Bryan Corbett’s Instrumental Groove Unit, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 12/12/2024.

Bryan Corbett – trumpet, flugelhorn, Paul Deats – Fender Rhodes, synthesiser, Wayne Matthews – fretted and fretless six string electric basses, Luke Harris – drums

Music Spoken Here’s final event of 2024 (and its fortieth overall) presented Instrumental Groove Unit (IGU), a fairly new quartet led by the Birmingham based trumpeter and composer Bryan Corbett.

I’ve been following Corbett’s career for a long time. He was born in Bromyard in my native county of Herefordshire and in his early days as a musician in the late 1990s and early 2000s he used to play regularly at the tiny Blue Note Café Bar in my home town of Leominster, often in a duo with pianist Levi French.

After moving to Birmingham Corbett quickly established himself on the wider Midlands jazz scene and has also released several albums under his own name. In addition he has also found work as a respected session and touring musician.

Although never a particularly prolific composer Corbett has recorded fairly frequently, beginning in 1999 with “Funk in the Deep Freeze”. In 2000 “Simply Blue”, the title track a Corbett original honouring the Leominster Blue Note, was the first of a number of live albums in either a quartet or quintet format,  others in the series including the double sets “Message of Iridescence” (2015) and the 1959 themed “The Hi-Fly Quintet” (2019). 

“Corbenova” (2003), “Off The Cuff” (2005) and “Pressure Valve” (2006)  found the trumpeter experimenting with electronics and ‘nu-jazz’. By way of contrast he has also recorded two intimate duo sets with pianist Levi French and multi-instrumentalist Chris Dodd.

The Hi-Fly Quintet recording honoured some of the great albums released in 1959, a real landmark year for jazz that gave us Miles Davis’ “Kind Of Blue”, Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out”, Charles Mingus’ “Ah Um” Ornette Coleman’s “The Shape of Jazz to Come”  and Horace Silver’s “Blowin’ The Blues Away” among others. The success of this project has led to Corbett presenting other similar themed ‘tributes’ such as Ready For Freddie, his homage to his all time trumpet hero Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008). This also yielded an album, subtitled “The Hub”, a recording that represents Corbett’s latest album release.

Corbett has also toured with The Blue Note Session Band, which offers an evening of music associated with the label written by composers such as Hubbard, Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter and others. Typically the group goes out as a quintet or sextet but promoters also have the option to add a vocal, electronic or even rap / hip hop option.

He has also been a busy presence on the session scene, frequently performing as part of the touring bands of rock and pop acts, among them Brand New Heavies,  US3, McFly and Tony Christie.  He also runs The Remote Horns, a kind of ‘virtual horn section for hire’.

Corbett’s latest project is his Instrumental Groove Unit (IGU), a quartet featuring keyboard player Paul Deats, bassist Wayne Matthews and drummer Luke Harris, the latter also Corbett’s band mate in the Brand New Heavies touring ensemble.

I’ve seen Corbett perform live on many occasions playing music in a largely hard bop style with an acoustic quartet or quintet but this was the first time that I’d seen him fronting a predominately electric band.  In this context Deats, who is also the co-proprietor of the Peggy’s Skylight jazz venue in Nottingham, specialises on electric keyboards and Matthews on electric bass. There is also a greater focus on Corbett’s original writing, with all but one of the tunes tonight coming from the pen of the trumpeter, the only exception being a composition from Corbett’s all time trumpet hero Freddie Hubbard.

Of course Hubbard himself explored similar ‘fusion’ territory with his recordings for CTI in the 1970s and with Corbett there’s also the sense that IGU represents something of a return to the sound of “Corbenova”, “Off The Cuff” and “Pressure Valve”.

IGU also represents a nice fit for promoter Dave Fuller’s Music Spoken Here series of events which promises to bring “the best in jazz, funk soul and fusion” to Worcester. With this in mind and given Corbett’s substantial local following it was disappointing to see only around thirty people in the audience. Maybe it was just too close to Christmas but I really did expect to see more. Music Spoken Here consistently brings top quality music to Worcester and really does deserve more support from the local populace. Come on people of Worcester, get yourselves down to The Marr’s Bar!

Right, rant over and on with the music, which commenced with the shimmering atmospherics of a composition simply known as “IGU Intro”, this featuring the chiming of Deats’ vintage Rhodes electric piano, the purr of Matthews’ electric bass, and the rumble of mallets and the swishing of cymbals from Harris. The addition of Corbett’s distinctive square belled trumpet, custom made for him by Taylor Trumpets (a Norwich based company with whom he has been associated throughout his career), introduced a harder edged sound as Harris began to establish a groove that provided the basis for Corbett’s fluent and incisive trumpet soloing. We also heard solos from the excellent Deats on Rhodes and from Matthews on bass, a liquidly melodic episode played on his six string fretted Anaconda.

When introducing the next piece, “Psycho Spirit”, Corbett announced that the band’s mission was to explore original vibes, with the performance of each individual composition sounding different every time. This item was ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied bass from Matthews and saw Corbett switching to a Taylor made flugelhorn, again featuring a distinctive square bell. Corbett’s flugel solo was characteristically fluent, his tone warm and rounded. Matthews was featured further on electric bass, quietly singing along with his own melodies and making judicious use of his various effects pedals. The piece also featured the vintage sounds of Deats’ Little Phatty analogue synth, a model that the Moog company ceased the production of in 2013.

“IGU” itself was introduced by a drum groove laid down by Harris, with Matthews quickly locking in to ramp up the funk quotient. Corbett reverted to trumpet, his powerful solo a variable clarion call. Deats’ keyboard solo combined the sounds of Rhodes and Moog. His use of these authentic vintage keyboard instruments really does help to give IGU, the band, a distinctive sound and demonstrates a genuine commitment to authenticity.

The first set concluded in unexpectedly mellow and laid back fashion with “Rubicon”, featuring the sounds of the leader on flugel and Matthews on six string fretless electric bass, an Overwater Hollowbody, apparently.

Set two commenced with “Different Species”, introduced by the sound of bass and drums, with Rhodes soon added. Matthews’ electric bass motif cum groove then underpinned a strident, sharp edged trumpet solo from Corbett, this followed by a fiery Rhodes solo from Deats, arguably his best of the night. All the while Matthews’ supple bass grooves and Harris’ firm, crisp drumming provided excellent support.

Described by its composer as “slow and groovy” “Pushin’ Ya Buttons” lived up to its billing with a languid funk groove underpinning the warmer sound of the flugel as Corbett shared the solos with Matthews’ melodic electric bass.

“Interlude” was a solo trumpet performance that saw Corbett enhancing his sound via the use of a range of ‘harmoniser’ effects pedals that layered his sound to give a kind of choral effect. I asked him about this after the show and he was keen to emphasise that the remarkable sounds that he had generated were emphatically NOT the result of live looping.

“Interlude” marked the intro to the Freddie Hubbard tune “Skagly”, the title track of a Hubbard album from 1980. This featured a had hitting funk groove powered by bass, drums and Rhodes and included incisive solos from Corbett on trumpet and Deats on Rhodes, followed by a powerful drum feature from reluctant soloist Harris, a man more dedicated to the keeping of the groove, hence his value to the Brand New Heavies.

It has to be said that Deats’ soloing was particularly inspired during the course of this second set, his performance rendered even more remarkable when you consider that he’d flown back to the UK from Canada the previous day and hadn’t slept between times.

IGU signed off with “Expanse”,ushered in by keys, bass and drums and with Corbett featuring on flugelhorn. As at the close of the first half this was an unexpectedly relaxed way to end a set, but it did include some excellent soloing from Corbett on flugel, Deats on Rhodes and Matthews on fretless bass.

The small but enthusiastic audience at The Marr’s Bar made enough noise to persuade the band to come back for a well deserved encore. Introduced by the sounds of trumpet and Rhodes and with Matthews again featuring on fretless bass this was a brief rendition of the title track from the “Corbenova” album with Corbett and Deats the featured soloists.

I’d heard a lot of good things about IGU and I’m pleased to report that the band didn’t disappoint. It was also good to see Corbett back on stage again following a year that saw him successfully undergoing major surgery to treat a long term medical condition. Thankfully the procedure has been successful,  he has made a rapid recovery and is playing just as well as ever.

I’d heard some of these pieces (“Psycho Spirit”, “Pushing Ya Buttons”, “Different Species”) before in an acoustic jazz context but they had initially been written for IGU and sounded even better in this context. It is intended that the new group will record an album in 2025, the results of which should be well worth waiting for.

This really was an excellent musical performance and one that demanded a larger audience turnout. Come on people of Worcester, get behind Music Spoken Here and the Marr’s Bar!

IAN MANN

Dave Fuller of Music Spoken Here has also reviewed this gig for publication in MSH’s weekly newsletter and in the Worcester based music and listings magazine SLAP! (Supporting Local Artists and Performers). His account can be found below;

bIGUp to Bryan Corbett and crew!

Thursday saw our last show of the year (and 40th show since starting) at The Marr’s Bar, with a stellar performance from Bryan Corbett’s Instrumental Groove Unit. Trumpet, flugelhorn and groove master Bryan is based in Smethwick but grew up in Bromyard and introduced the band saying it was “very nice to be playing back on my old stomping ground”, adding that he’d spent “many a drunken night out in Worcester” in his youth!

The Instrumental Groove Unit is described by Bryan as a project with “emphasis on the ‘pocket’ of groove and freedom of improvisation” that he put together shortly before having to take some time out earlier this year, so it was great to see it “slowly getting back on its feet again” after successful surgery.

Bryan came equipped with trumpet and flugelhorn, both remarkable for their ‘raw brass’ finish and squared bell, at times played through various electronic effects. Paul Deats on Fender Rhodes had just flown in from Canada earlier in the day and come to the gig without sleeping, for which he must have summoned some superhuman powers to perform as he did! On bass, Wayne Matthews predominantly played his six-string fretted Anaconda, switching to a gorgeous Overwater Hollowbody fretless for a couple of tunes. Custodian of the beat was Luke Harris, who, incidentally, joined The Brand New Heavies the same time as Bryan and oozes groove, while exuding an air of effortless subtlety perfectly serving Bryan’s music.

Bryan set out his stall right form the get go, with the ‘IGU Intro’ - a considered and commanding trumpet solo, spatially augmented by shimmering chords from Paul on the Rhodes and various splashes and rumblings from Luke on the kit, followed by an anticipatory pause before the unit launched into the jazz-funky head, starting with Bryan stating the theme, with Paul warming up the Rhodes nicely in a joyful feature followed by a delightfully emotive solo from Wayne, dancing up and down the broad neck of his Anaconda bass.

Explaining the improvisational nature of this project, Bryan said the tunes, which were all but one original compositions, were “meant to be different each time, because we don’t remember them from the last time we played”!

Psycho Spirit’ was a laid-back affair, introduced by a sweet, simple bass line from Wayne harmonised by Paul’s deliciously cool Rhodes, joined by Bryan on flugelhorn this time, with another great high-end solo from Wayne that was cooking so much he had to remove his hat when it was over!

Luke and Wayne kicked off ‘IGU’ with a funky break-beat, joined by Bryan back on trumpet and Paul taking a solo combining left-handed Rhodes with his right-hand playing a two-octave synth device perched atop the Rhodes. The first set closed with ‘Rubicon’, another laid-back groove somewhat reminiscent of mid-Seventies Herbie Hancock, and featured Wayne on his Overwater Hollowbody fretless.

After a short break, where the audience were encouraged to finish up the abundance of mince pies and lemon drizzle cake baked fresh in the morning by my wonderfully supportive and long-suffering wife Jenny, the band returned to the stage to open the second set with ‘Different Species’. This one had Bryan reaching some remarkable highs, made all the more dramatic with a touch of echo and another groovy Rhodes solo from Paul.

‘Pushin’ Ya Buttons’ was a soulful groove, perfect for the more mellow tone from Bryan’s flugelhorn. The sombre ‘Interlude’ featured a haunting trumpet solo embellished by various effects before the band segued into the first and only cover of the set, the stonkingly funky but lesser-played groove ‘Skagly’, by Freddie Hubbard, where we finally got a drum solo out of Luke - and what a job he did, getting all up in the tricky stuff and keeping everyone on their toes with anticipation!

The set finished with ‘Expanse’ - a relaxed, flugelhorn-led vibe interlaced with the tickles of Paul’s Rhodes and Wayne bubbling away on the fretless Overwater, each then taking a solo. The attentive audience let their appreciation be known and the IGU performed an encore of ‘Corbenova’ , somewhat abbreviated in duration as time was running out on what had been another night of exceptional music at The Marr’s Bar.

In a change from our usual resident DJ slot, as this was our last gig of the year we made use of the venue’s projector and retractable screen for the first time to show a video montage of all the performances between January and July this year, which went down well. I’m almost done producing a more condensed video covering all 23 bands we’ve had this year that will be available on our YouTube Channel soon. What, you haven’t subscribed?

DAVE FULLER

 

 

 

 

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