I had the pleasure of attending a gig at Darlington’s Forum Music Centre last night to hear the Abbie Finn Trio. They have been described as Exceptional British Jazz by Chris Philips of JazzFM and A masterclass in straight ahead jazz by BSH’s own Russell Corbett in the Northern Echo and it wasn’t hard to see why. The musicianship of all three: Abbie Finn on drums, Harry Keeble on tenor sax and Paul Grainger on double bass, was outstanding.
The terrific set they played included a variety of covers as well as numbers penned by each of the three.
Covers included Chick Corea's Windows and Don Grolnick's Nothing Personal – both of which appear on the band’s first studio album - Devil May Care (Bob Dorough), The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers (Steve Kuhn), Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol's Caravan, played as a samba and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Charles Mingus' poignant memory of Lester Young.
Own compositions included a variety of styles: Harry Keeble’s Ginnungagap
(in 5/4 straight 8s); Abbie Finn’s Big Old Spice Cabinet (Latin); So
it’s True* (funk); North Sea Wind* (swing); and Paul Grainger’s On
Pink Lane* (swing) apparently written in celebration of the
Newcastle jazz jam’s original home (now in The Black Swan on Westgate Road).
Also, my two favourites of the evening: Abbie’s The Labyrinth* achieving
a high-pitched tom-tom effect using mallets and turning the snare off (I had to
ask her afterwards how she did it – I hasten to add) oh and the bow came out
for the double bass! And, finally, Paul Grainger’s Umlazi Morning
(Afro-Cuban).
The Forum provided a perfect venue for this gig – a lit stage but with
an intimate atmosphere allowing Abbie to chat directly with the very
appreciative audience – no mic in sight.
A band definitely worth seeing – I’ll go again.
*All numbers bearing the * feature on the trio’s new studio album –
recorded just two weeks ago. Any other own compositions mentioned are from the
first studio album.
3 comments :
Great review! Harry's Ginnungagap is a top tune.
Thanks for the kind words Jan. It was lovely to see you.
Once slight amendment, On Pink Lane was written by Abbie. Great tune!
What a lovely review Jan of a great band
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