I first encountered Inspector Gadjo three weeks ago when the trio played one of the free “Saturday Café” lunchtime gigs at Hereford’s Courtyard Arts Centre. I was impressed with what I heard and introduced myself to the group’s leader, guitarist Will Barnes. He informed me that the band plus a Jazzmann favourite, saxophonist Casey Greene, would be playing this gig at Ludlow and asked me to cover it for this site.

Inspector Gadjo began as a “Hot Club” style quartet with two guitars, violin and double bass. When violinist Sarah Smith moved on Barnes decided to modify the style of the group. Django Reinhardt remains the group’s primary influence and their repertoire is still liberally peppered with his tunes but the trio play them in a bebop rather than “Hot Club” style.  Barnes’ guitar playing is inspired as much by Kenny Burrell as by Reinhardt. The trio’s repertoire has extended to include pieces by bebop masters Charlie Parker and Miles Davis and they have also added a number of original compositions to the programme. 

Based in Newtown the trio are beginning to acquire a considerable reputation on the live music circuit in the Welsh Borders. They are also due to play the International Gypsy Guitar Festival in Gloucestershire at the end of July 2010. Besides Barnes the trio consists of double bassist Tommy Mills and drummer George Jackson, an experienced rhythm team who have worked with dozens of bands in the Border area across a wide range of musical styles. The trio have just recorded their début album tentatively entitled “Samba 48” which is due to be released very soon. A mixture of Reinhardt and other jazz and bebop standards plus a sprinkling of originals the record also features tonight’s guest, Greene on three of the tracks. Greene is an expatriate Australian now based in Shrewsbury and is best known for his work with his Latin ensemble, Quiver. Proficient on all the saxophones plus flute and clarinet he plays right across the jazz spectrum and is a highly talented musician.

The Charlton Arms is located in an idyllic setting beside the River Teme. Tonight it was almost too idyllic, with band members and punters soaking up the evening sun on the riverside patio before the gig. The band seemed reluctant to drag themselves away to the bandstand and the music didn’t start until around nine o’clock. With the weather, Wimbledon and The World Cup also competing for the attention of potential listeners the turnout was disappointingly small. Nonetheless the band played their hearts out over the course of two sets of wonderfully swinging music, exhibiting a high degree of musicianship throughout. 

They kicked off with swinging “Stompin’ At The Savoy” which immediately demonstrated the virtues of the band by featuring each as a soloist. Bassist Mills went first, his tone huge and resonant, next came Greene, cool and elegant on alto. Barnes demonstrated his bop chops with some quicksilver single note runs and finally came the effortlessly swinging Jackson at the drums.

Greene switched to flute for the first of the many Django Reinhardt numbers, “St. Germain”, a version of which will appear on the impending Inspector Gadjo CD. Solos came from Greene on flute and Barnes in Kenny Burrell mode. Barnes also traded fours with drummer Jackson, a device he likes to use a lot with several numbers also involving Greene in a series of thrilling three way interchanges.

After the two high energy openers the trio took their collective foot of the gas for an attractive ballad version of Django’s “J’Attendrai”. Barnes and Mills opened the piece with a delicate guitar/bass duet and subsequent solos came from Greene on soprano, Barnes and Mills.

“Baggin’ It Up” was the first of the originals and another tune that will appear on the new album. Greene sat out as the others tackled the piece in trio mode. This was very much a vehicle for Barnes who played some dazzling, slippery, bop inspired lines that also exhibited a discernible blues influence. Mills also contributed hugely with a characteristically fluent and resonant solo.

Barnes was equally fleet fingered on “Dinah”, a tune adapted by Reinhardt for his own “Dinette”. Greene’s full toned alto solo framed was bookended by two mercurial solos from Barnes. The guitarist seemed to cover every inch of the neck of his instrument and even threw in a Glenn Miller quote for good measure.

“Samba 48”, the title track of the forthcoming album is based, not surprisingly, on Reinhardt’s “Swing 48”. Here Jackson introduced an infectious Latin groove to the music with solos coming from Barnes followed by Greene on flute. Greene’s playing even added traces of a Middle Eastern element to the proceedings. He and Mills later traded phrases over Jackson’s omnipresent Latin groove.

The Latin vibe remained in place for “Miles Away”, a tribute not to Miles Davis as one might suspect but to the quiet and solitude of Aberdovey beach where the tune was written. Jackson led the rest of the group in with solos coming from Barnes, Greene on alto and Barnes again.

A brief but exquisite solo guitar piece followed, “Little Me” from the forthcoming CD before the group ended the first half with two high energy items. A storming “Billie’s Bounce”, the old Charlie Parker warhorse, featured fiery solos from Greene on alto and Barnes plus a series of explosive drum breaks from Jackson.  Dorado Schmidt’s “Bossa Dorado” ended the set on a humorous note as following solos from Greene on flute and Barnes on guitar the group mutated it into the James Bond theme. Great stuff and a wonderful way to end a highly enjoyable first half.

Despite the poor turn out the band hit the ground running in the second set. A high energy version of Django’s “Belleville” contained excellent solos from Greene on alto, Barnes and Mills, plus the inevitable trading between the two front liners.

Next came an innovative arrangement of Cole Porter’s “Night And Day” with Jackson’s funk rhythms the bedrock for solos by Greene on soprano and guitarist Barnes. I liked the band’s treatment of this, I don’t think I’ve heard this tune played in quite this vein before. I got the impression that this was probably the first public outing for this highly enjoyable item. 

Another unusual arrangement followed with a version of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” featuring Greene on flute. Following Mills solo bass intro Greene took the first solo, occasionally shading into Roland Kirk territory. Barnes’ note bending paid homage to the blues of the title. An interesting version of a very familiar item.

Greene again sat out for a pulsating trio version of Reinhardt’s “Swingtime In Springtime” which is also due to appear on the forthcoming CD. Barnes solo was full of clipped chords and mercurial single note runs. We also heard from Mills, and Jackson enjoyed a series of fiery drum breaks.

The original “Shapes” drew heavily on bebop methodology with lithe, agile solos from Barnes and Greene, this time on alto. Once again Jackson also featured strongly on the trades and breaks.

A jaunty “Douce Ambiance” saw Greene’s only outing on clarinet, his warm tones featuring alongside Barnes’ guitar on the solos. To finish the quartet played a scalding “Minor Swing” with solos coming from Greene on alto and Barnes on guitar, using a touch of reverb for the first and only time. In the main his playing was clean, precise and effects free. Having taken the first solo of the night it also fell to Mills to take the last.

It had been a hugely enjoyable evening of swinging jazz with the quartet maintaining a high degree of musicianship throughout. Barnes’ bebop flavoured approach to Django Reinhardt’s music makes a refreshing change to the usual “Hot Club” style copyists and the Inspector Gadjo CD should be well worth hearing. We hope to bring you a full album review in due course.

It was a shame that this evening’s concert was so poorly attended. Barnes and his colleague took it in good part, the guitarist proving to be an affable and amusing announcer of tunes throughout. Those who stayed away missed a treat. If you live in Inspector Gadjo’s catchment area check them out. An entertaining night out is guaranteed. See http://www.myspace.com/inspectorgadjo for details of live dates.