Glasgow Jazz Festival

Tony Allen: Tribute to Art Blakey 

Old Fruitmarket

FOUR STARS

Art Blakey never played at Glasgow Jazz Festival. The hard bop pioneering drummer and serial talent scout, having died three or four years into its thirty-one year lifespan, remains one of just a few of the music’s real heavy hitters to have evaded the festival’s programmers. His spirit was present in this tribute by Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, though, especially through the tunes arguably most associated with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers:  A Night in Tunisia and Bobby Timmons’ gospel-flavoured Moanin’.

Not that Allen adhered to any kind of Blakey script or formula. He did it his way, working in a quartet, rather than in a sextet or septet as were Blakey’s chosen formats, and substituting his super-relaxed, lightly applied Afro-beat for Blakey’s hard swinging, propulsive approach.

 Bronislau Kaper’s Invitation, the first of half-a-dozen tunes that illustrated Blakey’s ability to spot compositional talent as well as outstanding musicianship in his charges, was a persuasive opener, played at quite a reduced pace compared to the one another jazz icon, Jaco Pastorius, used in making his rollicking version the industry standard. All four musicians took a solo, serving notice that each had chops enough to spare.

While there was ample room for self-expression, however, with Cuban saxophonist Irving Acao displaying an unhurried but still hot style, bassist Mathias Allamane exuding strong presence and a sumptuous tone and pianist Jean Phi Dary adding Rhodes piano licks and spiritual-sounding scat vocals on Tunisia, the music was really about the feeling of well-being and the pulse that Allen’s immaculate drumming generates.

As his one rather rambling chat suggested, Allen prefers to let his playing do his talking for him and it’s a very musical form of conversation. He has a fabulously understated touch, stroking hi hat and snare drum with quiet precision, highlighting the melody with beautifully placed accents and producing a singing tone from the toms.

The evening ended with the space in front of the stage filling up with dancers, no surprise really considering the rhythm that flows from Allen’s sticks and limbs.