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| (© Jeff Pritchard) |
I’ve seen Neil Yates many times over the years and his visit to the Railway, which was part of a short tour by this excellent group covering Nottingham, London, and Llandudno, reinforced my view that he is one of the most interesting brass players on the current UK modern jazz scene. I think I first became aware of Neil during one of the Manchester jazz workshops run by bass player Stuart Riley that we both attended and he already showed he could get round those tricky bop tunes by Parker and Gillespie when only sixteen years of age.
The rest of the band were London based musicians and were all unknown to me but they were very impressive. The drummer had a great sound on his kit and he played at just the right volume for the room keeping the tempos spot on. Definitely Mark Hardman is a name to watch out for. Another member of this band that I would like to see making a return visit was guitarist Tom Remon whose interesting solos were well received by the many jazz fans in the audience including myself. Reuben Ard was playing a Nord C2 organ and although the sound he produced was not the Hammond sound I prefer, it fitted in well within the context of this fine group.
The number of tunes that were performed tonight totalled eight, four each set , less than usual but I didn’t mind that because all the tunes were well worth hearing even the much played Stella by Starlight sounded good to me.
Tonight (July 3) the band will be at Neil’s regular Monday night venue in North Wales, the Penryn Arms, Pendre Road, Pendrhynside, Llandudno.
To sum up - Neil is playing better than ever and a highspot of the evening for me was Neil’s great rendition of that very challenging Sonny Rollins tune Pent-up House. Hope he makes a speedy return. The next jazz night at the Railway will be Tuesday July 4 with the Ed Kainyek Quartet. Mike Farmer
Just Friends; Whisper Not; You Don’t Know What Love is; Pent-up House; Dear Old Stockholm; Up Jumped Spring; Stella by Starlight; Speak Low.
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