The Terence Collie Quartet’s gig at Pizza Express in Dean Street on Saturday 4 May had attracted a substantial audience. Bearing in mind that it was 1pm on a Saturday, and on a rare warm sunny day in London, it was astonishing to see the venue packed with such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowd. I arrived more than half an hour early to find punters queuing up the stairs and right through to the front door. Word had obviously spread that this was one not to be missed. And so it proved.
Collie is the co-founder of Mood Indigo Events (MIE) which has done so much to promote live jazz, primarily in South West London, since 2012. During that time Terence has attracted to MIE shows just about everyone who’s anyone on the UK jazz scene and beyond (next up is Dave O’Higgins). They know that they can rely on high quality keyboard support and a friendly welcome.
On Saturday we had a special treat as Terence featured the lineup which recorded his most recent self-released album “384,400” which has attracted widespread plaudits since its release late last year: as well as Terence on piano, the inspired rhythm section of Nick Lenner-Webster on double bass and doyen of the Southampton jazz scene, ex-pat US drummer, Ted Carrasco, plus one of my all-time favourite reedsmen, the great Italian tenorist Roberto Manzin.
The two sets featured a beautiful balance of tunes from the album plus new material and one or two other standards. One thing which sets Terence Collie apart is his compositional ability, which he proceeded to demonstrate with such originals as The Flamekeepers, August and Brecon Blues (the last should be released as a single). He is also a very innovative arranger of classics: who else would think to set Caravan to the rhythm track of Michael Jackson’s Shake Your Body, and his version of Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (question: is any kind of sunrise other than a morning one ?!) is a true revelation. Both drew very enthusiastic applause for their audacity.
Catch the Terence Collie Quartet if you get the chance, you won’t be disappointed. They even do requests!
