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August 2009
gig reviews
Christine Tobin sings 'Tapestry'
Dunmall, Bourne, Kane, Davis
Stravinsky Duo / Peter James Trio
Stan Tracey Quartet
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August 2009 gig reviews by Chris Parker
Stravinsky Duo
Peter James Trio
Thursday 13 August
Much
has been made, over the years, of the mutual respect characterising the
relationship between Igor Stravinsky and the jazz world – the Russian
composer's trips to Harlem resulting in his composing the 'Ebony Concerto'
for Woody Herman, Charlie Parker's love of his music, novelist Helen MacInnes
(in Rest and Be Thankful) calling Stravinsky 'the bebops' bible'
etc. – so drummer Dylan Howe and pianist Will Butterworth's arrangement
of 'Rite of Spring' and 'Firebird' for duo jazz performance had an air of
naturalness about it often lacking in similar projects.
With Howe providing smart snare tattoos under Butterworth's fluently virtuosic explorations of the familiar motifs, and occasionally soloing over repeated phrases, the duo emphasised the percussive qualities of Stravinsky's music without unduly distorting it, and their forty-five-minute set was consistently absorbing, occasionally downright mesmerising, whetting the appetite for the recorded version apparently in the offing.
The Peter James Trio
The
Peter James Trio (pianist James, bassist Jeremy Brown, drummer Tom Hooper)
began with a piece from their impressive debut album, Visions
and Vistas (see CD Reviews), 'After Siesta', a brisk original subtly
imbued with latin influences à la Chick Corea, and subsequently
played that recording's title tune and a teasingly funky/groove-based version
of Victor Young's evergreen 'Stella by Starlight', but for the most part,
they aired robust new material.
A particular highlight was a three-part suite, 'Soul Story', which not only played to the trio's individual strengths (Hooper's assertive but unshowy drumming, Brown's lithe eloquence, James's fluent power) but also showcased James's considerable compositional skills, which allow him to produce pieces whose irresistible, often almost Tyner-esque momentum is somehow never allowed to compromise either their fleetness or their rhythmic complexity.
An intriguingly reworked 'My Funny Valentine' justifiably roused a full house to demand an encore; all in all, a fascinatingly varied, thoroughly enjoyable evening's music.
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