Damon Brown makes music last
By
Jack Massarik
18 Jul 2008
Britain's finest straight-ahead trumpeter has lived abroad for years, which makes a silent point. Homesick? Far from it. The tall, shaven-headed Damon Brown is flourishing in exile. Based in Paris, he's playing more warmly and fluently than ever. His style, an amalgam of Blue Mitchell, Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan, is popular all over Europe and it was in Naples last year that he met New York saxophonist Steve Grossman, now living in Italy. They exchanged phone numbers and this group is the result.
Backing the co-leaders with brio, pianist Nico Lindsay's nimble lines and full chord voicings reflected McCoy Tyner, Wynton Kelly, Horace Parlan and their fountainhead, Bud Powell. Behind him, bassist Aldo Zanino and drummer Alessandro Minetto made a first-class all-Italian rhythm section. Minetto, in particular, is a real discovery. He kept excellent time on a warm, riveted ride cymbal, took brilliant, no-nonsense solos and swung crisply even on brushes.
Grossman, who played with nonchalant expertise, is something of a rarity. While very young and deeply inspired by John Coltrane, he worked with Miles Davis and later Elvin Jones. Later, in his 30s, he fell under the stylistic spell of an earlier US master, Sonny Rollins, a counterchronological revision which nevertheless suited him better. He still operates in Sonny's wide-toned, freewheeling area today.
A well-chosen set featured a blues, a ballad (I'm Confessin'), jazz staples (On a Misty Night, Joy Spring, Ceora, Soultrane, and a Grossman original, Take the D Train) - "make that a double-D," quipped the composer - all beautifully played examples of modern jazz from a golden era before the rock sensibility changed everything. But life, of course, is brief and art is eternal. Who knows, this music might last for centuries, just as Bach and Vivaldi's has done.
Again tonight. Information: 020 7439 0747.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Morning:
9°c








