Jazz bands from the other side of the pond always pleasantly surprise me, and this one by pianist Matt Carter is a perfect example.
First of all, he leads the unorthodox octet, consisting of Luke Tomlinson/dr, Joe Lee/b, George Jefford/tp, Tom Smith/as, Jonny Ford/ts, Harry Greene/bars, Harry Maund/tb and guest Gareth Lockrane/fl for a few tunes. The band sounds like The Little Engine That Could, as it packs a wallop for a smaller than big band, as the sections punch like middleweights on “Hope Song” and give a big sound to the bold “Like It Or Not” featuring Greene’s bodacious baritone sax. The reeds charge like stallions around Smith’s solo on “Abode” and float over Tomlilnson’s snappy sticks with rich nimbus clouds of soloing by Lockrane and Jefford during “Read Between The Lines”. Carter’s own piano work is impressive, lovely and quite Ellingtonian on “Dukes Mood” and peppy on a swanky take of “But Not For Me”. A nice jaunt, and would love to see these blokes get in a lorry and hit the road on the West Coast.