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| © Malcolm Sinclair |
Graham Hardy (trumpet); Ben Lawrence
(keys); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
With the greening of spring evident and a surprisingly blue sky across the valley on the last Friday in April another capacity Gala audience were treated to a stunning debut by a new band on the north east scene (or rather a new line-up of mainly familiar faces). Clearly all the musicians knew each other’s playing well, having played together over the past year in both Mondo Trumpet and the Sue Ferris Quintet. And it was a welcome return to the Gala of one of the region’s rising stars, former Gala Big Band pianist Ben Lawrence.
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| © Malcolm Sinclair |
The band
opened at lively pace with Clark Terry’s Orbit. The set list was going to be a mix of pieces by
Graham’s favourite players/composers and his own compositions. Graham’s trumpet
led on most, more than ably supported by strong contributions from Ben, Andy
and John. The pace slowed for Wayne Shorter’s Tom Thumb, from his 1967 sextet album, Schizophrenia.
Daahoud, a fast bop piece from Clifford Brown’s 1954 recording with Max Roach, maintained a relaxed mood with a hint of Middle Eastern/Arabic rhythms. Ben’s falling shower of piano phrases behind the trumpet showing he was in no way phased to be in Richie Powell’s chair.
A surprise next and from a Durham composer! Not Will Todd who penned a piece Sue Ferris performed earlier in this concert series, but from Witton Gilbert’s Paddy McAloon, a Prefab Sprout song, One of the Broken. I asked Graham if he had chosen it for the lyrics or the melody, his magical tone clearly reflecting the hymnic quality of the melody, almost with a feel of the coalfield brass band music celebrated here each year in the summer Durham Brass Festival. However, it was the song that attracted Graham – I leave it to the reader to look up the lyrics for more elucidation.
A selection of Graham’s compositions followed. First Shoe Tree - I didn’t catch the origin of the title – featured both Andy’s slowly walking bass intro and his resonating lyricism behind Graham’s theme and solo. Ben’s piano again featured, weaving extricate patters behind Andy and John’s tight bass and drums.
The Pounce
– a piece previously featured here by Graham – was inspired by his rescue kitten, a
gentle playful melody with intricately crafted interactions between the other
members of the group.
The penultimate piece, Muskat Ramble, resisted confusion with Kid Ory’s Muskrat Ramble, the audience perhaps anticipating a return to Graham’s fondness for New Orleans street band music. It was however inspired by Graham’s ramble through the street markets of Muskat, capital city of Oman. Another Middle Eastern/ North African vibe, an opening trumpet call, each band member venturing their own exploration of the theme, Ben again magical, Andy’s driving bass recalling the feel of Zoe’s Red City piece about Marrakesh, and John at last given the space to feature solo on the sticks, Graham’s solo reminiscent of the trumpet on Rabhi Abou-Khali’s The Cactus of Knowledge tracks like Ma Muse M’Amuse …….
The Gala staff gave the go-ahead for a
closing piece, extending the concert beyond the scheduled hour, and Graham’s Gumbo
Tree filled the space, completing the journey from bebop and post-bop USA,
via the Middle East, Tyneside rescue cats, Langley Park, to a tree linked to a favourite
Afro-American dish from Louisiana of purported West African origins. A bluesy
feel, call and response from trumpet and piano, always a story behind the music.
Brian
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