Arts / ‘Dynamite’ jazz concert thrills Mareel crowd
REVIEWER Pete Bevington asks music lovers where were you? After a “dynamite” jazz gig last night at Mareel, which he calls the “best of the year so far”.
The Neil Cowley Trio are seasoned UK jazz performers with a track record of great albums recorded over the past three decades. Having recently reformed after a seven-year hiatus, they have been touring the country with their brand new album Entity.
What a thrill that they should manage to reach distant Shetland and treat us to the magic of their musical craft. These guys are absolutely extraordinary musicians at the top of their game, fresh and full of fun. On piano (Neil Cowley), bass (Rex Horon), and drums (Evan Jenkins), this threesome kick arse.
They powered their way through much of the new album with a force that belied the size of the outfit. Cowley conjured a vast range of beautiful, complex rhythms and shapes from the Shetland Arts’ Steinway, the lightest touch exploding into pounding chords on the turn of a sixpence.
I fell in love with Horon as he swayed and arched his lanky body and enormous white beard around his double bass, the two becoming one as he gloriously underpinned Cowley’s explorations on the keyboard. If I could choose my life over again, I would be Horon playing bass with The Neil Cowley Trio.
And finally, the tightest and most exciting drummer I have heard in a long, long time. Words cannot even begin to convey how powerfully Jenkins drove the whole performance through its endless ups and downs, twists and turns.
The trio hail from the south of England – London and the south coast – though Cowley alone is British; Horon from Perth, Australia and Jenkins from Wellington, New Zealand. They are family men well into the second half of life who play some of the most intelligent music around today.
The most exciting cultural development of the past decade to my ears has been the UK jazz scene. There is such talent amongst the likes of Mammal Hands, Go Go Penguin, Ezra Collective, Matthew Halsall… I could go on. These three must have been a major influence on those younger musicians, heralds of a rich wave of creativity that swept across the land. Jazz is alive and well in the British Isles, and it improves with age.
One of the most wonderful things about last night’s performance was how much the three master musicians were clearly enjoying themselves in front of Shetland’s hugely appreciative audience – we succeeded in getting an encore out of them despite our relatively small number. The place was only half full!
Cowley indulged in friendly banter on two or three occasions during the evening, and at one point discovered something new about the men he had played with for more than 30 years. Asking his bandmates if either of them had ever been to Shetland before, Horon admitted he had been here 25 years ago with a Madness tribute band sporting the brilliant name One Step Behind.
At this revelation, Cowley confessed he too had played in a Madness tribute band in his youth. His one had been called Utter Madness and, he suddenly recalled, had included the musician(s) who had left to form One Step Behind. “So you’re the enemy,” he joked.
Great guys, great band, great audience. Completely blew us away. More please Mareel!
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