The Brownfield/Byrne Quintet (Kendal Jazz Club
2012)
From the moment that I heard Liam Byrne warming up his
tenor
with a beautiful version of 'Nuages' I knew we were in
for a
musical treat from the Brownfield-Byrne Quintet.
And so it proved, with these five young guys springing
surprise after pleasant surprise with both their choice
and
treatment of material. Although I knew from their
reputation and from YouTube sampling that they had an
unusual respect for their jazz ancestors, I most
certainly
didn't expect their first offering to be 'Way Down Yonder
in
New Orleans', nor their third one to be 'Singing the
Blues'
- (Bix, not Steele)
In fact, that was one of the highlights of the first
half,
starting with a delightfully harmonised version of the
Bix/Trumbauer intro, and featuring contrasting solos from
Liam, who played very much in period, and Jamie
Brownfield,
who soloed in the bop idiom while suggesting that Bix
might
have done something similar had he been spared.
Such contrasts were the cloth from which the night was
tailored, because the following number was 'Dig', written
by
bop altoist Jackie MacLean, but which turned out to be a
variant of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' with a dash of 'I Didn't
Know What Time It Was' thrown in.
Then it was back to well-loved standards with ' I Can't
Give
You Anything but Love' featuring an outstanding duet
between bassist Nick Blacka and a tightly muted Jamie.
The first half finished with two more contrasting tunes:
'Dianily', based on 'Indiana' with intro and outro in
true
Parker/Gillespie unison bop mode, and then 'Better Go', a
relaxed mid-period mid-tempo blues written by Harry
Edison
which gave the whole band an opportunity to stretch out
Read more
The Brownfield/Byrne Quintet (Kendal Jazz Club
2012)
From the moment that I heard Liam Byrne warming up his
tenor
with a beautiful version of 'Nuages' I knew we were in
for a
musical treat from the Brownfield-Byrne Quintet.
And so it proved, with these five young guys springing
surprise after pleasant surprise with both their choice
and
treatment of material. Although I knew from their
reputation and from YouTube sampling that they had an
unusual respect for their jazz ancestors, I most
certainly
didn't expect their first offering to be 'Way Down Yonder
in
New Orleans', nor their third one to be 'Singing the
Blues'
- (Bix, not Steele)
In fact, that was one of the highlights of the first
half,
starting with a delightfully harmonised version of the
Bix/Trumbauer intro, and featuring contrasting solos from
Liam, who played very much in period, and Jamie
Brownfield,
who soloed in the bop idiom while suggesting that Bix
might
have done something similar had he been spared.
Such contrasts were the cloth from which the night was
tailored, because the following number was 'Dig', written
by
bop altoist Jackie MacLean, but which turned out to be a
variant of 'Sweet Georgia Brown' with a dash of 'I Didn't
Know What Time It Was' thrown in.
Then it was back to well-loved standards with ' I Can't
Give
You Anything but Love' featuring an outstanding duet
between bassist Nick Blacka and a tightly muted Jamie.
The first half finished with two more contrasting tunes:
'Dianily', based on 'Indiana' with intro and outro in
true
Parker/Gillespie unison bop mode, and then 'Better Go', a
relaxed mid-period mid-tempo blues written by Harry
Edison
which gave the whole band an opportunity to stretch out.
Was it me, or did Liam Byrne sound uncannily like Scott
Hamilton on this one?
The second half opened with two tributes to the John
Kirby
Band - an arrangement of 'Royal Garden Blues' which
managed
to make the old pot-boiler sound interesting, and 'Bounce
of
the Sugar Plum Fairy'. Then along came 'West End Blues',
where the front line pinned our ears back by playing a
harmonised version of the classic Armstrong intro,
followed
by 'I'm Crazy Bout My Baby'. This is a tune which, as
they
told us, they perform with their more traditional Hot
Six,
but not with this line-up, and I felt a degree of
sympathy
for their excellent and mellow-sounding guitarist, Andy
Hulme, who I suspect was unfamiliar with the number.
However, my sympathy changed to admiration when, by the
time
it came to his solo he produced one of the best efforts
of
the evening, taking the tune and shaking it like rag
doll.
The next number turned out to be a Gerry Mulligan
arrangement of 'Tea for Two', followed by a
Webster/Edison
tune based on 'In a Mellotone'. Then the familiar 'Fly
Me
to the Moon', regarding which I must compliment the band
on
not going into Latin mode, always an obvious rhythm for
this
tune. In fact, further compliments for not going Latin
at
any point in the evening, an evening which was closed in
fine style by a Liam Byrne original 'Ivy Divy' (Got
Rhythm).
I seem to have gone on a bit about this band, but that's
because they were a breath of fresh air, and the audience
seemed to agree, as I was hearing comments like
'original,
'exciting' and 'crisp'. Roy Cansdale and I both thought
that, apart from their many references to jazz history,
they
provided an unusual and totally successful blend of West
Coast (California, not Workington) sounds from the front
line allied to a tougher, swingier East Coast rhythm
section
sparked by superb drumming from Marek Dorcik. - Bruce
Carnaffin - kendaljazzclub.co.uk
North Wales Jazz Society
The Brownfield-Byrne Quintet (the BBQ) - plays straight-
ahead jazz with a fresh and youthful enthusiasm for the
'Blue Note' era, hardbop styles. Performing standards and
bebop favourites from the 40's and 50's as well as some
lesser known contemporary material. You will be hearing a
lot from this group in the future, their playing is far
more
mature than their faces. Jamie, just 19, is already a
well
recognised trumpet player with a style reminiscent of
Clifford Brown, and Liam has learnt a lot from Sonny
Rollins. Andy Hulme (guitar) Nick Blacka (double bass)
and
Marek Dorcik (drums) complete the line-up.
CD Review
"An excellent CD on which the performances of all
three
lead players,whose average age is only 24, display a
maturity which is little short of amazing. Highly
recommended!
"Maureen Hopkins/Trefor Owen, Directors, North Wales
Jazz Society.
"The crowd loved you! I'm very impressed by your talent"
-
Matt & Phred's Jazz Club - 2010
"Tipped to be one of the next big things, 18 year old
virtuoso trumpeter Jamie Brownfield and 25 year old Liam
Byrne on tenor sax bring their quintet to the Metro. Just
back from a superb showcase at the prestigious Wigan jazz
Festival, an excellent chance to see some of the future
of
the north west jazz scene" - Metro Jazz, Liverpool - 2010
Brownfield Byrne Hot 6 - The Harp, Albrighton -
2012
"The reaction of the audience when the Brownfield/Byrne
Hot
Six made their first appearance at the Harp back in
January
meant they just had to be booked again......and tonight's
reaction was even more of the same.
The line-up for this superb band was Jamie Brownfield on
trumpet, Liam Byrne on tenor sax (and briefly on
clarinet),
Tom Kincaid on piano, Andy Hulme on guitar, Jim
Swinnerton
on bass and Jack Cotterill on drums.
Six extremely talented young musicians gave us their
interpretation of numbers such as "Way Down Yonder in New
Orleans", "That's A'Plenty", "Nuages", Lester Young's
"Tickle Toe" and even "Oh, But on the third day (Happy
Feet
Blues)" a Winton Marsalis composition.
The brilliant piano playing by Tom, the superb trumpet by
Jamie (who first played in the Harp when he was 13), the
sublime tenor by Liam, delightful guitar by Andy, the
driving bass by Jim and the top class drums by Jack all
combined to give a different but totally enjoyable
session...a session which drew well deserved applause and
complimentary comments from the audience." - John Howell
-
jazzclub90.co.uk
Jamie Brownfield
to single anyone out is, I know, invidious, but I must
mention Jamie Brownfield on trumpet. In amongst the
(relative) veterans here, he plays with a tone, swing,
poise
and assurance that belie his (relatively) tender years:
if
this is how he sounds while still a teenager, then watch
out
for the things to come! Just Jazz CD Review (Reflections
of
Fats)
"Talk about 'Beauty and the Beast!!' Jamie is just about
the
best young trumpeter I've heard in Britain - he knows the
repertoire, the vocabulary; everything. And he has
wonderous
chops. I loved playing alongside him and hope maybe
before
long we can do it all again!" - Digby Fairweather
"Brownfield is already a mature and fluent soloist with a
pure tone on the trumpet" - JazzMann - 2012
"He is probably Britain's most talented and exciting
young
new star" - Bude Jazz Festival - 2011
"Hey Jamie, excellent playing! Beautiful sound, control
and
phrasing mate. Great to hear!" Myspace Comment from
trumpeter Neil Yates - 2010
"He has a very rare talent" - Ian Royle - trumpeter 2009
"Thanks for that breath of fresh air at the Ted's concert
at
Grappenhall last night! Now I know that the next
generation
of jazz is alive and kicking!" John Bratby 2009
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