ABOUT

Adrian Ingram's Jazz Dawgs at the Ribble Valley Jazz Festival

What a trio! Adrian clearly an international standard jazz guitarist, Ian Wroe pretty close by, and Pete Wraith maintaining the standard on acoustic guitar and vocals.

From the first eight bars of their opening number, Broadway, I knew we were in for a treat. Tight unison playing of the melody, stops and accents in all the right places, jazz chords and inner voices over the changes.

The program unfolded to include Exactly Like You, Moonglow and Night and Day. Their Pennies from Heaven had the restaurant manager dancing through Piccolino's because Adrian contrived to include the opening bars to Singing in the Rain within the piece. 

Another interesting feature of their playing was to play a jazz standard alongside it's be bop counterpart. How High the Moon and Ornithology. Very effective. Pick Yourself Up and Benny Goodman's Slipped Disk were given similar treatment.

Not everything was up tempo, a beautiful version of Monk's, Well you Needn't and a slow Harlem Nocturne changed the mood very effectively. Pete's vocals introduced even more variety, just the right tone, great phrasing, in tune, swinging and a prelude to the jazz solos.

All the solos were inventive, displaying excellent technique but most of all mastery of the jazz language. Be bop, the blues, tension, release and quotations, all appeared in waves. What was very apparent was the way they each listened to each other, responding and reacting to each other's ideas. Their fours were never a battle, more a conversation between two players "in tune" with each other.

UPCOMING GIGS



Jazz Dawgs with Wendy Kirkland, Pat Sprakes and Andy Wallis  @ The Grove, Huddersfield. 4pm. 4th Sept 2016
Meet The Dawgs
Adrian Ingram one of Britain's finest Jazz guitarists. A master of tone and control
Ian Wroe playing 7 string guitar with the Dawgs
Pete Wraith, vocals and acoustic guitar.
CONTACT

Contact Us

Share by: