The Groucho Club, Jazz MF, The Open Hearth Pub, Griffithstown, Pontypool, 22/04/2016.

Drummer and promoter Martin Fisher hosts monthly jazz events under the name Jazz MF in the downstairs function room at the Open Hearth pub near Pontypool. This was my first visit to the venue in 2016 and I thoroughly enjoyed this performance by The Groucho Club, a quintet from Swansea led by guitarist Wynn Phillips.

The band describe themselves as playing “jazz with rock and funk mixed in”, or fusion if you will, and represented something of a departure from Jazz MF’s usual mainstream / bebop fare. Nevertheless they were extremely well received by the loyal Open Hearth audience as they delivered two excellent sets of classic tunes that incorporated all the elements in the quintet’s strap line.

I’d been fortunate enough to have something of a ‘sneak preview’ when I saw the band perform at the Pumphouse in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter at one of the fringe events attached to the 2015 Swansea International Jazz Festival. I wrote a few affirmative lines about that performance as part of my Festival coverage, something that was very much appreciated by Phillips and his bandmates.

The Groucho Club may not play original music but they very much put their own stamp on their very well chosen material. At the Pumphouse I remember them playing tunes by Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and the Yellowjackets. All these composers were represented tonight alongside numerous others, some fairly predictable, others less so.

I think I’m right in believing that tonight’s line up was the same as that I’d seen at the Pumphouse with Phillips leading on electric guitar accompanied by Chris Ryan on tenor and alto saxes, Frank Hughes on five string electric bass and Martin Webber at the drums. Mark Collins was on keyboard, a role sometimes fulfilled by Andrew Harries.

The evening kicked off in energetic fashion with the fiery jazz funk of “The Chicken” with Collins delivering a mix of Rhodes and Hammond sounds as he helped to support Ryan’s powerful opening tenor sax solo. Collins adopted the classic Rhodes sound for his own solo, this in part fuelled by the leader’s choppy, chunky rhythm guitar. Finally Phillips himself broke free with a soaring guitar solo bearing an unmistakable rock influence. The guitarist gravitated towards jazz from rock and still plays with a variety of other bands across a range of musical styles. However one senses that the Groucho Club is where he feels himself to be most at home.

The Pat Metheny tune “James” is a wonderfully adaptable composition that has been widely covered in a variety of jazz styles and has become something of a modern day standard. Dedicated to singer/guitarist/songwriter James Taylor it first appeared on Metheny’s 1982 album “Offramp”. The Groucho Club’s interpretation gave the familiar melody a funk tinge and included excellent solos from Ryan on tenor followed by Collins who adopted an acoustic piano sound on his highly versatile keyboard.  For his own solo Phillips wisely chose not to emulate Metheny’s tone but instead brought a harder edged, rock influenced sound to the proceedings.

“Affirmation”, a tune made famous by George Benson was given a warm vibe that combined elements of jazz, soul and funk and acted as the vehicle for a muscular tenor sax solo from Ryan, again followed by Collins at the keyboard but this time deploying the Rhodes sound again. The piece was climaxed by a series of drum breaks from the consistently excellent Webber who formed a propulsive but intelligent rhythmic unit with the similarly impressive Hughes.

Introducing Bob Mintzer’s composition “Papa Lips” Phillips described the piece as “a scary song, there’s too many chords”. However the band rose magnificently to the challenge with Webber’s drums prominent in an arrangement that included convincing solos from Ryan on tenor, Collins on Rhodes and Phillips on guitar.

The group dipped into the standards repertoire with “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” but delivered the old chestnut at a remarkably fast tempo as they made their collective mark on it. Ryan soloed first on tenor followed by Phillip’s guitar soaring above Collins’ Hammond swells. The keyboardist switched to the Rhodes setting for his own solo before the piece closed with Webber trading fours with the three front line soloists.

The quintet stuck with the standards as they played Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child”, a tune described by Phillips as a ballad but still played here with a solid backbeat. Ryan switched to alto to deliver an expressive solo, this followed by Collin’s expansive acoustic pianism. Meanwhile Phillips adopted a slightly softer tone on guitar as he continued to soar.

An excellent first set concluded with a take on George Duke’s “Brazilian Lover”. A wispy guitar/keyboard introduction featuring spacey sustain drenched guitar and gently swelling Hammond lulled us into a sense of false security before the piece took off propelled by Webber’s cowbell driven Brazilian rhythms and Hughes’ fat funk bass grooves. Ryan soloed first on tenor underscored by Phillips’ choppy rhythm guitar before a series of Webber drum breaks led into a first feature from Hughes who deployed thumb slapping techniques on his electric bass, duetting first with Collins on keyboards before moving on to enjoy a dialogue with Webber’s drums. Phillips asserted himself with a powerful guitar solo before Webber’s drums brought the metaphorical curtain down on a supremely entertaining first half.

Set two began with a brief rendition, by band and audience, of “Happy Birthday” which was dedicated to Jazz MF stalwart Myra. Next came another request, “The Girl From Ipanema”, a dedication by club regular Glyn to his late wife, Sue. This concise reading saw Ryan stating the theme on tenor and Collins featuring as the main soloist, this time deploying an acoustic piano sound.

Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” is a tune that’s become somewhat over-familiar but who could resist Groucho Club’s delightfully funky version with storming solos from Ryan on tenor, Collins on piano and Phillips on guitar.

“Now we’re going to make Duke Ellington turn in his grave” declared Phillips as the quintet put a contemporary and overtly bluesy stamp on Ellington’s “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But The Blues” with solos by Ryan first on tenor then on alto, Collins on piano and Phillips on guitar. “That was Ellington as arranged by Robben Ford” said Phillips signing off, a remark that I took to be a muso joke but which could just as well be true.

Hughes’ bass introduced a second Pat Metheny piece, “Song For Bilbao”, a tune that first emerged on the Metheny Group live album “Travels” before being successfully covered by the late Michael Brecker on his “Tales From The Hudson” album. The consistently impressive Ryan filled the Brecker role here, soloing authoritatively as he shared the honours with Phillips on guitar and Collins at the piano. This is a piece that I’ve known and loved for years and it was great to hear it again here.

Metheny played with the late Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson but the latter’s tragically early death occurred before they got the chance to record together. Svensson’s tune “Elevation Of Love” was a real surprise inclusion here, developing out of a gentle guitar/organ intro to incorporate solos from Phillips on guitar and Ryan on tenor. This was a sobering but ultimately enjoyable reminder of Svensson’s compositional skills. At the time of Svensson’s death in 2008 E.S.T. were a group that was still progressing, how much more could have come from them?

Ryan switched to alto for a hard driving, blues infused arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” , the saxophonist leading off the solos followed by Collins on piano and Phillips on guitar. Hughes, whose appearance and way with a groove periodically reminded me of Hugh Hopper, also featured and this band showcase was rounded off with a series of powerful drum breaks from Webber.

To end the quintet revelled in the complexities of Chick Corea’s “Spain” with Phillips leading the solos followed by Ryan on tenor and Collins on luminous electric piano, expertly replicating Corea’s sound in the Mark 1 edition of Return To Forever.

The deserved encore was the group’s version of that other Hancock classic “Cantaloupe Island” with Webber’s crisp, hard driving drumming fuelling solos from Ryan on alto, Collins on Rhodes and Phillips on guitar.

The Groucho Club tackle the often complex material that they choose to play with terrific verve and skill. All five are highly accomplished musicians and clearly take great delight in their playing. Their enthusiasm communicates itself to their audiences and the group’s combination of propulsive grooves and powerful, fiery solos won many friends here tonight. Fusion can often sound neutered and over produced on record but in the live environment the music is given room to live and breathe and tonight’s show was a joy from start to finish. The Groucho Club exude the kind of good humour suggested by their name and the affable Phillips presents their shows with a warm Welsh wit.

This is a band I’d be more than happy to see again and more local promoters should be looking at The Groucho Club, who sometimes perform as a sextet with the addition of vocalist Kirstie Roberts.   

COMMENTS;

From Wynn Phillips via Facebook;
“Thanks Ian Mann I really appreciate that, really glad you enjoyed our gig”.

From Martin Fisher via facebook;
“A wonderfully descriptive account of a highly enjoyable evening, many thanks Ian”.