Sunday night @ the Globe: The Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet - Sept. 8

© Ken Drew

Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

This second outing by Graham Hardy's new quartet drew a sizeable crowd down on Railway Street. Eclectic by name...trumpeter Hardy's eclectic choice of material...join the dots. Three jazz standards followed by a Prefab Sprout number, Hardy, Ben Lawrence, Andy Champion and John Bradford read the dots, performing as a cohesive unit with, as yet, little in the way of stage time together.

Clark Terry's In Orbit (Hardy, flugelhorn), Wayne Shorter's Tom Thumb and one by one of bandleader Hardy's favourite trumpeters, Clifford Brown's Daahoud (as arranged by Terell Stafford) set the standard, a very high standard at that. From the bebop feel of Clark Terry to a workout on Prefab Sprout's One of the Broken, an eclectic and varied opening selection. The wittily-titled Muscat Ramble journeyed to the Middle East and on in an easterly direction, closing an interesting and entertaining first set.

© Ken Drew

At the start of the second set, Graham Hardy expressed his thanks that no one had left during the interval. Why would we? This was great stuff! From here on it was Hardy originals all the way with an end-of-set nod to In My Solitude. Some, indeed most, of the material was familiar - The Pounce (it's all about a cat), Boot Tree Blues (to be found in Heaton Park) then a new composition, inspired by the late Gordon Marshall. Graham and Gordon were often to be found working together in the trumpet section of numerous big bands. The title of G. Hardy's composition speaks volumes - The Guidance of Gordon.               

Given the calibre of musician on stage, it goes without saying that, as a unit, the Eclectic Quartet is of the A-list variety and the many solos - shared across the band - were never less than impeccable. Russell

 

Set list: In Orbit; Tom Thumb; Daahoud; One of the Broken; Muscat Ramble; The Pounce; Step 5; The Guidance of Gordon; Boot Tree Blues; Watch Your Step; In My Solitude; Gumbo Time