Sax Appeal

“Funkerdeen”

(Jazizit Records JITCD1460)

Derek Nash is a frequent presence on the Jazzmann web pages, an indefatigable musical force who fulfils the roles of musician, composer, arranger, bandleader, studio owner, engineer and producer with equal aplomb. Nash’s bands include the long running Sax Appeal, the hard hitting funk outfit Protect The Beat and the essentially acoustic and more conventionally jazzy Derek Nash Quartet. As an in demand sideman he has a lucrative and well established engagement as a member of Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and also plays with the Ronnie Scott’s Blues Explosion band and with US smooth jazz artist Brian Culbertson. Meanwhile Nash works tirelessly at his Clown’s Pocket Studio in Kent and has acted as engineer and/or producer on a host of excellent British jazz recordings over the years. In this contest Nash’s name on the album credits is always a guarantee of good sound quality, and invariably of quality music as well. He is also the joint proprietor, with singer Trudy Kerr, of Jazzizit Records.

Nash has been running Sax Appeal for thirty years, usually an eight piece outfit featuring five reeds plus piano, bass and drums. It’s a naff group name but is one that sticks in the memory and Sax Appeal have acquired something of a following for their lively stage shows. I’ve seen the band a couple of times at club and festival appearances at Pontypool and have thoroughly enjoyed each occasion. Their appearances combine excellent musicianship with a modest amount of “showbiz”, Nash is not afraid to “entertain”.

The Sax Appeal line up has been extremely fluid and has contained many of the UK’s leading jazz musicians. The current line up features Nash on alto and soprano, Scott Garland on alto, Gary Plumley on tenor sax & wood flute, Bob McKay on baritone sax, flute & piccolo with a rhythm section of Pete Adams (keyboards), Phil Scragg (bass) and Mike Bradley (drums). The role of second tenor is shared by the Brit Simon Allen and expat Aussie Brandon Allen (no relation).

As the title might suggest “Funkerdeen” delivers Sax Appeal’s usual blend of jazz and funk on a series of nine Nash originals. Nash sees the band as the prime outlet for his writing and arranging skills and the album, recorded at Clown’s Pocket, represents the group’s sixth full length recording.
It kicks off with the title track, a piece written one night at a rowdy Aberdeen hotel when fights and all night partying outside Nash’s window prevented him from sleeping. A heavy funk groove combines with a tricky chord sequence which acts as the framework for powerful solos from Brandon Allen on tenor and the composer on his familiar alto.  It’s all a lot more good natured than the prospect of a sleepless night might suggest.

The Latin flavoured “Seville” has become something of a live favourite and begins with the gently evocative sound of Plumley’s wood flute above the shimmer of Bradley’s percussion. Things quickly move up a gear and the breezy arrangement incorporates features for McKay’s more orthodox jazz flute (not withstanding some Roland Kirk mannerisms), the lively Adams at the piano and Bradley at the drums. Razor sharp playing combines with a bright and varied Latin arrangement incorporating plenty of dynamic contrasts, no wonder it’s become such a popular item at the band’s gigs.

As well as being a popular Sax Appeal number “Blue For You” has also been performed by Nash’s quartet and appeared in that context on his “Setting New Standards” album. Here it’s a feature for the twin baritone saxes of McKay and special guest Alan Barnes. Their bluesy dialogue is followed first by pianist Adams and eventually by the sound of Plumley’s tenor.   
“Draggin’ on the Ground” was originally written for Protect The Beat but there has been an octet arrangement in the Sax Appeal repertoire for at least five years, they played it at Pontypool back in 2009. A slow funk groove harbours new sections plus features for Garland on acerbic lead alto (complete with quote from “It Ain’t Necessarily So”),  Plumey on earthy tenor and Scragg on fluid electric bass as Adams’ Rhodes weaves its way insidiously throughout the tune. 

“Mambo 7” explores a variety of time signatures with the main theme in 7/4. Relaxed yet funky the piece harbours solos from Brandon Allen on tenor and Adams on Rhodes.

“Here With Me” is Nash’s homage to American altoist David Sanborn, a musician with whom he has worked in the past. Specifically focussing on Sanborn’s collaborations with Marcus Miller the solos come from Nash on alto and Plumley on tenor with Adams a particularly receptive foil. It’s not without appeal but when Jack Massarik, writing in Jazzwise, compared it unfavourably with the smooth jazz of Kenny G he may well have had a point.

For “Sticky Finger Boogie” Nash invited his sometime employer Jools Holland into the fold, together with a returning Alan Barnes, the latter this time on alto. As the title suggests this is a feast of rollicking, swinging boogie incorporating a whole string of solos. The twin tenors of Plumley and Brandon Allen exchange ideas and are followed in rapid fashion by Holland, Barnes, Nash and Bradley.

Phil Scragg sets up a propulsive electric bass groove on “Walkin’ On Air” which provides the impetus for solos from Garland on Sanborn-esque alto and Brandon Allen on typically hard hitting tenor. Allen may only appear on about half the tracks but he sure makes a big impression.

“Voodoo Rex” is named after a model of alto saxophone manufactured in New Orleans by instrument maker Steve Goodson.  The piece is given an appropriately good time “New Orleans street party” vibe with Simon Allen leading off the solos on tenor. Nash, presumably on Voodoo Rex, duets effectively with Bradley before leaving the drummer to do his own thing on what Nash describes as “an amazing time-stretching drum solo” - albeit one punctuated by regular blasts from the massed reeds.

“Funkerdeen” is a typically polished and professional Derek Nash product featuring a colourful set of compositions and arrangements superbly played by an all star band. And yet I can’t help feeling that Massarik has something of a point, there are times when the music flirts a little too closely with blandness and there’s sometimes a feeling of the routine about the whole project. Despite the excellence of such recordings as 2005’s “The Flatiron Suite”  (reviewed elsewhere on the Jazzmann) it’s probably fair to say that the best place to catch Sax Appeal is in the live arena where their rough edges are rather more apparent - it’s a common problem for funk and fusion bands that they end up sounding somewhat neutered on record and for all his production skills even Nash isn’t totally immune to this.

Despite these cavils I have to say that I’m still a huge admirer of Derek Nash, a man who has done so much for British jazz in so many different ways over the years.

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