Review: John Law Trio at the Red Lion, Birmingham
Pianist John Law is one of the most accomplished, but under-celebrated, musicians on the UK jazz scene.
He not only has an immaculate keyboard technique – as a young man he trained as a classical pianist and studied in Vienna – his improvising has a marvellous flowing quality which captivates the ear.
He is currently on tour with his trio - completed by bassist Yuri Goloubev and drummer Jon Scott – and last night they performed for the organisation Birmingham Jazz at the Red Lion in the Jewellery Quarter. Goloubev also has a virtuoso technique on the double bass, and his precision and inventiveness are a delight, while Scott is proving a worthy successor to Law's previous drummer, the brilliant Asaf Sirkis.
Law's classical background is often in evidence, both in his compositions and his improvising, and he frequently incorporates elements ranging from early music to complex 20th century music in his work.
He opened the concert with a swirling composition by the great trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, Everyone's Song But My Own, and followed with tunes including Nick Drake's River Man, Dave Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way, and the standard song Autumn Leaves.
Law's own compositions, including Chorale, Fun At Five and Quiet Dignity, showed the depth of his talent, but it was the trio's imaginative re-working of the Miles Davis classic tune So What, turning its simple theme inside out and exploring every harmonic and rhythmic possibility, which impressed the most.
By John Watson
