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| (© Jeff Pritchard) |
A welcome return to the Railway by Neil Yates who had with him the same London based band that he brought along last time he was here. I remember being impressed by their approach then and they sounded even better tonight with Neil concentrating on playing flugelhorn and getting a great sound from what looked like a vintage instrument.
Reuben Ard was using a Nord 2 keyboard set to B3 mode and it reminded me of those great organists that I used to listen to on records like Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Charles Earland, and Jimmy McGriff etc. Most of those organ legends used tenor sax players to enhance their albums so it was a bit unusual to hear the line-up fronted by trumpet/flugel but, Neil being a very experienced musician, made it work.
He chose an interesting selection of tunes, nine in total, and played long bop influenced solos on each and shared the solo space with guitarist Tom Remon who impressed my pal Jeff by not playing too many notes but making every note count. The drummer, leader of the group, did a first class job in sustaining the groove and I liked the fact that he did not play too loudly or take too many solos.
In the second half Neil announced Softly as in a Morning Sunrise but said that, unlike most people, he would play the tune at a slower tempo than normal. In lesser hands this might not have worked but on this occasion it did. The following number was a tune that Neil dedicated to the late Chet Baker, It Could Happen To You. I like Chet’s version but my own favourite rendition is by Kenny Dorham on his Pacific Jazz album Into Jazz.
At 11-30pm the band was still playing So What when I, reluctantly, had to leave to catch my taxi.
There is no jazz on Tuesday Nov. 21 at the Railway but the next jazz night is on Sunday Nov. 26 with the Dean Masser Quartet. Mike Farmer
I'll Remember April; Just Friends; Whisper Not; Quiet Nights; Alone Together; Softly as in a Morning Sunrise; It Could Happen to You; You; Don’t Know What Love Is; So What.
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