 |
| (© Jeff Pritchard) |
Neil brought a really fine group of musicians with him for this gig and he gave them plenty of solo space. The bass player James Owston and the drummer Jim Bashford are from the Birmingham area while Tony Remon is from London. Neil, although he was born in Stockport, now resides in North Wales after spending time in London where he was in great demand for recordings and concerts.
The programme consisted of mainly standards with the exception of the opener, Benny Golson’s Whisper Not and Sonny Rollins' Pent Up House. This latter tune is a real finger-buster to play on saxophone and no easier I would think on trumpet but Neil’s rendition was spot on.
I was surprised to see a tenor sax brought into play on In a Sentimental Mood. I asked him later what make it was and he said it was a Montreux. Can’t say I’ve heard of this make before but Neil got a nice mellow sound on it. One of my favourite jazzmen is the late Ira Sullivan who I saw a few times when he toured Europe with Red Rodney and he was fantastic on flute, trumpet and sax. Maybe we will hear more tenor from Neil on future gigs.
Guitarist Tony Remon has that Jim Hall influence that I like to hear and his solos were both interesting and melodic. I think I saw Jim Bashford with Nigel Price during last year's Swanage Jazz Festival and I hear he is on the drumming faculty at Birmingham Conservatoire so he is definitely making an impact on the UK Jazz scene. Bassman Owston is already well known having worked with Clark Tracey, Greg Abate and was seen on the BBC4 2018 Young Jazz Musician show with Xhosa Cole.
The next jazz night at the Railway is Tuesday Jan 24 with Paul Hartley Quartet featuring Brian Pendleton. Mike Farmer
Whisper Not; Willow Weep For Me; Pent Up House; In a Sentimental Mood; What is This Thing Called Love?; It Could Happen to You; Softly as in a Morning Sunrise; Just Friends.
2 comments :
How do musicians get a gig here?
The Railway can be contacted by phone 0161 477 3680. or www.facebook.com/railway.jazz
Post a Comment