Trumpeter James Davison and Trombonist Callum Au teamed up to recreate the iconic quintet set up of Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer in their cleverly named band Quintet-à-Tête at the 606 Club on the first Saturday night of 2025.
Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer are remembered as an exemplar of small-group jazz from the 1960s, thanks to the strong musical rapport between them. The band masterfully blended Terry’s playful, melodic style with Brookmeyer’s inventive harmonies, creating music celebrated for its wit, interplay, and dynamic performances.
Davison and Au are the perfect duo to reimagine this relationship on stage. Drawing from the repertoire of both Terry and Brookmeyer as well as tunes by Gerry Mulligan and Roger Kellaway and even some of their own tunes (the first set featured Me Time by both Davison and Au and Two Views of the Blues by Au) the two have their own engaging connection with the music and also a focus on bringing their own humour to the stage.
The rest of the band, featuring Liam Dunachie on piano, Adam King on bass and Luke Tomlinson on drums were up for joining in the fun – plenty of opportunities for a familiar quote in a solo or a game of ‘song roulette’ which Au seemed to have invented mid-gig. With Duke Ellington as the category heading, each musician (except Tomlinson of course, as he can ‘only play three notes’) were asked to quick fire a song title in rotation, resulting in a variety of selections: Take the ‘A‘ Train, Mood Indigo, Things Ain’t What They Used to Be and ending with Caravan. This game resulted in an opportunity for each musician to feature on the song they selected. Rather clever, really, as each choice allowed for the familiar to be blended with spontaneity from the rest of the band. Caravan even gave Tomlinson a chance to show-off. The audience loved it and the game was repeated in the second set with a selection of ballads.
The highlights of the night were some of Clark Terry’s tunes. His arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic gave ample opportunity for Au to impress on Slide Trombone and both to play around with their plunger mutes. The Rhythm Changes, Haig N’ Haig, highlighted Davison’s flugelhorn prowess and the lively interplay between the horns was delightful.
To top it all, we had a visit from the wonderful Emma Smith who sat in on Sunny Side of the Street. Her interpretation of a standard is always appreciated and this was no exception. She brought another element of joy and a special energy to the evening.
There is a Terry/Brookmeyer album from 1965 called The Power of Positive Swinging. That phrase sums up the evening. What a great way to start the New Year.
