Derrick Harris Quartet @ the Railway, Stockport - March 3

 (© Jeff Pritchard)

Derrick Harris (guitar); Darren Lloyd (trumpet/flugel); José Canha (bass); Paul Smith (drums).

On previous visits to the Railway Derrick has used a keyboard player, usually Andrzej Baranek but for this gig he had as his front-line partner Darren Lloyd a fine musician who I have not had the pleasure of hearing before. My friend Jeff tells me that Darren played here recently as part of the Mike Hall Octet but I missed that gig. If you like the Chet Baker style of playing as I do then you will like Darren’s sound and he did a great job of sight reading Derrick’s interesting charts.

I liked all the eleven tunes that were played, even I'll Remember April which was played three times in two weeks at the Railway by various bands. I thought that the Luiz Bonfá composition Samba de Orpheu worked well and one thing I have noticed is that although the guitarist was using foot-pedals they were used sparingly and were  not intrusive. Recently there have been quite a number of guitar players here at the Railway and I must say that the more I hear Derrick Harris the more I like what he is doing. I was also impressed with the rhythm section and the great groove that they established. It was good to see Paul Smith using his brushes to enhance the music.

The next jazz night at the Railway is on Tues March 5 with the Ed Kainyek Quartet. Mike Farmer

 

Days Gone By; Sandu; Zig Zag; Sometime Ago; Samba de Orpheu; Shiny Stockings; Can’t Dance; One Morning In May; Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me; White Rabbit; I'll Remember April.