January 2009 gig reviews by Chris Parker

The LJO Vortex Sessions

Sunday 11 January 2009

Dreamed up by trumpeter Noel Langley, who missed the experience of playing in a big band once he'd left the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the London Jazz Orchestra began rehearsals in 1991 under MD Scott Stroman (then Head of the Guildhall studies course).

London-based musicians of all ages (early members included Henry Lowther, Pete Hurt, Stan Sulzmann, Jamie Talbot, Ian Carr and Tim Garland, among many others) brought their own compositions to these rehearsals, so that the band, in Langley's phrase, 'belongs to its members', the overall aim being to provide a musical space in which – to quote the Ian Carr sleevenote (to 1996's Hot House recording Dance for Human Folk) from which these facts have been (gratefully) stolen – 'fine soloists who were also excellent ensemble players' could create 'music of the heart and human feeling'.

On this occasion, eighteen years on, the LJO attracted a standing-room-only crowd to the Vortex (their spiritual home over the past two decades) for the first of six regular monthly Sunday-afternoon gigs during which they'll record sessions showcasing the work of longstanding members. Henry Lowther was 'January's composer', although the band started proceedings with a Pete Hurt tune (featured on the aforementioned Hot House CD), 'W.S.', dedicated to Wayne Shorter and showcasing the soloing skills of the supremely accomplished guitarist Phil Lee and thoughtfully smoky tenor player Josephine Davies.

A series of Lowther compositions followed, kicking off with a characteristically sweetly harmonised fanfare-like introduction, 'Can't Believe, Won't Believe', and culminating in 'Saippuakivikauppias' (or it may have been 'Solutomaattimittaamotulos' – these Finnish palindromes are all too easily mixed up), featuring the agile, pure-toned altoist Martin Speake. Kenny Wheeler, Scott Stroman and US pianist Andrew Hill ('Divine Revelation') also provided material for the two sets, but for the most part, the 17-piece band concentrated on Lowther tunes, characterised by their buoyancy (albeit laced with attractive melancholy), lush harmonies and unfussy but carefully built structure, which perfectly suit the band's overall aim, expressed by Stroman as 'a great feel and a collective unity of conception – in other words, a tight ensemble played with a loose feel'.

Lowther himself shone throughout, not only as a composer, but also as both section player supreme and soloist; other notable contributions were made by Pete Hurt (one of the most distinctive tenor players in the UK), altoist/flute player Martin Hathaway, trumpeters Noel Langley and Percy Pursglove and trombonist Chris Laurence (his namesake, the bassist, in the audience), but overall, this was a memorable group effort, flawlessly driven by bassist Alec Dankworth and drummer Paul Clarvis. Future Sunday-afternoon gigs (the next 1 February) are eagerly anticipated.

January 2009
gig reviews

Gig reviews archive

The LJO Vortex Sessions

Sunday 11 January 2009

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January 2009 gig reviews

Gig reviews archive

The LJO Vortex Sessions

Sunday 11 January 2009

Join the Vortex email list

RSS feeds

January 2009
gig reviews

Join the Vortex
email list