easing
back into the club.
There is much joy in this
recording. It reminds me of happy evenings spent in small, warm rooms being
carried along by a band having fun, exchanging solos, dancing round each other,
calling and responding. Not boundary pushing or earth shattering, but just what
the doctor ordered. Just remember to play it loud and don’t worry what the
neighbours think.
Dave Sayer
Release date - Feb. 5 on Ubuntu Music.
A Slow Boat to China; QOW; Serenity;
Cheryl; Qowfirmation. God Bless The Child; It’s Alright With Me; Pound for
Prez; You Do Something To Me.
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