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The welcome return of Bridge Music's Thursday jazz series at Glasgow Art Club continues its good work in providing a platform for neglected, established musicians and exciting new talents alike. This latest instalment managed to showcase both categories.
Once a regular and popular visitor, guitarist Gary Boyle hadn't appeared in Scotland for 20 years. He's always had an ear for strong emerging players – Gary Husband, currently starring in guitarist John McLaughlin's 4th Dimension, is just one of Boyle's finds – and the band he brought north this time maintained that tradition.
Pianist Andrzej Baranek, who can also be heard with Manchester's very fine Magic Hat Ensemble, was especially impressive, always contributing clear, inventive and dramatically paced improvisations, and drummer Jonathan Hartley, working well alongside double bassist Bruce Reid, injected drive and nicely tuned bursts of power.
Despite the largely acoustic nature of the rhythm section, Boyle still likes to rock or as he puts it himself, get a bit noisy, and his repertoire drew on his classic fusion albums from the 1970s, with Makeover being an attractive, looser arrangement of his Cowshed Shuffle, and Gaz, written to feature the late Gary Moore, allowing Baranek to show his solo-building skills on an electric keyboard.
Boyle's guitar style remains instantly recognisable, its edgy blend of legato runs and short sharp counter-punches finding new routes through old favourites, including Chick Corea's lilting, waltzing Windows and the Milesian ballad Blue in Green, and gathering a series of pertinent variations into a satisfying conclusion on the final number, the dancing, Pat Metheny-like Peace Green.
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