A packed Pizza Express in London’s Soho was blasted by The Jazz Defenders as they unleashed their new album on the world - celebrating International Jazz Day 2024 in style.
Memory in Motion is a great album, out now on Haggis Records, with touches of Horace Silver and tinges of Herbie Hancock.
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| The Jazz Defenders |
Memory in Motion is a great album, out now on Haggis Records, with touches of Horace Silver and tinges of Herbie Hancock.
There was something slightly disconcerting about an electronic keyboard sitting on top of the wonderful Dean Street Steinway and George Cooper handled them both with a dexterity and panache that made it all make sense.
A talented bunch, The Jazz Defenders take their influences from wherever they choose, including some of the other ensembles in which they strut their stuff.
Horns are courtesy of Jake McMurchie (tenor sax) and Nick Malcolm (trumpet) and they are as much at ease on stabbing and intricate lines as they are on solos through the tracks.
A solid rhythm and added excitement comes from Ian Matthews (drums) and Will Harris (double bass and bass guitar). Matthews in particular wowed the crowd with his energetic and frankly explosive solos.
Alongside the obvious influences, there's a modernity about this group, particularly when they were joined for one number by actor, rapper, singer and overall performer Doc Brown. Defying genres and the boxes that jazz sometimes is forced into, this was a night of musical surprises and an energy that only comes with talent and a deep musical understanding.
Alongside the obvious influences, there's a modernity about this group, particularly when they were joined for one number by actor, rapper, singer and overall performer Doc Brown. Defying genres and the boxes that jazz sometimes is forced into, this was a night of musical surprises and an energy that only comes with talent and a deep musical understanding.
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