On the opening
night of the EFG London Jazz Festival the Joe Webb Trio played two sold out houses. I
was lucky enough to get tickets for both houses. The set list below comprised
tunes played in the first house. I put my reviewer's pen down for the second
house.
Joe and Will had only recently returned from a whirlwind tour of Taiwan, China and Hong Kong where Kai MacRae had been the drummer but normal service resumed for these concerts with Sam Jesson returning as the trio’s regular drummer.
Backed by an
audience including a very good representation from south Wales where Joe was born, nearly three hours of music in total was enjoyed over the two houses. A mix of jazz
standards given the Joe Webb treatment and tunes composed by Joe, some from his
Mercury Prize nominated album Hamstrings and Hurricanes and earlier
releases and the odd new tune thrown in for good measure.
The concert
opened with the title track from Hamstrings and Hurricanes followed by an
extended version of Lullaby of Birdland. Next followed Red, a tribute
to the American saxophonist Red Prysock. 100 years of Bill and Lil was
about his late grandparents and was followed by a terrific version of Pitter Patter Panther a
song by Duke Ellington and Jimmy Blanton. The tune Munchin in Munchen about a 24 hour
hot dog stall in Munich appeared on an earlier EP titled Collblanc.
The trio then
played Curveball my favourite tune off the album Hamstrings and
Hurricanes and which they played at the Mercury Music Prize Awards event in
Newcastle in October. This morphed into a version of Miss Dynamite.
A concert by
this trio would not be complete without a piano solo and Joe performed Tiger
Rag which was Art Tatum’s signature piece although not written by him. David
and Goliath is a tune about Joe’s brother. This was followed by Sportsday
and the first house concluded with I Get Ideas by Louis Armstrong
which was based on an earlier Argentinian tango tune.
The second house was equally enjoyable with an almost completely different set list to the
first house. Whilst I did not record which tunes were played they included Myfanwy
, Carces and Room 208. Whilst Joe admitted he and Will were suffering from
jet lag you would not have realised such was the trio’s masterful playing. Joe’s
piano playing was, as ever, mind-blowing. HIs improvisational skills are
staggering. At a concert earlier this year in Llandudno I was present when none
other than Jools Holland said pianists like Joe only come around once every 10
years. The trio’s rhythm section of Will and Sam are essential too and are
wonderful musicians in high demand. Richard Morris
Set list: Hamstrings
and Hurricanes; Lullaby of Birdland; Red; 100 Years of Bill and Lil; Pitter
Patter Panther; Munchin in Munchen; Melotonen; Curveball/Miss Dynamite; Tiger
Rag; David and Goliath; Sportsday; I Get Ideas
Pizza Express Live, 10 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 3RW https:www.pizzaexpresslive.com Tel: 020 74379595 Music 7 days a week
No comments :
Post a Comment