The Jazz at the Horsebridge programme continues to excel in the quality of its visiting artists. This time we got a chance to appreciate guitarist Deirdre Cartwright’s new trio featuring Pete Whittaker on Hammond organ and Gary Hammond on congas and percussion. Or as she joked, the only trio in jazz with two Hammonds. Cartwright also confessed early on that this was only the second outing of the trio (to the cry ‘what could possibly go wrong’ from a laughing Hammond), but this actually provided a freshness to the gig. The musicians followed each other intently for musical cues, but being long-time collaborators also maintained a relaxed back and forth which flowed beautifully throughout.
With Deirdre on archtop guitar, the trio provide a sophisticated set, mixing up interpretations of classic Wes Montgomery and Grant Green numbers, as well as samba and blues/funky compositions and other more recent songs. These ranged from The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” to Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights”. What came across early in her introductions is how much Cartwright admires the popular and show songs that great jazz players from the 1920s to the 1950s turned into classics. It is that process that she seems to want to replicate, often favouring modern songs with a strong groove which have also stood the test of time. And whatever the tune, the improvisation was never less than impressive, with the great swing you’d expect from such excellent musicians.
As if to make the point, the trio kicked off with a smooth version of Wes Montgomery’s classic title track from the 1968 album ‘Road Song’, Cartwright’s lovely clean tone complemented by Whittaker’s fuller classic Hammond sound. That chart-topping album included a wide range of songs from the likes of Bart Howard, The Beatles and Pete Seeger. As if to emphasise the dynamic variety of the set this is followed by a moving version of Emily Remler’s arrangement of Romberg and Hammerstein II’s “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise”. On this, Cartwright displayed her exceptional skill in the use of harmonics in her solos, while Hammond’s use of unusual percussion instruments added real atmosphere to a song about the yearnings of lost love.
Another example of this variety of mood was replicated in the contrast between a version of Luiz Bonfá’s “The Gentle Rain”, on which Whittaker exploited the percussive feel of the Hammond organ to the full, and the rousing version of The Doors’s “Light My Fire” that followed. On the latter, Cartwright injected real passion into her playing to match the song’s mood, while Hammond also excelled with a driving beat-box rhythm.
On a number of occasions, Cartwright extemporised an intro, as if forcing you to listen carefully until you were rewarded with the theme. She did this particularly effectively on “Body And Soul” which was another opportunity for Hammond to inject a range of interesting percussive effects. The set drew to an end with some funkier pieces, including an uplifting encore of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up”, Whittaker punching out the theme while Cartwright kept the rocksteady 16th-note groove.
This is definitely a trio to catch on tour if you can – jazz with soul to burn. My only disappointment was forgetting to ask Deirdre Cartwright to autograph my precious copy of the 1983 BBC “Rockschool” book before I left the Horsebridge.