Scarborough Jazz Festival - Saturday afternoon (Sept. 27)

¡Ritmo Caliente! - A Tribute To Cal Tjader at 100

John Settle (vibes); Andrzej Baranek (piano); Ivan Pavon (double bass); Jack McCarthy (timbales); Sam Bell (congas); Camilo Ochoa (bongos, campana) + Alan Barnes (baritone sax, alto sax)

 

¡Ritmo Caliente! is John Settle's celebration of fellow vibes player Cal Tjader. In the centenary year of the American musician's birth (b.16.7.1925), Scarborough Jazz Festival offered a platform to Settle to pay tribute. The sextet, comprising Latin jazz specialists (notably Jack McCarthy, timbales, Sam Bell, congas, Andrzej Baranek, piano), set about transforming Scarborough's Northern Hemisphere Spa into a hot spot somewhere South of the Border.

Time and again the insistent sound of bongos, congas and timbales won applause from the packed hall. Afro Blue, Lullaby of Birdland, Mamblues, the on stage musicians were enjoying themselves and their infectious enthusiasm captured the audience. 

Festival compere Alan Barnes joined Settle and co for a couple of numbers, including Clare Fischer's Morning. Bandleader Settle's informative commentary served as a useful introduction to Tjader's music, making each number all the more accessible, Maramoor Mambo from Soul Sauce a case in point. A most enjoyable set.     

Shirley Smart Trio

Shirley Smart (cello); John Crawford (piano); Demi Garcia Sabat (drums, percussion)

Middle Eastern, Arabic influences abounded during cellist Shirley Smart's mid-afternoon set. Joined by pianist John Crawford and percussionist Demi Garcia Sabat, Smart improvised freely, demonstrating remarkable dexterity, Crawford and Sabat creating complex rhythms.    

 

Ben Holder Quartet

Ben Holder (violin, vocals, piano); Dominic Ashworth (guitar); Paul Jefferies (double bass); Nick Millward (drums)

To describe Ben Holder as a 'livewire' doesn't begin to convey just how energetic a performer the violinist/pianist/vocalist is. Watching - and listening to - Holder in action is an exhausting experience. Stomping, if not leaping, around the stage, Ben Holder gives it 100% - and more. 

Guitarist Dominic Ashworth, bassist Paul Jefferies and drummer Nick Milward are fine musicians. Working with Holder, the one thing they needed to be was rehearsed to a tee. And they were just that. Real pros.    

A couple of numbers into his set, Holder sat down at the piano: I don't really play the piano, I just want to sit down! Well, Holder is more than a decent pianist, but, no doubt about it, his manic Hot Club-esque violin playing stole the show. From a full-throttle Air Mail Special opener, to a hurtling Caravan, to Queen's We Will Rock You (strange but true!) and a It Don't Mean a Thing finale,  Ben Holder's dynamic performance suggests he is one of a kind. Russell