THE ANDREW McCORMACK TRIO AT THE GONVILLE HOTEL
When is a gig so exhilarating , you come away disoriented?.The effect of the talented Andrew McCormack Trio is a band of such sophistication you have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not temporarily transposed to a Manhattan basement of the 1950s. Yet the music is contemporary cool it’s the kind of sound you can take home and feel your’ve made a creative progressive leap in your life.
Rob Youngs, Andrew McCormack and Joe Downard
Andrew McCormack is a dream of a player. Crouched over his keyboard he plays with a technique both mysterious and familiar. It could be a Rachmaninov concerto, the finger work is so dazzlingly intricate. But it is jazz, fresh original heart lifting music where the riffs make you smile with admiration and the composition is so balanced you can relax into its expertise.. One hand appeared to create an independent contrapuntal commentary on the other, yet the style is chilled and - jazz- like to its core. Andrew McCormack himself is a bit of a jazz dreamboat -like a young pre-drugs Chet Baker to look at with a charming genuine smile. His technique is innovative, ‘ You’re a Bill Evans for today,’ I gushed when I met him - and then immediately knew this pianist is very much himself , a musician you will one day boast you heard.
Double Bassist Joe Downard was superb in every set. His brilliantly well tuned instrument took in a whole world of rhythm whilst still it expanded the range of the in instrument.-what a joy to hear the warm tones of a bass with its own story to tell. For aficionados this was a rare delight, for the rest of us a surprise to find the bass quite so friendly and entertaining -Rod Youngs ‘ drums were eclectic , original and yet blended into each and every number. Unusually here is a drummer who beams seraphically from time to time. His exuberance caught on - Initially it did feel too loud for the rest of the band’s sound, but mysteriously it either toned down or we adjusted to the creative clamour. Either way, after ten minutes it ceased to jar and second number, The Clementine Dream showed off Youngs’ nuanced closeness to the piano .
Every tune was exceptional. I loved ‘ I can’t believe that you’re in love with me’ a song from the twenties I think but played by Andrew with so much enjoyment and relaxed exuberance. Specially well done for an ensemble who had literally hot-footed it from Paris only twenty minutes before the gig began . The audience were charmed and delighted at once and insisted on an encore for which we got the most seraphic By Bye Blackbird ever heard.
The Trio’s new album Terra Firma comes out on 28th October and launches on Nov.1st in Dean Street London.
The Cambridge Modern Jazz Club scooped the pool at their brand new venue tonight. The Gonville Hotel, arguably the classiest high-end joint in town -the bar is so cool there is vintage wine and no nuts in packets - and the jazz space gloriously intimate and yet - a feature almost unknown to jazzers, comfortable. Let’s say it’s a bit of a far cry from the Methodist assembly room on King’s Parade where drink was briskly banned and only available at the pub next door.. At the gorgeous Gonville an elegant glass of wine is pricey but fabulous.
David Gower, the always classy compère , was in his element. A fiftieth anniversary. After the many homes the Modern Jazz Club has seen, this is surely the Nirvana it dreamed of in days of yore.
MJC - Happy 50th Birthday .
