Colin Steele and friends.

[rhythmaning]

Another gig in Edinburgh: this time Colin Steele and Brian Kellock with the house band at the Jazz Bar.

I had noticed trumpeter Steele concentrating hard on Enrico Rava’s playing earlier in the week. In the subterranean dive of the Jazz Bar, he took the limelight – it was his evening.

They played standards, rather than Steele’s own music, but his playing was scintillating. Reaching for the high notes – and hitting them – his trumpet sounded ringing and striking.

Keith Edwards on tenor produced a rich tone which balanced Steele’s more strident sound – Edwards played some great solos, and the two of them bounced lines around in true chasing style.

Kellock played less of a role than I had expected, and Bill Kyle, who plays drums as well running the Jazz Bar, could have been more forceful and driving – it felt like he was hanging back behind Edwards and Steele.

My one gripe was the audience: they got louder and louder and louder, until I could hear more of the audience than I could of the music – and I was sitting at the front! Why go to a jazz gig to talk? It the depths of the cellar, the chatter was distracting. It was good for the bar – a lot of people means they must have sold a lot of beer! – but a shame for the music.

Comments

[psychochicken.livejournal.com]

I have one of his CDs too! We went so see him doing one of his "stamash" jazz-meets-folk shows and I really liked it but it didn't seem to go down terribly well with the audience in general which led to a poor atmosphere.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

That surprises me - I have seen Stramash a couple of times and I love the mix of folk and jazz - and over this side, the audience loved them! Perhaps that mix works for a jazz audience better than a folk one?

[psychochicken.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. The Glasgow and Edinburgh audiences are very different beasts indeed.