On this perpetually drizzly Ottawa Friday I headed up to the Jazz Festival grounds, enjoying the cool, refreshing, and half hour-long bike ride it takes me to get there. After realizing I’d set up at the wrong stage I corrected myself and headed back to the main stage just in time to catch the tail end of the band’s introduction.
After shouting the name of the band triumphantly, the group launched into their set. In attendance were a whopping 40 people, including myself. The rainy weather seems to have been quite the deterrent in keeping people home or at least waiting until later in the evening to come out.
Bundled up under plastic wrap and hidden under umbrellas was a fairly devoted looking group of fans, young and old. These folks were hardcore jazz aficionados, who were quickly tapping their feet and air drumming along with the group.
Near the end of the first song the eponymous Alan Jones, who is the group’s drummer, launched in to a furious solo and finally grabbed my attention away from the miserable weather and towards the stage.
The main composer of the group, Jones exhibited some astonishing skill on the drums, freewheeling all over his kit and pounding out razor sharp and on point beats for the rest of the group to keep time with.
All the songs the band played were the clear cut 10 minute-long jazz jams you’ve come to expect from a serious and experienced group. Only pausing briefly between certain songs to explain their inspirations—rock climbing in Oregon and a collapsed wine cellar, to name a few—the group played through these extended compositions with fervor and an inexhaustible energy.
Though they played for nearly an hour and a half, the band only played about six songs, a testament to the compositional prowess and level of musicianship these jazz wizards possess. Many of the songs were devoted to showcasing the talents of an individual band member, giving them ample time to exhibit their chops.
The trumpeter did some absolutely astounding movements in range and texture with her playing, while the tenor saxophonist did a marathon solo that lasted nearly five minutes, the rest of the group tapping out beats with anything they could find and whooping with rhythmic approval.
A Duke Ellington song was also featured and was a suitable addition to the group’s set of standard jazz sounds and instrumentation. The song by one of the most famous jazz composers really got the crowd moving and tapping their toes despite the rainy weather.
To wrap things up, the group played a double song with an extended drum intro by Jones and a finish aptly titled to relate to the rain we were all standing in. This group’s mellow rhythms and talented playing were a rather suitable accompaniment to the the grey skies and drizzle, keeping things cool and relaxed in Confederation Park.
