Another lovely night of jazz at the Blue Vanguard, the Blue Vanguard House Trio in fine form as ever, and guest saxophonist Robert Fowler playing a set of standards characterised by the sweet spot of recurring touch and feel, reminding me of Benny Golson who is my touchstone for this kind of breathy and delicate playing, full of fluid runs and an honouring of great melodies. Performances that really appealed to me were of Johnny Green’s Body and Soul, the Coslow/Johnson My Old Flame, an interpretation of the Mandel/Williams Close Enough for Love that began and ended with just the pairing of Al Swainger on bass and Fowler on his sax that was perfection, and the penultimate of the night – with a god bless for this – playing the Herzog/Holiday God Bless the Child which was simply beautiful.
The rapport across the four players was stunning.
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| Robert and Al |
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