DENIS ROLLINS AND ZERO GRAVITY AT LA RAZA
Denis Rollins on Trombone
“I can’t tell you how much fun it is up here fronting a band”
If you have ever wondered what musicians feel about their life on stage, here is one spontaneous view from the star of the event at La Raza last night.
Denis Rollins is natural born performer. On the scene for aeons now, his joy in the music he makes still spills over to any audience This year he is the artist in residence for the hugely successful riot of razzmatazz that is the 2024 Jazz Festival in Cambridge. No one can be more qualified to convey the exuberance of jazz than Denis Rollins
And he plays – the trombone. If a rare and old-fashioned looking instrument needed a patron, it has Denis Rollins. He has brought it back to the world of swing, away from its static sonorous origins and into an explosive life as a unique and ultra-playable icon of jazz . Sinuous, adaptable it is a delight to hear as it bursts into life.
Another wondrous realisation about last night’s performance lies at the epicentre of the jazz ethos. The brilliant Zero Gravity Trio and Denis Rollins had hardly ever played together. In a single intense day of rehearsal they came up with a dream combination. .With a thoughtful accomplished band like Zero Gravity, the chemistry simply sizzles. After one or two pleasantly tentative numbers, the evening hit that sweet spot where audience and performers meld into one glorious forward -moving synergy. An unusual sense of unity drove us all together.
Denis Rollins, in his irrepressible enthusiasm for the spirit of jazz, described the triumph of fusion with the band.Chris Diamond’s lovely compositions emerged from his expert guitar-playing as fresh and somehow surprising. Tiago Coimbra on bass added his own creative songs and sounds and Joe Taylor on drums held an explosive sound ( a tad too loud for me at first I have to say) but ultimately in brilliant balance
Denis has a sophisticated repertoire on hand with the trombone. A secret new musical device delivers a divided note – and another dimension to his playing. But at its heart Denis’s approach is intuitive.
“I move from one instrument to another and I can respond to each one .I feel the rhythm driving along. Picking up and taking me- and the audience with me”
He certainly did that for all of us in the genial relaxed – but brilliantly well organised – atmospheric cellar that is La Raza.
Denis will perform again on Sunday 17th November at West Road alongside the Cambridge University Big Band. We just can’t get enough of him and his cool groove.
