John J Williamson Trio @ Durham University - Feb. 3

John J Williamson (double bass); Alex Hitchcock (tenor sax); Jay Davis (drums)

This Durham University Jazz Society event promised much and it delivered in spades. John J Williamson, an alumnus of Durham University (Grey College), returned to his old stomping ground to play a concert up on Palace Green organised by the current custodians of the student-run Jazz Society. Against a background of Durham Cathedral's peeling bells, bassist Williamson, tenor saxophonist Alex Hitchcock and drummer Jay Davis presented two absorbing sets of music.

The material embraced standards, bassist Williamson's original compositions and the composer's liking for a contrafact. All three musicians read from reams of charts, focused on the job at hand, their razor-sharp reactions to a constantly shifting musical landscape making this one tight unit. Gaston from Beauty and the Beast came as a surprise, similarly You're Getting to be a Habit with Me (think Sinatra in and out of a swing time feel with a nod to Ornette's free-ish approach to a standard), Blue (a contrafact of I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me), this was impressive stuff. 

The student audience liked what it was hearing, as did the few non-students in attendance. An energetic untitled composition opened the second set, followed by Lee Konitz' It's You (a contrafact of of Cahn and Styne's It's You or No One). One would never have predicted Moonlight Serenade making the set list, but it did! Hitchcock's tenor playing, very effective in the upper register, took Miller's much-loved tune and played it more or less straight, your correspondent anticipating a double time breakout, but it never happened. Excellent! Without a Bridge (another contrafact referencing Vincent Youmans' Without a Song) let Hitchcock off the leash (the audience whooping and hollering), drummer Davis stepping up too. Hitchcock further impressed on Bud Powell's Oblivion.   

To close out the evening, another Williamson tune, described by its composer as containing elements of bluegrass, folk and pop, inspired by his time in Washington DC, the title derived from his then home, 2700 Q St NW. The John J Williamson Trio is well-worth hearing and there's another opportunity to catch the boys this evening (Friday 4) at Saltburn Arts (7:30pm. £12.00. at the door). As Williamson is a Saltburn lad, it's odds on he's going to enjoy the gig! Recommended. Russell                  

Set list: ?; Gaston; You're Getting to be a Habit with Me; Nothing Grows in Concrete; Crystal Lake; Blue; untitled original composition; It's You; Moonlight Serenade; Without a Bridge; Get Out While It's Light; Oblivion; 2700 Q St NW.