Greg Spero’s Spirit Fingers (London Crew) at 91 Living Room

It is nearly five years since LA based pianist Greg Spero last performed in London with his supergroup Spirit Fingers featuring Dario Chiazzolino (guitar), Max Gerl (bass) and Mike Mitchell aka Blaque Dynamite (drums). Spero is now one of the top 20 most-listened-to living jazz instrumentalists with over 287,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Spirit Fingers play a complex original kind of music in the jazz fusion spectrum that was originally conceived as an antidote to the musical banality of Spero touring with pop singer Halsey. Each composition is seeded from a different polyrhythm. Despite complexity, this music manages to be lyrical, emotional and engaging. Spero is a talented composer with the knack of writing evocative compositions that provide an inspirational springboard for improvisers. 

Their eponymous 2018 album was a masterpiece whose significance is becoming apparent through the filter of time. A jazz artist’s influence can partly be validated by the number and intensity of the next generation musicians who learn to play their music. Spero says he regularly finds that there are young musicians who play his music in any city with a jazz school. 

Jazz Re:freshed arranged this pop-up gig having spotted Spero’s announcement on social media that he was coming to London. The show was announced about a week before the performance. Over 200 people showed up. 

Spero connected with a group of young London musicians already plugged-in to his music. 20 year old Ebow “Lox” Mensah  (drums), who has won a scholarship to study at Berklee was the ringleader of the London team. In his crew were Matt May, an electric bass player with a terrific reputation in Guildhall circles, where he graduated last November, and described by Spero as a prodigy. On guitar, Ben Glasser, a 25 year old who went pro straight after A-levels a few years ago. 

This dynamic was reminiscent of London visits by Steve Coleman three decades ago, where he was received by Quite Sane and future F-IRE Collective devotees who moulded their own musical identities in Coleman’s wake. Each generation of young musicians identify their tribal leader.

This was a remarkable performance, playing Spirit Fingers pieces entitled “Inside”, “Release”, “Maps”, “Find” and “You”. Each piece showcased Spero’s sophisticated writing, and the virtuosity of the whole band. The group exhibited tremendous control over musical intensity, adeptly building tension over extended passages and resolving to satisfying resolutions. The compositions were full of simple hummable refrains that moved into sections of virtuosic unison runs, and exciting improvised solos, all underpinned with insistent trance inducing drumming from Lox. The band captivated the rapturous audience throughout the hour long set, with yelps of appreciation peppered throughout critical moments in the set. 

It’s great to hear such talented young players coming up in London playing at such a high level. It is remarkable that a performance at this level was organised in such an impromptu manner. It makes you wonder what they could achieve with more time. We can look forward Spero’s next UK visit.