Tipped off on the day I managed to get a mid stalls seat late in the afternoon and legged it to the Neil Cowley gig at the Barbican concert hall London, Friday night. I have their Naim CD release The Face of Mount Molehill and it was a good taster for the evening’s music making. That was a mixture of jazz and improvisatory rock, the former for a lyrical, sometimes rhapsodic jazz invention, the latter for a driving power beat and quite fantastic dynamics and dynamic range. The ensemble timing is truly knife edge and these musicians really enjoy what they do.
Somehow the PA rig was so well tuned in the Barbican Hall acoustic that you could close your eyes and hear a really natural sound, yet much larger and more powerful than an acoustic trio could possibly play unaided. Both the sound and performances were fast, beautifully timed and did not pale for the whole 100 or so minutes of intense playing.
Seeing their present, punishing multi-city schedule, almost one a day, I am amazed at the fantastic commitment these three make night after night to generate these powerful performances.
Evan Jenkins Drums Neil Cowley Piano Rex Horan Bass
Somehow the PA rig was so well tuned in the Barbican Hall acoustic that you could close your eyes and hear a really natural sound, yet much larger and more powerful than an acoustic trio could possibly play unaided. Both the sound and performances were fast, beautifully timed and did not pale for the whole 100 or so minutes of intense playing.
Seeing their present, punishing multi-city schedule, almost one a day, I am amazed at the fantastic commitment these three make night after night to generate these powerful performances.
Evan Jenkins Drums Neil Cowley Piano Rex Horan Bass
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