For many regular London Gig Goers, The Near Jazz Experience have become one of those bands who are always worth seeing, no matter how many times you've already seen them, this Live album showcases just why the combination of Simon Charterton, Mark Bedford and Terry Edwards is so enthralling. The album was recorded live at Pizza Express Holborn and the EFG London Jazz Festival Daylight Music series.
The first set opens with Spirit Of Indo that has all the flavour of that legendary venues pizzas, with sultry Tropicana saxophone drifting over Mark Bedford's solid and totally tasty marinara sauce bass lines, as Simon Charterton's minimalist thin crust cymbals drive the tune on as Terry adds a second sax to maximize the groove.
Tizita adds in an almost Moroccan flavour to this slow evocation of everything that the NJE find fascinating about Tizita, Terry's sax lines float over the minimal yet intriguing bass and percussion.
6 Foot 2, 180lbs is suitably weighty as they stroll across Southampton Row with all the joy they can muster, as Mark Bedford's bass goes all squidgy set against Terry's melodica lines.
Mystified is the first of the tracks recorded during daylight, even if it has a 3 am chill out vibe as Terry's Melodica inculcates an air of mystery over Simon's Tablas.
As ever the bands version of David Bowies 5 years slows things down, drawing out all the sadness in the lyrics, while of course being an instrumental, sparse beautiful yet so alone with poignant doleful bass.
#3 seems to be re-inventing the Cissy Strut once more into something quite different yet just as inimitably funky.
The second set opens with the classic "Nought To Sixty" that has a pulsing bass backbone, perfect to be heard while driving fast on a motorway, while having a krautrock edge to it, as the sax helps you round those curves.
Afloat has cascading waves of cymbals for Terry to evoke the slow ebb of the river tide as they float downstream.
The bands classic Knife Edge appropriately recorded close to all the knives at the Pizza Express has Terry sounding as close to Cannonball Adderley as he can as the sinuous bass runs allow Simon Charterton to get more expansive with his percussive drumming long before Terry grabs his Soprano sax for some squealing high notes.
Double Trouble isn't as far as I know about a particularly notorious cab driver of that name as this is far too fleet of foot and controlled to be in raise of that gent, as the egg shakers take over in the breakdown you can imagine this trio getting into all sorts of scrapes along the road.
Songo is always a highlight of any NJE live set and this version is no exception, with Simons Tabla led drumming having a north African flavour allowing Terry's twin sax attack to really lift things as it picks up the pace towards the end.
The show and album ends as usual with a monster rave up through Voodoo Child with Terry doing everything Jimi did on his guitar on sax instead as the audience provide additional rhythm on egg shaker
Find out more at https://thenje.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-london https://www.facebook.com/NearJazzExperience
