A couple of jazz gigs in Edinburgh...
Apr. 27th, 2008 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhythmaningI haven’t been to jazz gigs for a while, but I recently went to two.
First, I caught a concert by pianists John Taylor and Gwilym Simcock at the Queens Hall. (The lack of an apostrophe pains me, but that is how they write it.)
The gig started with Taylor playing a solo set. Looking just like a slightly jazzier Bernard Cribbins, he sat at the piano and played. It was lovely music – thoughtful and peaceful, slightly meandering – rather like Satie. He played three or four numbers before he was joined by Simcock.
They played a few standards – I can’t remember what – and they didn’t sound like standards, really. They played well together – there was a lot of understanding between them. The music was less ethereal than when Taylor was playing alone – the tunes a little more recognisable.
In the second set, Simcock played solo, and then he was joined by Taylor. Last time I heard Simcock play was during the last London Jazz Festival, and I wasn’t too impressed: he seemed technically excellent, but everything the band played was in a funny time, and it seemed way too clever-clever: it just didn’t work for me. This time, he played beautifully, stripped back to the bare piano (albeit a rather fine grand piano) – he seemed more focused, less out to impress. I thought he was great.
For the last few numbers, Taylor rejoined Simcock on stage and they played a few more standards. A really enjoyable, and rather beautiful, gig.
This gig had been organised by the singer Todd Gordon in the guise of Jazz International, a new venture he has set up to promote jazz. I chatted to him in the interval: I had avoided his gigs before (not liking jazz vocalists much!), but he seemed a really nice, genuine guy. It wasn’t a great crowd – the downstairs area was about a third full, I’d guess, and I think he was a little disappointed, especially for what seemed like a great line-up – John Taylor hadn’t played solo in Scotland before. Still, it was a Thursday night, and mid-week gigs are often quiet – and I am not sure it had been well publicised – I had only found out about it because the Jazz Bar had included a note about it in their newsletter.
There were some interesting people there, though: aside from the usual faces one sees at just about every jazz gig, Gordon Brewer was there – he must have been having a night off from Newsnight - and there were a large number of Edinburgh’s jazz musicians in the audience, too – pianists Chick Lyall and Brian Kellock amongst them.
I went to the Jazz Bar itself for the first time in an age a couple of weeks ago to see alto saxophonist Peter King. Another great gig; it made me think I really should get out to see music more often.
He was playing in a quartet with Martin Drew on drums, Steve Melling on piano and Geoff Gascoyne on bass. The first set was good, but as so often happens, the second set was brilliant – some really fiery playing, great solos from King, and wonderful support by the band. They played a couple of Chick Corea numbers – a surprising choice for an alto player – and a long suite of King’s dedicated to John Coltrane, which was just superb.
I took some pictures… Actually, I took 82 pictures. The problem with digital cameras – particularly since he didn’t move much, so I got 82 very similar photographs! Here are my favourite.
I actually have a couple of connections with Martin Drew, and it was quite strange to see him. When I was thirteen, and I got my first drum kit, I took some drum lessons, and Drew was my teacher. I didn’t take many – I wasn’t that good, and I didn’t enjoy the lessons (I wanted to hit things rather than study the dots).
And then he played as part of a quartet at my father’s memorial service, nearly twenty years ago.
First, I caught a concert by pianists John Taylor and Gwilym Simcock at the Queens Hall. (The lack of an apostrophe pains me, but that is how they write it.)
The gig started with Taylor playing a solo set. Looking just like a slightly jazzier Bernard Cribbins, he sat at the piano and played. It was lovely music – thoughtful and peaceful, slightly meandering – rather like Satie. He played three or four numbers before he was joined by Simcock.
Cribbins - Taylor
(neither picture is mine!)
They played a few standards – I can’t remember what – and they didn’t sound like standards, really. They played well together – there was a lot of understanding between them. The music was less ethereal than when Taylor was playing alone – the tunes a little more recognisable.
In the second set, Simcock played solo, and then he was joined by Taylor. Last time I heard Simcock play was during the last London Jazz Festival, and I wasn’t too impressed: he seemed technically excellent, but everything the band played was in a funny time, and it seemed way too clever-clever: it just didn’t work for me. This time, he played beautifully, stripped back to the bare piano (albeit a rather fine grand piano) – he seemed more focused, less out to impress. I thought he was great.
For the last few numbers, Taylor rejoined Simcock on stage and they played a few more standards. A really enjoyable, and rather beautiful, gig.
* * *
This gig had been organised by the singer Todd Gordon in the guise of Jazz International, a new venture he has set up to promote jazz. I chatted to him in the interval: I had avoided his gigs before (not liking jazz vocalists much!), but he seemed a really nice, genuine guy. It wasn’t a great crowd – the downstairs area was about a third full, I’d guess, and I think he was a little disappointed, especially for what seemed like a great line-up – John Taylor hadn’t played solo in Scotland before. Still, it was a Thursday night, and mid-week gigs are often quiet – and I am not sure it had been well publicised – I had only found out about it because the Jazz Bar had included a note about it in their newsletter.
There were some interesting people there, though: aside from the usual faces one sees at just about every jazz gig, Gordon Brewer was there – he must have been having a night off from Newsnight - and there were a large number of Edinburgh’s jazz musicians in the audience, too – pianists Chick Lyall and Brian Kellock amongst them.
* * *
I went to the Jazz Bar itself for the first time in an age a couple of weeks ago to see alto saxophonist Peter King. Another great gig; it made me think I really should get out to see music more often.
He was playing in a quartet with Martin Drew on drums, Steve Melling on piano and Geoff Gascoyne on bass. The first set was good, but as so often happens, the second set was brilliant – some really fiery playing, great solos from King, and wonderful support by the band. They played a couple of Chick Corea numbers – a surprising choice for an alto player – and a long suite of King’s dedicated to John Coltrane, which was just superb.
I took some pictures… Actually, I took 82 pictures. The problem with digital cameras – particularly since he didn’t move much, so I got 82 very similar photographs! Here are my favourite.
* * *
I actually have a couple of connections with Martin Drew, and it was quite strange to see him. When I was thirteen, and I got my first drum kit, I took some drum lessons, and Drew was my teacher. I didn’t take many – I wasn’t that good, and I didn’t enjoy the lessons (I wanted to hit things rather than study the dots).
And then he played as part of a quartet at my father’s memorial service, nearly twenty years ago.