The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8JH | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Enquiries 020 7993 3643 | Email Info at Vortex

November 2007
gig reviews

The Necks
Porpoise Corpus
The Chris Lowe Quintet
Evan Parker, Barry Guy
 Paul Lytton, Peter Evans
Ian Shaw
Radioplay
Fraud
Hih
Zoe Rahman Trio
Robert Mitchell
 and Corey Mwamba
Billy Jenkins and
 Steve Morrison

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November gig reviews by Chris Parker

Fraud

Wednesday 21 November

Fraud have received a good deal of publicity recently, much of it (all too typically, the mainstream media generally being interested mainly in superficial, style-oriented elements rather than the music itself) concerning the category into which they might reasonably be placed: 'punk jazz'? 'death jazz'?

Such nonsense, happily, doesn't seem to have affected their approach: their hell-for-leather improvisations, sparked but not constricted by tricksy little heads or powerfully galumphing riffs, have, if anything, become freer over the last couple of years or so, James Allsopp ranging at will (on tenor, baritone and bass clarinet) over a seething mass of percussion (two drummers – Tim Giles and Ben Reynolds – playing complementary roles), with 'wild cards', guitarist Stian Westerhus and keyboardist Philip Hochstrate, providing an enormous range of unpredictable textures and odd noises.

The result is a viscerally exciting stew which, given the size and enthusiasm of the audience on this occasion has wide appeal as well as being commendably adventurous.

 

 

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