Willow Nielson Quartet / Jackson Harrison
Excelsior Hotel
21 August
It may have been the imminence of spring or something in the water, but this was unusually soft-contoured jazz for a cold night.
Both bands were soothing rather than rousing, the upshot being that never has a lack of a real piano been more glaring.
The Willow Nielson Quartet was resurrected after a long recess. Gerard Masters used an electronic keyboard to approximate a piano sound in a band completed by bassist Brendan Clarke and drummer Danny Fischer, now based in New York.
It was a pleasure to hear Fischer, one of the most deft and imaginative drummers Australia has produced, keeping buoyant music that was inclined to drift. Natal Replay was like an aural float tank, with Fischer beautifully resolving quite rubato figures back on to the beat.
On the beefiest piece, Nock Your Teeth Out, he punched holes in the groove with unexpected rests that lurched into thudding accents, while Nielson turned in some loping Texan tenor, and Masters developed a strongly narrative solo out of blues figures.
Read the full review on The Sydney Morning Herald website.
