Here is Roys review from last weeks gig with Tom Hills ZZBop: Tom Hill is a long time favourite with the Stratford Jazz fans, not only as an accomplished band leader/bass player, but also as a beguiling raconteur who never fails to bring a fair slice of humour into the proceedings. On Wednesday evening he brought his ZZbop quartet to the Chapel at No.1, Shakespeare Street and once again attracted a capacity audience. This quartet has played together on and off for some fifteen years, in between the various commitments each has had with other bands. The impeccable Craig Milverton, well acquainted with the Stratford audiences after stunning visits with his own trio and the irrepressible Greg Abate, was on the keyboard. Ian Ellis, making an all too rare appearance in Stratford, was on tenor saxophone and on drums was Nick Millward, displaying once again why he was always first-call percussionist with the late Kenny Ball. To call the band ZZbop is something of a misnomer as, although bebop was very much on the agenda, the repertoire consisted of music from Negro gospel to the Blues, Cole Porter, Ellington etc – no boundaries with this outfit just uncomplicated accessible swinging jazz. The opening number set the tone for the evening a quirky rendition of Benny Golson’s Killer Joe with all four musicians contributing with excellent solo work. I was particularly impressed with Ian Ellis, a saxophonist who to my mind deserves wider recognition, he is brimming with ideas and his funky, robust tone is complemented by his amazing technique. Difficult to pick out highlights with such a seasoned bunch of professional musicians on stage but I did enjoy the bluesy numbers, particularly when Craig went into Jimmy Smith organ mode on the keys and developed some stirring interplay with Ian’s saxophone – not to be outdone Tom and Nick went into similar mode on bass and drums. Ellington’s Sentimental Mood was treated with the respect that this beautiful jazz classic deserves and delightfully slowed down the tempo. The quartet thought that the rumbustious rendering of Charles Lloyd’s Sweet Georgia Bright would bring the curtain down on the evening but the rapturous audience wanted more. Thelonious Monk’s Blue Monk did eventually bring the curtain down on an evening of quality jazz with lots of fun thrown in Swiss guitarist Nic Meier brings his quartet to the Chapel next Wednesday evening, 11th June. This progressive and exciting musician, who has proved to be a popular attraction with Stratford Jazz fans, will be promoting his latest successful album Kismet. For information on this and future gigs visit stratfordjazz.org.uk. Roy Stevens 29/05/2014
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 15:14:45 +0000
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