Review: Sam Greenfield, Bristol Beacon – ‘Sheer originality, world class playing’

I have to admit, being a music reviewer for B24/7 is pretty great.

Firstly, the feeling of walking up to a venue box office and announcing oneself as “On the guestlist, with a plus one” just never gets old. But, more importantly, it gives a freedom to take risks with your gig choices – taking a chance on an artist you are only peripherally familiar from, say, one TikTok video where our eponymous saxophonist wears a banana costume and sings gustily about his love of the fruit.

Alto saxophonist and band leader Sam Greenfield is back in Bristol a year after his last show at The Exchange where, we’re reliably informed by the man himself, “Y’all went hard!”

This time we are in the recently refurbished Lantern Hall. It’s a slightly thin crowd but there’s enough local musos and horn players to be recognised here that confirms I’m in the right place for some extremely tight instrumental jazz fusion shredding.

To those in the know he’s a serious US player; a member of the Cory Wong band – the standard of which is crazy high – and working previously with massive names including Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, and Ed Sheeran.

Expectations high, the lights dim, and the band saunter on stage in amazing matching turquoise, pink, and purple two-piece tracksuits, with all bar the trumpet player rocking trendy sunglasses.

They launch straight into the first of many original instrumental jazz fusion tunes and Greenfield drops into his first savage solo of the night. Fingers flying, his tone is, simply put, perfect.

The band’s striking outfits add to the spectacle of the show

The band are arranged with the three-piece backing horn section (tenor saxophone, trumpet, and trombone) situated centre stage at the back – they drop straight into a classic synchronised left-right shuffle with big grins on their faces.

It’s really refreshing to see a group of musicians so relaxed and you can tell they are digging the rest of the band – pulling stank face and air-drumming along.

I’m at the gig with two local drummers who really know their funk music and neither of them can take their eyes off Justin Swiney (aka Unkle Nephew) – his playing is simultaneously perfectly in the pocket while driving the rest of the band forward, accentuating every tight little soli section from the absurdly tight band.

 

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It’s a self-aware, tongue-in-cheek affair throughout, an approach which in less competent hands might come across as silly, but the sheer originality and tightness of the young band carries the vibe perfectly.

At one point Greenfield asks us to close our eyes and “Imagine we are in somewhere a bit nicer, on the beach maybe, but not just any beach, it’s Weston Super Mare!” – cue belly laughs from the crowd – “We’re drinking margaritas, it’s four degrees out but we don’t care!”.

Sam’s done his research and he does seem to genuinely be a big fan of Bristol and its environs – calling it out as one of his favourite places to play in the UK.

Greenfield, who seems genuinely fond of the south west, has the crowd in the palm of his hands

Every now and then, in the middle of being “subjected to some heady-ass instrumental jazz fusion” (in Greenfield’s own words) it is possible to forget quite what the band are capable of: they coast along in third gear, grooving away trading solos, when suddenly a sharp thwack of the snare signals the start of yet another ridiculously tight funk soli section.

The energy in the whole room lifts as everyone knows it’s proper world class playing from everyone in the band. In these moments we could be watching Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Tower of Power, or Snarky Puppy at their very tightest.

A highlight of the gig comes towards the end of the 90 minute set when young trumpet player Alvaro Hermanez steps up to the centre for his moment in the spotlight. He puts his heart and soul behind a screaming trumpet solo – eyes screwed shut, cheeks puffing out, back arched playing to the ceiling, he draws a huge cheer from the crowd.

Its’ another reason its such a refreshing gig: no one in the band plays it safe. Every single musician wants to meet Greenfield at his level.

It’s tongue-in-cheek, but the band pulls it off by way of the sheer quality of their musicianship

For the encore we are treated to The Banana Song, the aforementioned viral video. Greenfield comes back on stage in full banana costume, putting the sax down for a moment to lean into the song’s falsetto vocal silliness.

In one final filthy guitar solo he climatically peels himself and then a real banana, and jumps around the stage consuming it.

All images: Simon Alexander

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