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

October 2007
gig reviews

Outhouse
Christine Tobin
Francois Theberge/Hans Koller Quartet
Mark Feldman Group
Mike Chillingworth Quartet
Andrea Vicari
Georgia Mancio
Lucien Dubois Crossover Trio
Centre Line
Mike Gibbs 70th birthday concert

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October 2007 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Mike Chillingworth Quartet

Monday 15 October

In Alyn Shipton's A New History of Jazz (Continuum, 2001), West Coast trumpeter Shorty Rogers is quoted on the importance to him of the LA (Hermosa Beach) venue the Lighthouse: 'There was an influx of new material coming in like an avalanche.

It never quit. Working with pencil and paper like that was a fun thing; to be able to write something and think "Hey! We can go to work tonight and hear it!" Not having to wait years to hear our work was great, and it fed back into our lessons.'

As a summary of the raison d'Øtre of Howard Rumsey's famous club and – mutatis mutandis –the Vortex, this is hard to beat, and evenings such as Monday (15) perfectly illustrate the vital nature of this role.

Mike Chillingworth and his quartet (pianist George Fogel, bassist Calum Gourlay, drummer James Maddren) may have begun proceedings by playing themselves in with a Cedar Walton composition, but they concentrated (an absorbing rubato visit to 'Monk's Mood' aside) on originals for the rest of their set, and thus were able to showcase not only the leader/altoist's purity of tone and soloing prowess but also his considerable imaginative fecundity as a composer.

His slightly cool, relatively vibrato-light approach brings a couple of the aforementioned Shorty Rogers's contemporaries, Paul Desmond and Bud Shank, to mind, but Chillingworth's main UK influence is clearly the Americans' avowed disciple, Martin Speake.

Poise, elegance and control are the chief Speake characteristics, and Chillingworth has them in spades, but his compositions are slightly more cheerful and accessible than the older man's, and they were addressed with thoughtfulness and aplomb by his band, particularly subtle pianist Fogel.

Playing to a very healthy-sized audience that had been pleasingly warmed up by singer Fini Bearman, the quartet was both subtly interactive and suitably propulsive, driven as it was by the fine, brisk drumming of Maddren and Gourlay's steady bass. A band to watch out for.

 

 

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