Lucy gives a warts and all portrayal of the princess who loved the high-life Although it is not always justified, the perception of contemporary classical music remains that it is designed more for the brain than the ears, more for the concept than the music.
It's probably not conscious on their part, but have you noticed how jazz musicians are moving in to fill the void?
Double bass player Malcolm Creese, saxophonist Tim Garland and pianist Gwilym Simcock, are happy squatters in that vacant space where easily accessible composition and clearly recognisable instrumental virtuosity still mean something. And audiences love it.
This concert was in a venue more accustomed to hosting chamber music, and this group, with its vital playing and easy manner, judged the mood perfectly.
Original pieces from Simcock and Garland opened the evening, the pianist's Ritual refusing to bow to jazz conventions, having the theme played by bowed bass and bass
clarinet in unison, and the saxophonist's Bourdion an equally composed and thoroughly structured piece until its finale which had Simock and Garland "trading fours" in true jazz tradition.
A highlight was the band's version of Kenny Wheeler's Sly Eyes, in which Garland began by playing long tenor saxophone notes under the lid of the grand piano and letting the resonated strings sing back to him. He then turned lounge lizard to accentuate the full louche nature of the tango.
The trio turned its attentions to Ravel in the second half with Trois Poemes de Stephane Mallarme, before driving hard on the home stretch with more Wheeler, Garland and Simcock.
Simcock's sureness of touch and ability to build improvisations as complex in their structure as they are lithe in their propulsion; Garland's extraordinary command of his instruments; Creese's holding centre for the widening gyre - all combined to make this an inspiring performance in a charming setting.
Peter Bacon
