"Creative and personal . . . A fine band, powerfully melodic, superb musicianship."
- Jazz Rag
"Every track is terrific, vocally and instrumentally."
- Jazz on the Beach
". . . full of compositional and improvisational riches."
- Jazz Journal
" . . . wonderful songs carefully turned . . . drawing out their humanity.”
- The Blue Moment
Sunday, 27th June
Chris Ingham Quintet:
Steely Jazz
The songs of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
Due to popular demand, Chris Ingham's Steely Jazz return to perform even more material from the comprehensive canon of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, aka Steely Dan.
The songs of Becker and Fagen stood alone in 1970s rock; cryptic, pungent lyrics and sophisticated, detailed music deeply influenced by, in Becker and Fagen’s own words, “the best jazz players of the '50s and '60s”.
Any Dan aficionado will tell you there has always been a strong jazz element in their work, and the duo always sought to call upon the talents of top-drawer session players from the worlds of jazz and funk, including Michael Brecker, Bernard Purdie, Larry Carlton, Fredie Washington, and Steve Gadd.
Chris Ingham's Steely Jazz re-examines the comprehensive Dan canon, illuminating the singular melodies, rich harmonies and exploring the small jazz group possibilities of an incomparably opulent songbook.
The album, Walter • Donald, features well-known compositions like Rikki Don’t Lose That Number and Josie, alongside classic
tracks and deep cuts from the masterpiece albums such as Aja, Gaucho, Countdown to Ecstacy, and Katy Lied.
The accolades say it all. Jazzwise said the album was "smooth and professional . . . recorded very ‘dry’ in the Rudy van Gelder manner favoured by Becker and Fagen," while UK Jazz News commented that it "brings Becker and Fagen’s work to life in a small jazz group context in a really remarkable way."
If you missed their performance last time, you better make sure you catch them when they will do it again, and only a fool would say that their previous appearance wasn't one of our best ever concerts.
In Harry Greene, Paul Higgs, Geoff Gascoyne, and George Double, Chris has assembled a stellar group of musicians to perform Becker and Fagen's songs.
Chris Ingham (Piano/Guitar/Vocals) Paul Higgs (Trumpet) Harry Greene (Tenor Sax/Guitar) Geoff Gascoyne (Double Bass) George Double (Drums/Vocals)