Music / Jazz
Review: No Wires – Gary Crosby & Denys Baptiste Quintet, St George’s
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Gary Crosby’s contribution to the UK jazz scene. Throughout his successful 40-year career as bass player, bandleader and composer/arranger he has, with partner Janine Irons, also tirelessly worked to support the development of new young players. It is no exaggeration to say that, through their Tomorrow’s Warriors projects and Dune Records activities, the pair have built the foundation of the country’s current blooming (and booming) new wave of exciting and diverse jazz talent.
Andrew McCormack, Gary Crosby, Denys Baptiste, Mark Kavuna (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Of course, one handy spin-off of the Warriors has been getting the pick of that young talent for your band and both trumpeter Mark Kavuma and pianist Andrew McCormack (mysteriously billed as ‘Big Mac’ for this gig) came up via that programme. They joined tenor sax player Denys Baptiste – a collaborator with Gary since their earliest days – and drummer Rod Youngs for an unamplified set of tunes by the late, great Wayne Shorter. From the outset it was clear quite how comfortable the five players were with the music and with each other as they slotted into a classic hard-bop Blue Note sound. The opening number saw Denys take off with a full-power solo over a matching swinging rhythm that dropped back into something less pushy when Mark’s smooth-toned trumpet took the tune to a cooler place. A spacious piano trio followed through, with Andrew’s gentler sweeps of harmony trading rhythm phrases with the drums and it all came together in a nicely tempered finale: a showcase for the versatility of Wayne Shorter’s composition.
Rod Youngs (pic: Tony Benjamin)
The 3-time tune Dance Cadaverous similarly managed to combine elegance with energy, driven by Rod Youngs’ tightly restrained drumming. His easy precision lifted the music without ever drowning it out, keeping things simple while adding neat flourishes at just the right moment. This drummer always brings a sense of glee to his performance, a delighted grin that suggests he can’t quite believe his luck to be playing this gig – though, of course, he very much deserves to be there. In fact all five players had an easy confidence in their playing that enabled them to take on Footprints, one of Shorter’s most widely played tunes and thus at risk of sounding hackneyed. Starting with Denys’ fulsome sax solo, rich toned with just enough Shorter-esque flurries slipped in, things rolled through into a fluently liquid piano solo all the while underpinned by the tune’s discreet bass-line and counterpoint drums. It brought out the best of the tune perfectly to end the first half.
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Andrew McCormack, Gary Crosby, Rod Youngs (pic: Tony Benjamin)
And the second set was just as accomplished as the first. Tune followed tune and the five players coaxed each into shape with remarkably effortless cohesion. Nobody was upstaging anybody else, everybody got their chances to shine and each took them with aplomb – even the ever-diffident Gary Crosby who generally kept his head down at the back. And of course, as the conventions of this sort of jazz require, there was a brief drum solo to round things off. All in all it was a set of great tunes respectfully revisited by five masters of their craft who clearly enjoyed it as much as their very appreciative St George’s audience.
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