Ravi Coltrane Quartet/Konrad Wiszniewski-Euan Stevenson New Focus, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow
Rob Adams FOUR STARS
Two bands, each among the leaders on their respective scenes, gave Glasgow the sort of jazz concert on Saturday that's been missing from the calendar outside the city's jazz festival for rather too long.
The opening set from saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski and pianist Euan Stevenson's New Focus quartet both restated the quality of writing the co-leaders are bringing to this group and confirmed its development as three mini suites produced music of beautiful descriptive powers ignited and embellished by marvellously lyrical, spontaneous creativity. Add to Wiszniewski's keen invention and Stevenson's sureness of touch the alertness and empathy of Alyn Cosker's drumming alongside bassist Michael Janisch's elastic presence and you have an already complete band with much more of merit, I'll wager, still to come.
From Scottish pastoralism with added fire we moved to the intensity of New York and a Ravi Coltrane Quartet that smouldered and sizzled. Coltrane's name alone causes expectations but while he paid homage to both of his illustrious parents he also showed, as has long been the case, that he has his own voice as a saxophonist - on soprano, sopranino and tenor - and as the leader of a band that seems to breathe as one even on its most free, most exploratory passages.
If Charlie Haden's For Turiya (dedicated to Alice Coltrane) created the most moving moments, with its folksong roots and hymn-like soulfulness, then there was a close contest for the most exhilarating between Coltrane's bebop attack on the set's coda, bassist Dezron Douglas' urgent intro to it, pianist David Virelles' poised explosions, and drummer Johnathan Blake's generous- toned perpetual motion.
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