By: Roy Stevens - Mon, Feb 21, 2011

“The best neo-bop group in the country” was how the London Evening Standard described the new Dylan Howe Quartet. Stratford Jazz lovers were able to judge the validity of this view when the quartet visited the Chapel at No.1, Shakespeare Street on Sunday evening as part of their UK tour.

Drummer Dylan Howe does not stand still. I have followed the progression of this remarkable musician from his work with Ian Dury’s Blockheads, his Coltrane inspired quintet, his Larry Young inspired 4group, his re-imaginings of David Bowie’s Low and Heroes albums and his recent piano/drums duo (with Will Butterworth) playing adaptations of Stravinsky.

For his new Blue Note styled quartet Dylan is united with his favourite improvisers in Brandon Allen on tenor sax, Ross Stanley on keyboards and Tim Thornton on bass.

Dylan’s irrepressible energy and creativity is a huge inspiration to the others and brings a sparkling vibrancy to everything. Brandon Allen responding with his full, robust tone and moving from the melodic to the outright aggressive when the situation demanded. Ross Stanley is a skilled and sensitive player with a broad tonal range reminiscent of Bill Evans and it is hard to believe that Tim Thornton was a Birmingham Conservatoire student just months ago – he left a year early because of his full diary of bookings in London. His playing was so assured and he is clearly a star of the future.

The choice of music was an amalgam of Dylan’s previous projects encompassing original compositions coupled with arrangements and adaptations of choice musicians from different genres. It is rare for a jazz audience to experience to experience the works of David Bowie featured among such jazz luminaries as Parker, Coltrane and Tyner, but the Bowie tunes such as Warszawa, Weeping Walls and Subterraneans proved to be the most haunting and challenging works of the evening. I am sure if Coltrane was around today he would be playing Bowie in a very similar fashion.

At the end of the evening I came to the conclusion that the Evening Standard had got it right, this is a band that understands the dynamics of the Blue Note era and plays with the freedom that captivated the audience from the onset.

On Sunday 27 Feb 2011, Stratford Jazz at The Chapel features one of the best and most popular of the Midlands bands when Graham Dent brings his Jucamaya Quintet. The performance commences at 8pm and for more info visit www.stratfordjazz.org.uk.

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