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| © Jeff Pritchard |
I was expecting problems with train cancellations this weekend but to my surprise there were none and the 6:44pm train from Handforth to Stockport was on time. If it would just stop raining every time I go anywhere things would be just great but maybe that’s wishful thinking. Matthew Darwin was making his first appearance at this venue and, before the gig, I had a brief chat and was told that the bass player tonight should have been Gavin Barras but he was unable to get here and a last minute replacement was Bim Williams.
Bim has played here before but is better known as a first class guitarist and I have not seen him play double bass until now. I was pleased to see Richard Jones using the house upright and I liked his comping and interesting solos.
Matthew’s saxophones were both Selmer Balanced Action models manufactured in 1935 and they had the sound that you only get from vintage horns.
Most of the tunes he played on tenor sax, the opening number being Herbie Hancock’s Driftin’ which I think was originally on Herbie’s album Takin’ Off , the same album that contained the hit Watermelon Man. Matthew played two tunes on alto, Four and Wisteria, the latter being the first of three originals the others being Spring Buds (based on Autumn Leaves) and Slip Road. His sound on tenor made me think of Jimmy Heath who had a similar approach and also wrote some great tunes. I first met Matthew when I went to a monthly jam session that he runs at the Royal Oak, Mellor, which is near Stockport. He tells me the next jam is on June 13 so I must try to attend and blow the cobwebs off my tenor.
The next jazz night at the Railway will be on Tuesday May 28 with Jeff Guntren and the Paul Hartley Trio. Mike Farmer
Driftin’; I Loves You, Porgy; Some Day my Prince Will Come; Four; Wisteria; Pure Imagination; The Way You Look Tonight; A Child is Born; Spring Buds; There is no Greater Love; The Slip Road.
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