Art Themen Organ Trio: 14th October, 2022 Wakefield Jazz Club

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Posted by WAKEFIELDJAZZ on OCTOBER 17, 2022

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Art Themen, tenor sax. Pete Whittaker, organ. George Double, Drums.

It is one of the glories of jazz that a trio (at least one of this calibre) can perform with such expressive range. It’s not just a matter of wide-ranging material, or the particulars of instrumentation or styles that cover the span of jazz history from Ben Webster to funk, It was the quality of the musicianship and the close working relationships between the players that carried the night. It was a delight from start to finish.

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Art Themen’s command of the tenor showed in his beautifully crafted tone, whatever the style or tempo. There was plenty of power, but no bravura blasts, no empty histrionics. His emphasis was always on bringing out the qualities of a good melody. His soprano sax, which made an appearance in both sets, also deserves a mention. On the group’s unusual take on the old Nat King Cole number ‘The Ruby and the Pearl’ he wove around the melody like a

snake-charmer—a perilous thing to do on an instrument as wayward as a soprano—and with the kind of piercing clarity one might expect from an oboe or cor anglais. And his tenor sound went from rousingly soulful to the most delicate (and precise) high notes. When he played the Abdullah Ibrahim song, ‘Water from an Ancient Well,’ he was up against Ricky Ford in the original recording—and came out shining.

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Pete Whittaker played unobtrusively and supportively throughout most of the first set, only coming to the fore in the second, providing the perfect, almost church-like accompaniment on the Ibrahim number and thereafter, given plenty of room to display his considerable talent. As though that wasn’t sufficient, he unexpectedly took to the piano for a beautiful duet with Art. As with all the best musicians, he has an abundance of talent but nothing to prove, ensuring that this is a trio by dint of more than just the number three.

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Much the same can be said about George Double’s drumming. Serious musicians don’t need stage-filling drum kits: it’s refined technique, musical sensitivity and responsiveness that matter. Of course, he had a few welcome turns at tasteful and engaging solos—always musical and never self-indulgent.

Art Themen himself has a quietly engaging, unassuming stage manner, but the evident chemistry between him, Pete and George seemed to find extra-musical expression, too. By the end of the evening, it felt like we had been party to something more relaxed and intimate than a club gig. They weren’t going to get away without an encore, a delicate rendering of ‘Willow Weep for Me,’ which sent all of us out into the night, smiling.