"Cous Cous" the excellent new CD from ex pat Aussie saxophonist Casey Greene's six piece Latin jazz band has already been reviewed elsewhere on this site.
It is a hugely enjoyable album which features high quality original tunes from the pen of Greene and excellent playing from the whole group.
Tonight's show was billed as a "CD Launch" and both the band and a large and enthusiastic crowd braved the floods to make this a successful and memorable event. Given the atrocious weather conditions the turnout was remarkable and Greene must have been delighted. The saxophonist and his colleagues responded by playing two sets of sparkling music that were very well received by a knowledgeable audience. Given the quality of the album I was looking forward to seeing the band live and they certainly did not disappoint.
The line up of the group showed a couple of changes from the album. Eddie Maguire replaced Wilmer Sifontes on congas and percussion with the wonderfully named Jim Bashford taking over from Carl Hemmingsley at the drum kit. Remaining from the album were the leader on saxophones and flute, guitarist Simon King, Venezuelan émigré Edgar Macias on electric keyboards and Roger Inniss on the highly distinctive six string electric bass.
Maguire started things off on the congas with other members of the band gradually joining in on sundry items of hand held percussion followed by Inniss' slapped bass and then King's guitar. This percussion led intro metamorphosed into "Cous Cous" the opening (and title) track of the album. Greene stated the theme on tenor sax and delivered the first solo of the evening before passing on the baton to Macias and King. Greene's tenor returned before Maguire's conga break brought the tune full circle.
The band immediately segued into the winning ballad "Ghost Gum". Maguire's bell tree and congas were joined by Macias' string synth and the eerie textures of King's guitar. Finally Greene's clear, pure alto took up the theme followed by thoughtful solos from Macias at the electric piano and King on guitar. The return of the alto increased the intensity with Greene now playing breath defying sustained notes and adopting a more piercing tone.
It had been an astonishing start and it was clear that the band meant business. Greene announced that as this was a CD launch they would be playing through the album from track one to track ten. This they pretty much did, but there were one or two surprises in the second set of which more later.
It was therefore no surprise when the next tune was "Licorice" the third track on the album. What was a surprise was the introduction of Greene's friend and fellow flautist Mark Parkinson. The pair played the tune's flute introduction as a duet. Trading licks, their dialogue included overblowing and vocal inflections reminiscent of the style of Roland Kirk (or Ian Anderson for any rock fans reading this). King then contributed a dazzling guitar solo and Macias featured on pounding and funky electric piano. The tune ended as it began with the flautists, plus Macias' piano doubling the melody. Great stuff.
"Getting Closer" was something of an epic beginning with a remarkably fluid solo bass introduction from the irrepressible Inniss, who, rather like the guitarist Jim Mullen seems to have developed a mutant thumb. Greene appeared here on soprano but he and Maguire sat out for long periods as King, Inniss and Bashford engaged in a lengthy jazz-rock episode that impressed in its use of power and dynamics as they soared above Macias' synth backwash. Inniss' bass outro incorporated funk riffs and stunning high register effects.
The breezy Latin rhythms of the more straightforward "High Heels" brought down the curtain on an excellent first set with solos from Greene on tenor plus King and Macias.
The second half kicked off with track six from the album, the sunny "Lets Go For Coffee". There were solos from King and Macias with Parkinson returning for another frothy flute duet.
"Julia's Walk" named for Greene's wife, employed a dynamic funk rhythm emphasised by Inniss' wah wah bass and Macias' funky electric piano. Greene's biting soprano cut a swathe through the rhythms and the first dancers of the evening were brought to their feet. After King's solo Bashford was given free reign in a well constructed solo.
"Bindi Eye" cooled the temperature with Greene's flute and King's guitar plus Bashford's deployment of brushes.
Next up was the first extra curricular item of the evening, an unusual arrangement of John Coltrane's "Naima" underscored by Inniss' bass line from Horace Silver's "Song For My Father"-or Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" for you rock fans. Naturally enough Greene appeared on tenor and Macias and King also soloed before another wonderfully liquid bass interlude from Inniss. Greene then restated the theme on tenor to bring us home.
A feature for Maguire's congas and percussion approximated Sifonte's "The Latin Way To Africa", the only album track not to be featured in its entirety.
This led into Clare Fischer's tune "Morning" another bonus item not included on the album. Greene featured on soprano and there was a particularly fine solo from Macias who had loosened up considerably in the second half and who was now producing his best playing of the night. The dancers were brought to their feet again and remained there for the rest of the set.
The album's closing track "Bougainvillea" was a real tour de force and brought the set to a rousing climax. Greene soloed superbly on flute and King and Macias had clearly saved their best till last.
Such was the reception that MC James Hunt called the band back for an encore. Another extra curricular item this incorporated staple salsa rhythms and brought forth fine solos from Greene on alto and King on guitar plus the returning Parkinson on flute. Maguire and Bashford engaged in a percussive dialogue before Greene's alto finally wrapped things up.
It had been an evening of excellent music. Greene's engaging compositions avoid the clichés of Latin music and his writing is consistently interesting. The interlocking rhythms of Maguire, Bashford and Inniss evolve constantly and maintain the listener's attention. They also provide the framework for high quality jazz soloing from King, Macias and Greene himself. The leader demonstrates a remarkable ability not only on tenor, alto and soprano sax but also on flute. The breadth of colour this wide range of instruments offers makes for a well-balanced programme with plenty of changes of mood and pace.
Although many of the pieces were tightly arranged a degree of freedom was given to the soloists with several numbers stretching out beyond the boundaries of the album versions. The balance between discipline and spontaneity was just about right and made for good jazz.
I understand that one or two people were disappointed that this was not a full on salsa dance evening. There is much more to Quiver than that and in a mainly listening audience I felt the majority were more than satisfied with what they'd heard. To get players of this quality in a small town like Ludlow is a considerable coup.
At this juncture praise should be given to James Hunt, himself a saxophonist who does much to promote jazz in Shropshire and Ludlow in particular. He arranges free Sunday lunchtime gigs at the Feathers on a regular basis and evening sessions at the Unicorn.
"Cous Cous" sports distinctive artwork by Haitian artist Jean Louisius.The music tonight was augmented by an exhibition of Haitian Art organised by Paul Planton.
Paintings can be purchased with proceeds being used to finance projects supporting education, nutrition and the arts in poverty stricken Haiti.
Where Joy Is Art is associated with the Vassar Haiti Project based at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York State U.S.A.
http://outreach.vassar.edu/haitiproject
The paintings themselves are bright and vividly coloured and possess great charm. Superficially naïve they are nonetheless highly accomplished in their execution. I was impressed.
Quiver are an excellent example of the strength of the Midlands music scene. There are some excellent musicians here such as trumpeter Bryan Corbett and saxophonist Chris Bowden who are too often ignored by the London media.
Quiver's label the Birmingham based Rehab records are seeking to redress this imbalance and have recently released albums by Chris Bowden and Quiver keyboard man Edgar Macias. See www.rehabrecords.co.uk
Review by Ian Mann
