Myke Wilson Sextet - Live In Manchester
[Matt & Phred's]

Tuesday night, Matt & Phred's, and silence falls among the Manchester chatterati as the energy levels of piano, flugelhorn, sax and guitar vie and compete and merge and meld, their chemical, electrical reaction grounded in the cathode of the bass, their whims and caprices branches of a drumming motherlode.

I want to make like the Fast Show guy now, and say "Niiiiiiiiiice.."

Instead I'll say, where did that 5 hours go? People were threatening to float off stage and crash on up through the roof. Some people say jazz is dull. I've also heard people say that it's selfish. Bollocks. The six people on stage last night transcended their own spaces and pulled everyone in the room with them. How is that selfish or dull?

The band performed three short sets during the evening, and brought the intricate magic of their live performance to a near full house. Each member of the sextet was given free reign to follow their musical impulse, losing themselves in their moment, and bouncing ideas off one another, while Mr Wilson kept the sweetest touch of control over the proceedings. It was hard to believe that the band hasn't played together before as a unit.

Hopefully, this will be the first of many gigs, and they won't be buried on a Tuesday night at Matt & Phred's in the future.