Killer Shrimp
At least part of Killer Shrimp’s name seems appropriate for the Scarborough Jazz Festival; the music was wholly right for opening Saturday’s musical feast. Freewheeling they maybe, but the band’s musical roots are in hardbop, updated with some rhythmic feel from more contemporary musics of black origin.
Damon Brown’s flugel horn playing will be familiar to the wider audience who heard the ‘Blue Note put to beats’ group Us3. Much of the music in this set, though, has a very different sort urban grit, more about cafes in North London and disputes with landlords than romanticised New York street life. This is realised particularly well in the contributions of saxophonist Ed Jones, especially when counterpointed by the more romantic sound of Brown’s horn.
Playing live, most of the investigations of electronic music found on the album were absent, but they lost none of the sense of adventure. There’s traditional head and solo turn-taking, but far more interplay between instrumentalists than characterised the hardbop heyday. The groove is far less important here than the measured individual playing. There are stimulating, intelligent horn solos that never sound mannered, and drum solos from Luke Flowers that never lose their musicality.
There’s been a strong line up of bass players at this festival, and Mark Hodgson is far more understated than the bass-leaders who were on stage yesterday. However, I found myself increasingly mesmerised by his walking, fluent playing. This guy is a strong team player, giving the band a lovely strong pulse, and the traded sixteens and eights with Flowers were beautifully measured and assured. Hodgson seemed far keener to give Flowers a springboard for some gentle and sophisticated percussion, than to push his virtuosity. Deft and sensitive are the best adjectives here.
In concert here, and on their current CDs, there are lots of originals, but there are also compositions from slightly lesser known bop and hard bop composer-players like Tadd Dameron, Blue Mitchell and Harold Land. As the set went along the music grew in stature, and the band members clearly became more confident and audacious. The later numbers in particular had an appreciative audience engrossed.
The band have a lot in common with the spicy Thai fusion food suggested by their name: gently sweet and sour, varied textures, and at its best imaginative enough to be different.
Tim Wall
