There are few rooms in London that carry quite the same hush of
anticipation as the private upstairs space at The Ivy. For the inaugural—and
now, one suspects, annual—EFG Jazz Festival at The Ivy Club, that hushed
expectation gave way to the warm glow of a packed members’ room as
long-standing house pianist and musical director Joe Thompson assembled a finely tuned quartet featuring Artie Zaitz, Neville Malcolm, and the ever-compelling Jo Harrop.
Thompson set the tone straight out of the gate with a beautifully measured arrangement of Cole Porter’s Easy To Love, his playing revealing both a deep reverence for the material and an instinctive understanding of the room’s intimacy. Harrop’s entrance confirmed what many in the audience already knew: this was a space tailor-made for her voice—capable of whisper-soft delicacy one moment and resonant, room-filling power the next. Thompson, Zaitz, and Malcolm supported her with the kind of restraint that speaks of years spent listening as much as playing, giving Harrop the latitude to unearth the emotional grain of every lyric.
Thompson took his turn in
the spotlight on a swinging A Foggy Day In London Town, rounding off his solo
with a sly quotation from London Bridge Is Falling Down—a small, playful gesture
that captured the easy camaraderie running through the quartet.
Seasonal resonance is a
jazz virtue too often forgotten, but not here. A tender, cool-toned reading of
Ralph Burns’ Early Autumn melted seamlessly into Harrop and
Paul Edis’ Only Spring Will Decide, reimagined in a soft bossa that nodded
to the shifting seasons outside. Harrop spoke briefly—and movingly—about the
still-recent memory of a Britain without live music, a period that prompted her
first solo album. From that collection came an upbeat Red Mary Janes, co-written with Vasanth
(Hannah) and Williams (Natalie), its nostalgic swing recalling nights out when
dressing up and stepping out were simple pleasures, not distant luxuries.
After the interval, the
group returned with a reworked The Heart Wants, the title track from
Harrop’s pandemic-era debut. Zaitz’s slide returned, Malcolm’s bass surged with
unforced authority, and the quartet seemed to settle even further into a shared
pulse that only seasoned collaborators achieve.
The highlight of the
evening came in the form of a duet between Harrop and Thompson returning to
Michel Legrand for a stripped back rendition of What are you Doing, the Rest of Your Life?. Thompson clearly enjoyed
this moment and the joy with which he plays was evident throughout. His touch
was delicate and the thought that went into his phrasing delighted all those
present many of whom come to see him play at the first floor piano bar on a
regular basis.
They closed the night with
a roaring 12-bar blues of Whisky Or The Truth?, Zaitz swapped to slide
for Whisky Or The Truth?, adding a touch of bluesy abrasion that
offset Harrop’s velvet vocal. Harrop posing the central question with a knowing
smile: “Do you want the truth—or do you want the whiskey?” It was a fitting
finale, equal parts humour and heartbreak, capturing the emotional ambivalence
at the core of so much great jazz.
For those lucky enough to
be in the room, this was a rare chance to hear four of London’s finest in one
of its most storied private settings, a venue that proved unexpectedly perfect
for such an intimate, spirited evening. If this first outing is anything to go
by, next year’s festival can’t come soon enough. Glenn Wright
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