This concert
was billed as “Jazz and Cakes” and was part of the Fringe Festival running
concurrently with the Liverpool International Jazz Festival 2026. This event
took place in the afternoon in between two other concerts at the nearby Capstone
Theatre which hosted the main Festival.
It was my first time to hear Frank Griffith play. As a renowned jazz saxophonist and clarinettist Frank has been performing for over 40 years primarily in New York and London. He has been based in the UK since 1996 but moved to the Liverpool area in 2018. He has received acclaim as a composer, arranger and radio broadcaster.
Whilst playing drums at this concert Vidar is better known for
being a very accomplished vibraphone player and I last saw him play that
instrument for the Merseyside based band “The Weave” in a concert in 2025.
According to Frank Dan also plays jazz guitar and I have also seen him play acoustic
bass. All three are very accomplished musicians.
Vegan friendly
cakes were provided by Catherine Braidy of Aigburth and they were of the same
high quality as the music.
As the set list
below indicates a wide range of tunes were performed but all with a jazzy feel.
Frank led the trio with consummate skill and allowed the other musicians scope
to express themselves. The tunes ranged in tempo from the Latin up beat of Buzzy
by Charlie Parker to the ballad Body and Soul. A modernised version
of On Broadway was a real audience pleaser. A packed venue thoroughly enjoyed
the concert of 2 hours which included a break for cakes. This venue formerly
was known as Melodic Distraction from which a radio station broadcast for
several years and I recall that Professor Catherine Tackley of Liverpool
University used to broadcast some radio programmes from here. The venue is now
used as a creative bar offering live music gigs, films and events out of a
small conservatory and courtyard.
It would be
remiss of me not to mention a gig Frank is playing on May 14 at Carlisle Jazz
Club, Warwick Road, Carlisle CA1 1LW where Frank is leading his Quartet including
Lucy Lockwood, Dean Stockdale and Dave Tompkins. Richard Morris
Set list: Sherman
Shuffle; Mambo Inn; Black Magic Woman; The Sidewinder; Ain’t
No Sunshine; On Broadway; The Chicken; Buzzy; I wish I knew; Soy Califa; Body
and Soul
Commune, Constance
Street, Liverpool L3 8HB open Thursday to Sunday 3pm to 12am save 11pm on
Sundays www.communeliverpool.com
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