Acoustic fusion from the 70s and 80s from the resurgent TORUS.
Based in Essex from the early 80s the quartet coalesced around the sort of acoustic fusion which emerged around that time. Relaunched in 2011 with Jonathan Gee replacing the great Pete Jacobsen the band is now well established on the London scene.
“Torus (Great Northern Railway Tavern. 18th April 2013. Summary of a Review by Brian Blain for LondonJazzNews.com)
The great Torus revival is gathering momentum,and, on a recent Thursday night at the new venue in Hornsey’s Great Northern Railway Tavern, a good sized crowd was treated to a blistering programme out of the 80’s that largely passed the English audience by at the time.
Jonathan Gee filled the piano chair which originally belonged to the great Pete Jacobson in the then Essex based band and Gee’s natural energy and ebullience was a dynamic addition to a kicking rhythm section all evening.
Although the leader is bassist Mick Sexton – behind the scenes stalwart of the Way Out West musicians’ collective- Jaco Pastorious’ classic Three Views of a Secret was largely given over to Gary Plumley, surely the best under
the radar tenor saxophonist around, and throughout both sets on great favourites like Steps Ahead’s Islands, I’m Sorry (a funky ballad by Mike Mainieri), Keith Jarrett’s Questar and even the straight ahead swing of Tee Bag, when Sexton’s long note bass lines
really sang, Plumley was passionate, melodically sure, and both free or blues soaked funky ,as the material demanded.
FMR label boss Southend drummer Trevor Taylor mainly functions in the free improv area which meant that his fills and patterns always had the element of surprise without losing grip on the groove held steady by Sexton.
In sum; a wonderful night of jazz of the kind that I never expected to hear on the live circuit again.
Way Out West is a unique collective of jazz musicians. Diverse improvisation, performance, arranging, composition, all come to the forefront in full force within weekly gigs, as each collective member presents collaborations of their work with guest stars from today’s jazz scene.
Seasonal blasts include Way Out West appearing together for All-star evenings.
Torus to grupa z 30-letnimi tradycjami. Założona w 1980 roku przez kontrabasistę Mika Sextona zyskała niezwykłą popularność w latach 80-tych mając w swoim składzie najwybitniejszych muzyków jazzowych tamtej ery. Grupa Torus wznowiła działalność w lecie 2011 budując swój repertuar w oparciu o utwory tak znakomitych kompozytorów jak Mainieri, Grolnick, Brecker, Keith Jarrett i Chick Corea. Odrodzony zespół zaprezentował się w ubiegłym roku na koncercie w Jazz Café POSK z takim wigorem i inwencją muzyczną, że został zaproszony ponownie, gdyż prezentuje jazz z “najwyższej półki”.
