When it comes to good funky jazz and soul, one of the artists that always comes to mind is Roy Ayers. His music expresses many of our care-free summer feelings in just a few words “Everybody loves the sunshine”, and the musical skill of both himself and his band (Ubiquity) is practically unrivaled. It was therefore to my utter delight when I realised that he would be playing here in Leeds on March 17th at my favorite jazz club, The Wardrobe.

Never have a I seen the venue as packed. I had a ticket in advance, but of those who bought on the door many were disappointed, and the gig was sold out and the club rammed within a mere half hour or so. By the time Roy came on stage the atmosphere was electric and the dance floor in front of the stage was rammed 10-15 rows of people deep, all eager to be as close as possible to the first blast of sound.

I’ve only ever heard Roy’s music on CD or internet radio broadcast, and all I can say is that neither medium does him and Ubiquity any justice what-so-ever. As soon as the first riff rolled out across the club, I knew I was in the right place.

Roy started easy on the vocals with occasional vibes, but it warmed the audiance up nicely, for what was soon to come - a 15 minute long jamming session for the band, in which each member displayed outstanding skill. Matt (a friend who came along with me) and myself were just jiving to the amazing work of the guitarist and saxophonist, who also turned out to be quite the “Bob Marley” on the vocals when it came to it.

Roy has certainly got a solid band, with each solo as good as the last, with no clear winner in an all too often biased competition with most groups. The combination of Roy’s presence and skill on the vibes, combined with the awesome sound of his badn created one of the most atmospheric and electric events I have gone to to date.

Everybody Loves the Sunshine was the highlight of the whole evening as I always knew it would be, but not half like I had expected. Cool as ever Roy thanked everyone for coming down, and then with a glint in his eye said “And who loves the sunshine down here tonight?”. We all went crazy. After what we’d just heard from the group, we knew this song was going to be the highlight. Roy got us all joining in with the words, and we were treated to what can only be described as a funk marathon as the band jammed their way through Roy’s most famous number.

Traditional jazz fans were also rewarded when Roy and Ubiquity covered some superb Dizzy Gillespie tracks, which really put the icing on the cake, and was a throughly enjoyable chilled out few minutes in what was otherwise a gig of excitement and constant frenzy.
An hour and a half exposed to this kind of quality jazz funk and soul gives you what can only be described as a super “high” or “trip”, really quite something, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go again. Really inspiring and refreshing stuff.

Luckily for those of us who struggled to come down off such a trip with a bump at midnight, they played some great hard bop, jazz and house over the speakers until 2am for us all to continue dancing and jiving too, and it made the whole evening that little bit more polished and complete.

If you haven’t seen Roy Ayers and Ubiquity live yet, you haven’t lived. Thats all I can say on the matter

What a night! Last night I met up with James and some of his friends, over from York and headed out to my favorite jazz and blues venue in Leeds, The Wardrobe. The venue as I have mentioned before is split between a cafe bar on the top floor serving food, and a club downstairs. Last night was particularly special as there was a live band upstairs and downstairs, and with my membership I got to swap between the two as I fancied, all for £5!

Upstairs there was a superb blues band, The Lightnin Rods, the lead singer from which is pitured on the left. I arrived slightly early and the band hadn’t yet started, but I was glad I didn’t miss the start, because they were an amazing combination. Although a blues band “on the tin” they had some very funky rhythms under their hats, the trumpeter and keyboard player especially served up some amazing jazz / funk style melodies. The blues focus was not lost however, and when the group came back after a break they got stuck in with some real low-down blues that soon had me tapping my foot and feeling the bluesy vibes!

Many groups attempt covers, but this band seemed to almost re-write things, and I must say do an outstanding job of it too. My favorite songs of the whole night were their version of “Got my Mo Jo working”, originally by Jimmy Smith, and “Compared to what” most recently recognised as being performed by Al Jareau. For a free entry event, this group are well worth a look. The Wardrobe is like a semi home for them, and they have had many gigs there in the past and are bound to return - keep a look out - I will certainly be returning to see them play again!

If this performance wasn’t enough, as soon as the last track was over, I made my way down into the club, situated below the cafe bar in the wardrobe, where Bourbon Y Tequila, a 9 piece latin jazz band were playing late into the night as part of The Wardrobe’s semi-season of fortnightly latin jazz gigs. The group are pictured playing live on the right.

Normally I only listen to latin jazz in small doses, and the sum total of my knowledge  on the genre consists of a few tracks by Pete Rodriguez! It didn’t stop me from quickly getting into the rhythm of the music and latin beats however, and after a couple of swift drinks at the bar, I was soon dancing my heart out and cheering the band on for more at the end of every number.

The musicianship of the group was very impressive, and the well timed vocals and precussion was complimented perfectly by an amazing brass section, most enjoyable to listen to as well as dance to. This style I’m sure will be replicated by other latin acts soon to play at the wardrobe, so its worth heading down there to check out whats on.

If the latin band wasn’t enough there was also a DJ for when their set finished, spining some superb heavy latin and salsa beats on the decks, great fun to dance along to, so much so I was almost loathed to leave when the night came to a close.

Best night out I have had in ages is the only verdict I can give to this wonderful musical infusion!

Matt & Phred’s jazz club in Manchester was a new one for me, so as ever with a new place I always look forward top checking it out. As an aside, when I got home one of my flatmates (who I don’t know all that well) said he lives not far from the centre of Manchester and has been wanting to go to the club for ages and has just never got round to it! Small world.

Anyhow, onto the night in question. Venue wise, it’s what you would expect from a real jazz club. Full of jazz lovers of all ages, a reasonably priced bar, great atmosphere and great gigs almost every night. Although you have to queue on the door to get in if you arrive a little later in the evening, it’s well worth it and you won’t be disappointed.

I had never heard of Neil Yate’s Quintet before, but they wowed me with a superb performance, especially some of their covers of other artists work, inlcuding one of my favorite artists, Mile Davis. Their musical style was modern and fresh, but keeping the spirit of the older jazz tracks that they themesleves and their audience were clearly familiar with.

Audience interaction was permantly on a high, and the way they got everyone to join in with typical Manchester phrases instead of the one songs original spanish vocals was great fun! The way they carried themseleves on stage was very laid back, which I love in a live performance. All of the band sported pints of beer on the sidelines, and the bass player had to be called back to the stage from the bar after a break in the set.

Overall this live performance was impressive, and although the quintet are obviously a small-time group, they are welll worth the entrance fee to any club in which they might be playing

On Wednesday night I went out to see African jazz group Dada at the Wardrobe. Their style is influenced heavily by traditional African music, and in a live setting is most enjoyable to listen, and dance to! Like much music of its type, it is very expressive and contains many messages, although these are easily glossed over due to the danceable quality of the music and the fact the vocals are in Ga, the native language of the people of southern Ghana.

For me it has been a while since I have heard music of this type, several years in fact, and it was very enjoyable to take a trip though this arena once more. Many qualities seen in other types of music, especially blues, shone through in their performance, and the precussion was excellent. Many of the pieces reminded me of “jazzed up” versions of tracks by Paul Simon. I’m not entirely sure why, but possibly because Paul seems to have a leaning in his music to the African culture.

I would certainly recommend seeing this group live if you see them advertised at a venue. As far as the Wardrobe goes as a venue, the club is excellent, combining plenty of seating and a large dancefloor, the latter close to the bar which is always good when you work up a thirst after dancing to a number. I shall certainly be heading back there for other gigs and events in the near future!

I took a trip up to York on Tuesday, and met up with some good friends from the Jazz and Blues Society. James got the night off URY due to battle of the bands, and we all headed to the Deep Blues Club just outside the sity centre to see Paul Lamb & The King Snakes Live.

First off for me it was my very first visit to the venue, and it was a pleasent surprise. Just like a traditional blues club, lots of seats, small tables, low ceiling, well stocked reasonably priced bar, low lighting and a stage setup for some serious blues. The variety of people there was amazing too, young and old, from all walks of life - just the way blues should be. Regardsless of who is playing, I can heartily recommend the venue alone to anyone thinking of taking a trip out to hear blues.

I hadn’t heard anything from Paul Lamb or the band before, but I wasn’t dissapointed. They played some absolutely outstanding stuff, and a lot of it surprisingly lively. I had just about got myself setup for a night of real blues, but actually a lot of the tracks were very much get up and dance affairs. The two or 3 really mellow tracks thus stood out from the rest and were undoubtedly the best there.

Support from the band was superb, especially the guitarists who clearly knew what it was to play the blues. Its the kind of sound I don’t think it’s possible to forget in quite a while. Paul Lamb on harminica kept everyone together and had his own antics to play, including walking around the audience still in time with the band, while playing the harmonica, every audience member got a different mini tune it seemed!

No encore was needed as Paul played right up to the end, calling his band back from the dressing room several times! It was a truely amazing evening, with no one leaving disappointed.

They sold CDs at the end, but they are also available to buy online from Amazon, and in most popular record stores. I can heartily recommend the blues artistry of this group, and wouldn’t hestitate to attend another gig, either at the same venue or indeed somewhere else.

Peter White’s Confidential is an album I have had in my collection for some time, and in fact I purchased it second hand. Before buying this album I had heard quite a bit of his music, but somehow this album is kind of special. I love music that tells stories, even if they are not true, and the best stories are the ones not just told in in song, but in a subtle way accross an entire album. I cite Alexander O’Neal’s “Hearsay” as a prime example (although a far cry from jazz and Peter White!). This album however is special, because it actualy contains a story in the inlay card, and the songs on the album relate to different parts through their titles (and if you are one to read things into music without words like me, the songs themselves relate to it too).

There are two songs on the album that have vocals, my favorite of the two, “She’s in love” is sung by Christopher Cross, an old favorite of mine; his musical talent most noted in his song sailing - on that still makes me feel amazing when listening to it to this day. The other vocal track “Lost without your love” is by a less known, but none the less brilliant artist David Sparkman.

The album is almost all smooth jazz, which given the story in the album is very appropriate. One notable exception on the album is the track “Jump on it” aired in fact on URY during my time there. It has a funky edge to it, and really makes you sit up compared with the rest of the album.

Peter White has a very special way of playing guitar, one that stands out, but none the less has subtle differences on every track, tempo and backing complementing it perfectly. It is also worth noting here that time spent does seem to relate to quality in this instance; the album took over a year to put together, and a lot of hard work not only from Peter, but from his entire team made it something really great.

If you like smoother music, or even if you are simply a fan of great guitar, this album is really worth a look. If you haven’t heard music from Peter White before, you are in for a treat. I do like the love aspect in many tracks, and will confess to owning a large number of love songs. Love in jazz however is something entirely different; most of the time you are not left with words to tell the story for you, so for you to like it it’s got to mean something to you. This album does exactly that for me.

If you own this album, please leave your own views in the comments as it would be good to know what others think about what is, I’m sure, my favorite Peter White album (I now own several!).

The York Jazz and Blues society organised a trip out to see nu York State, a new York based band lead by Danny Gough. The event was in the basement bar at the city screen cinema in the town centre. As reviewed on URY, this music is new, fresh and a very exciting form of jazz. If you didn’t think you would be into jazz, this will turn your head around. There are a variety of performances coming up, keep an eye on local press!

As shown in the picture, the informal setting of the basement bar always helps to enhance the music for the audience, not least because of the proximity to the audience and at this performance, the space to jive along with the music in front of the stage. nu York State are selling a whole new type of jazz here; I was surprised by how mellow, and yet vibrant the sound was the whole time - mixing subtle rap inputs with soulful sax - this group pack a serious jazz punch. It was also nice to feel a part of the meaning of the music too. As a young group they seem to have a large amount of feeling for the student population and the concept of rolling with it, moving on in life and indeed life lessons. These shine through in the vocal and instrumental sound of the music - “You’ve gotta keep driving!”.

The support band who appeared before nu York State left something to be desired as far as my ears are concerned, but then I’m not the authority on everything, and it’s definitely worth sitting through while waiting for Danny Gough to start the party. If you want to support a local group who have the potential to make it big in the jazz scene, this is the group to catch live. Fresh, modern and in touch with how you feel about life; nu York State are the group to see!

We all have opinions on “best of” albums but none the less we still pick them up in shops. For me I think it is the allure of being able to investigate music from an artist you know little about, not break the bank but still be able to enjoy the wide range of styles they inevitably have in their repertoire.Far from being new to the Jazz scene, Guitarist Lee Ritenour is well renowned in the world of Jazz guitar music and his music is often heard on many smooth jazz radio stations around the globe. His Best of… album brings together covers such as “Isn’t she lovely” with some of his own awesome creations “Captain Fingers” being my favorite example from the album.

As I have hinted his style is predominantly smooth jazz, but there are a couple of lively surprises on the album which awaken ones senses to the true skill of Lee’s work on the guitar. The enjoyable blend of jazz music on this album makes it well worth the money and of course an hour or so to sit down and lend it your ears, although on most tracks you cannot help but feel the style is reminisant of something you have heard before. You wouldn’t be wrong. Lee was one of the original members of the contemporary jazz groups Fourplay and only left the group in 1997 to branch out on his own.

His decision to branch out on his own was most probably the right one as far as my ears were concerned his experience and skill on guitar shines through in all his tracks giving you a unique sense of involvement in the music without being too imposing. I would definitely recommend this album to all fans of smoother music, but before you go out and part with your cash it is worth noting that the musical style of Lee Ritenour isn’t a straight out of the box affair and while this most certainly excites the ears of a smooth jazz aficionado like myself the clear variety of influences in his music may not be to everyone’s taste.

Rating: 3/5