– with their Sunday Easy matinee show at the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge on Christmas Market Sunday
Words and images: Alan Dearling
The Hammond organ purveys a warmth into the jazz trio format. And this trio are past masters of Be-bop, with Martin Longhawn on Hammond, Dave Walsh on drums and Jamie Taylor fronting them on guitar. Think Larry Young, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith. They are stalwarts very much of that lineage – a style of straight-ahead jazz that resonates – modern jazz but with plenty of drive, rhythms and solid grooves. Live they played with lots of energy, providing a mix of their versions of standards together with their own compositions, many from their ‘Fast Corners’ album, which was released about 18 months ago.
From my watching and listening, I found myself being transported back to my later 1960s and 1970s’ musical experiences, soaking up live jazz and recordings in many idioms and styles. Live, this was a deep-groove experience- there was plenty of ensemble melding, along with spaces for solos. Trio JDM reminded me of many of my early listening and viewing experiments, particularly the likes of Tal Farlow and John McLauglin, Lifetime, Centipede and even a funkier MJQ, but without the vibraphones. The guitar playing from Jamie offered fast-fretboard runs and mellow sounds aplenty, likewise Martin melded intricate, even complex rhythms from his Hammond keys. We were informed that Jamie has shared stages with jazz heavyweights on both sides of the Atlantic: Wayne Escoffery, John Stowell, Baptiste Herbin, John Goldsby and has graced the stages of iconic venues like Ronnie Scott’s and The Troubadour.
It was all interspersed with some thunderous, yet empathetic drumming from Dave, whose style reflects his background in rock, pop and jazz, and who has performed alongside the likes of Enrico Pieranunzi, Arun Ghosh, Tom McRae and Matt Bianco.
The Hammond-playing from Martin Longhawn was described in the advance publicity as “…all vibe, touch, and invention.”
“High-calibre Hammond trio jazz…retro-sounding but with a modern edge, they handle the tunes with an easeful group chemistry.” Jazzwise
Here’s Jamie Taylor’s on-camera performance of his tune, which was featured at the Trades Club: ‘The Shepherd’s Crook’ live from the Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield, 18-08-2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buudt_2xup0
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