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February 2008
gig reviews

Phronesis
Barry Green
Dan Stern
Gwilym Simcock
Tangent

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February 2008 gig reviews by Chris Parker

Tangent

Tuesday 26 February

In the words of its leader, saxophonist Trish Clowes, Tangent, a sextet, exists to explore all the influences she's been affected by as a listener and student.

On the evidence of this performance, these include impressionism, tango and the work of the more thoughtful jazz composers.

Clowes is an extremely gifted writer, adept at providing a serious-minded and skilled band Ø pianist Huw White in particular scoring with a series of carefully considered solos Ø with clear, fluent and attractive melodies in an impressive variety of musical styles, and her tenor tone is round, sure and pure, sometimes almost Getzian.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable and absorbing performance from a band (and a composer/leader) to watch Ø with one small reservation: to digress briefly, the Vortex has been holding the odd jazz-discussion lunch recently, at which invitees from the musical world Ø promoters, record-company employees etc. Ø get together and chew the fat over a Turkish buffet with the intention of sharing ideas as to how jazz could be better publicised.

One idea emerging from the last such lunch was that contemporary academy-trained UK musicians are perhaps slightly too beholden to the relatively restrictive practice of jazz composition, rather than adhering to the time-honoured jazz method: improvisation.

Tangent's careful progression through Clowes's charts did bring this discussion to mind; despite the clarity and fluency of her pieces her band did at times (their tango a perfect example) sound as if they were playing an academic exercise rather than performing for a paying audience.

The balance between composition and improvisation, however, is a somewhat nebulous and elusive achievement and is perhaps best left to emerge naturally, as it no doubt will, from continued live exposure and experience. All in all, this gig provided yet more evidence of the extraordinary strength in depth of the current UK jazz scene.

 

 

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