For the last couple of years, bass guitarist Ben Crosland has been promoting occasional gigs at the charming St. Stephen’s Church in Lindley, close to his Huddersfield home; on Saturday night it was the turn of John Etheridge Trio North with Crosland himself on bass and Dave Tyas on drums.
Etheridge has been a prominent part of the UK and international jazz scene for over 50 years, playing with the likes of Stephane Grappelli, Pat Metheny, Dizzy Gillespie, Nigel Kennedy, Danny Thompson and of course, several incarnations of Soft Machine… He possesses a faultless technique, and somehow keeps up an extensive round of touring with various ensembles, despite his 76 years. I wish I had as much energy, and I’m 10 years younger! During his long career he has been nominated three times for a Parliamentary Jazz Award, but for some inexplicable reason he is still yet to win a major jazz award, which I find astounding – and I know that I am far from alone in thinking that.
The band’s two sets covered a wide range of musical styles, all interspersed with a large dose of John’s endlessly fascinating banter. In the first we heard an array of standards including Georgia (On My Mind), Skylark and You Don’t Know What Love Is as well as Blue Mitchell’s Funghi Mama, and Hank Williams’ Cold Cold Heart, brought to a rousing conclusion with John Scofield’s Do Like Eddie.
To start the second set, Etheridge returned to the stage alone, fashioning a beautifully multi-layered rendition of God Bless The Child, followed by Stormy Weather (Introduced by John as ‘Stormy Daniels’!). The rest of the set included two originals, Distant Voice and AB4BC (Alt Blues for Ben Crosland), a sublime rendering of Jeff Beck’s Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers which, for me was the evening’s finest moment, and closed out with a Ben Tucker tune made famous by Mel Tormé, Comin’ Home Baby.
All in all, a very entertaining and satisfying way to spend a Saturday evening.
