After finishing a lovely tribute to Kenny Burrell with ‘Make Someone Happy’ (by Styne/Green/Comden) at the start of the second set, Nigel Price (guitar) told the audience that he knows he’s really enjoying the vibe of the gig when he improvises with his eyes closed. Judging from that, he clearly enjoyed his time at the Horsebridge, in what was a stunning performance by the whole trio, also comprised of Joel Barford (drums) and Ross Stanley (Hammond organ). That particular track, which also opens the 2025 album ‘It’s On!’, encapsulates much of what the trio is about. It starts softly, Price’s guitar melody caressed by Barford’s brush work, then grows dynamically with Stanley’s organ and Price’s solos. The trio never lags or ambles along, but drives insistently, full of soul and emotion. Live, the sound of the songs is as loud, dense and exciting as you would expect, but always retaining a sense of extended and controlled story-telling.
The gig opened with the title track of ‘It’s On’, a Price original that moved through a pleasing progression at the start, before some extended blues-influenced soloing from Price and Stanley, the latter’s feet dancing on the Hammond’s bass pedals. Stanley is also particularly good at satisfying song endings, often playing on you never wanting a good tune to end. ‘Chonky’ a tune inspired by one of Price’s cats (which hates him) as described by his daughter, is deeply funky at the outset. You could imagine it being played in a 70s US crime movie. It’s always in the groove, before surprisingly modulating into a jazz swing beat. At the end, Nigel Price shares that he often speculates that the cat has no idea what has just happened – or that perhaps it does.
The first set concludes with the high-tempo ‘Backatcha’, another Price original, with an ear worm melody in the head and a jaw-dropping solo from him before Stanley echoed the riffs in his own. Towards the end the band trade fours with Barford in most exciting manner until the trio races the tune to its conclusion.
Barford’s exceptional playing was highlighted again on ‘Jingles’, a tribute to Wes Montgomery, but played as a samba. His drumming supporting Price’s and Stanley’s solos was so good that I was waiting impatiently for his own solo. It didn’t disappoint – it was a show stopper. It’s like a firework display, Price joked afterwards.
A very different vibe comes with ’76’, also from the album. Price was inspired by 2025 being the hottest summer in the UK since pre-historic times. It reminded him of the legendary hot summer of 1976, of innocent childhood water fights in a freer, calmer world. And the trio definitely convey a church-like pastoral feel, of driving on forgotten country roads and of a very English melancholy. Price’s playing is a beautiful piece of soulful ‘saudade’.
The band encored with another characteristically life-affirming track, Art Pepper’s ‘Red Car’. A tremendous all-round performance by the trio and yet another treat for the Horsebridge’s jazz audience.
The next gigs at Jazz at the Horsebridge are:
22 March: Paul Booth
26 April: Julian Marc Stringle