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| (© Ken Drew) |
Sloth Racket were formed for a Jazz North East commission so Sunday night’s co-promotion between the Jazz Coop and JNE was a welcome return to their spiritual womb. Playing a selection of past pieces and new material the band ripped it up from the start. More ‘Racket’ than ‘Sloth’ maybe but constantly inspirational and inventive with superb playing from both the individual and ensemble point of view.
The juxtaposition of Roberts on baritone and Andreae on tenor was enthralling and Bennett on his five string double bass really put a shift in. The fabulous Hunter Brothers never disappoint: Anton on guitar amazingly versatile and creative, Johnny his normal brilliant self. It wasn’t all driving rollicking rip roaring stuff there was a fair amount of nuance too. Just to calm it down a bit there was a delightful ballad-like piece in the second set. The band clearly seemed to be enjoyed themselves and their camaraderie was clearly evident emphasised by the humorous moments that appeared within the music throughout the evening.
Paul Bream was spot on in his preview (elsewhere) of this gig when he wrote, For anybody who shares my belief that jazz is at is best when it is creatively curious and constantly throws up surprises, this gig is surely unmissable.
Let’s hope his Grand National predictions are just as accurate. Steve H
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