When it comes to blowing tenor, Brandon Allen plays hardball. The ultimate groover, he should be walkin' the bar in a downtown joint in Philly or Detroit not live streaming to an invisible audience in Chelsea.
But, such are the times we live in that we have to be thankful for small mercies or, like tonight, very large mercies!
When it comes to playing blues, soul or funk saxophone few do, or rather did, it better than the late Stanley Turrentine so it was only natural that Australian sax man, now domiciled in London, Brandon Allen, who is equally at home in the above genres, should opt to pay tribute to him.
Perfect for Saturday night jazz in a club that should have been jam-packed with unsociably distanced customers but wasn't. Ah well ...
Fortunately, the lack of a visible audience didn't hold the quartet back and they went for the jugular.
Allen hits notes that would be beyond the reach of many soprano saxists. Aggressive, hard hitting, no prisoners taken. In Will Barry he has a soulmate. Barry, who's been on several live streams this week, switched effortlessly from grand piano to Nord keyboard to provide Allen with the launching pad to send the leader off into orbit - Mars I'm on my way! Barry did less showboating than Allen but that didn't detract from what he was laying down in his solos. Surprisingly, given what was going on in front of them, bass and drums were relatively subdued.
Great session at a great club.
Lance
I'm Satisfied; Living Through it All; The Island; You're Gonna Hear From me; Fool on the Hill; Mississippi City Strut; Love For Sale; Can't Buy me Love.
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