Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Paul Grainger (double bass)
Hot on the heels of a sold out performance at the Lit & Phil in Newcastle, this evening here at Durham's Holy GrAle micro pub the Abbie Finn Trio reprised much of the material heard in the Loftus Room last week. The brick-lined cellar on Crossgate is best described as 'snug'. It's doubtful a cat has ever been successfully swung in the intimate space, however, drummer Abbie, tenor saxophonist Harry Keeble and bassist Paul Grainger ensured it - the music - swung from the down beat.
Joe Henderson's Recorda Me, a likely favourite of Keeble's, introduced the trio to the (few) new faces there to hear two sets of straight ahead to contemporary jazz. The familiar faces present had a good idea of what to expect as Keeble developed a taut, Brecker-like tenor solo. Over Keeble's right shoulder stood Mr PG, bassist Paul Grainger, with little in the way of headroom to spare, bandleader Finn's kit squeezed into the far corner. Cuts from Northern Perspective, the trio's debut album, were interspersed with new material (premiered at the Lit & Phil) and a standard or two. Nothing Personal flew (Keeble embracing Brecker and Trane), Keeble an increasingly distinctive voice on the scene. Caravan featured more of Keeble and a top notch solo from Finn.
Body and Soul is a tune we've heard countless times. The trio's take on Johnny Green's number offered a slightly different perspective thanks to Keeble exploring its harmonic structure. Second Skin was getting a second outing following last week's premiere performance. It didn't have a title last week, PG suggested Nuevo Pieles, this evening, as Finn revealed her kit had new skins, it went by the name of Second Skin. Next time (Jazz Co-op, Sunday 27 Feb) it could have another title! To close the set, Abbie and the boys went out on Irving Berlin's Remember. A good session. Russell
Set list: Recorda Me; Windows; Mirador de los Poleos; Nothing Personal; The Warren; Tangerine; Caravan; My Shining Hour; Body and Soul; Second Skin (aka Nuevo Pieles); Masca; Remember.
No comments :
Post a Comment