THE big draw at Jazz in the Spa tomorrow night will be three star British musicians in one band: Karen Sharp, Enrico Tomasso and Roy Williams (01937 842544).
Veteran of many top British bands, trombonist Williams later emerged as a soloist on jazz festival stages around the world. Saxophonist Sharp came to prominence as a youthful member of the Humphrey Lyttelton Band, while Tomasso is of a famous Leeds jazz family, star trumpeter with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra and tours with Brian Ferry. Hot guitarist/vocalist Miles Gilderdale is on leave from the multi-million-selling band Acoustic Alchemy, so seize the opportunity to catch his Blueflies band whenever you can. On Saturday night, their infectious boogie will render York’s St Sampson’s Square positively cuboid as they rock the Roman Bath pub (01904 620455).
Quieter, but no less fiery music will be provided by pianist Zezo Olimpio (Brazilian by birth, rather than speedo swimsuit-shave) and his Trio at Kennedy’s café Bar, Little Stonegate (01904 620222) on Sunday from 1pm.
Muscular post-bop jazz from the Ian Chalk Quartet will be at the Phoenix Inn, George Street, York, on Sunday night from 8.30pm The Phoenix is the pub with the most as far as live jazz is concerned and will host a one-off session on Monday night with improbably-titled The Central Scrutinisers. Immigration? SATS test overseers? No, none other than the mighty Chris Moore (piano), Mike Cox (saxophone), Georg Rueschenneyer (bass) and Tom drummer, playing music by Mingus, Monk and Wayne Shorter.
Chris also hosts the weekly jam session at the Phoenix every Wednesday. Find all Phoenix jazz on 01904 565401 and the phoenixinnyork@live.co.uk
The Old White Swan, Goodramgate, York, has been hosting live jazz for nigh on 20 years and next Thursday Bejazzled with Mike Riley will warm your cockles on a June night (01904 540911).
The University of York Jazz Orchestra will present two nights of stirring stuff at the Rymer Auditorium next Thursday and Friday at 7.30pm, with special guests to be announced (01904 322439).
REVIEW
Troyka, Moxxy (Edition Records)
Fashion in clothes tends to perform a pendulum swing. Junk those flared jeans and flowered shirt, the mini-skirt and crocheted top, and they will swing back and hit you in the wallet without warning.
Music observes a similar time pendulum, think Abba, Rat Pack, Jersey Boys, the Royal Jubilee artist roster.
Jazz is not immune and is experiencing a return to not only the jazz-rock of the 1970s, but also to a jazz/classical music “third stream” revival of merging jazz and European composed music. Pianist Dave Stapleton’s recent release, Flight (Edition Records), was an example of the latter, a jazz quartet dove-tailed with a string quartet.
Troyka, previously an acoustic piano trio, goes jazz/rock/fusion and switches to heavy organ/guitar drums. The opener, Rarebit, has the guitar/drums heavy rock, part jazzer John Scofield, part rockers Cream.
Dropsy is another electric guitar and keyboards-led piece. Melodic content is deep in the mix of rhythmic riffs, atonal bleeps from Hammond organ and guitar loops, alternately reminiscent of Soft Machine and John Zorn’s Death-Metal jazz.
Bass-end Hammond rattles your sub-woofers on Crawler and develops to rock-distort guitar in Zappa mode. Oedipus is a staccato, Zorn-like, power piece, decorated by the sort of atonal noodling beloved of Django Bates. George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic must be the inspiration for Zebra, quirky riffs overlaid by wilful electronic twiddles. Chaplin is a funereal piece, possibly a Hawaiian guitar elegy for the little tramp.
Jazz Notes is confused. Does this band want to be lovably quirky British jazzers as hand-woven by Billy Jenkins and Django Bates, or do they really want to be rock stars? Can we expect their next album to adopt 1960s excess and the strap-line “To be played very loud!!!!”
We wait with bated breath and ear-defenders. Here we go again, flares, stacked heels and – oh no, KAFTANS!!!!??
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