Recent gigs: Tony Kofi, Tractor Factor, Julian Nicholas

It must be daunting playing with a pick-up rhythm section. Tony Kofi's band for Sunday night (13th Feb) at The Bruswick was Spike Wells  (drums), Nigel Thomas (Bass) and Mark Edwards (piano). With Tony exclusively on tenor everyone was playing on top form but it was several numbers in, when they launched into Miles' Milestones (the older tune of that name) that the band really gelled. It's an interesting, intricate set of changes that Tony weaved in and out of with energy and grace. This was followed by a very funky version of Freedom Jazz Dance with some fine playing from Mark Edwards. Spike Wells was enjoying himself, chuckling as he played and Nigel Thomas laid down a very strong groove throughout, interacting beautifully with Spike and Mark. The second set kept the standard high with tunes such as Sometime Ago and Relaxin at Camerillo. Tony peppers his playing with quotes - Can't Buy Me Love cropped up several times - and a highlight was a favourite tune of mine at the moment, Jimmy Rowles' The Peacocks. A great gig overall and a really good turnout for a Sunday night. Worth looking out for his gig at the Brighton Jazz Club later in the year when he will be performing the music of Eric Dolphy with his own band.

The previous Thursday (10th Feb) I saw Tractor Factor at the tiny Bees Mouth on Western Road. The band is Luke Rattenbury (guitar), Tristan Banks (drums) and Andre Fry (drums). This was the band that appeared at the kineojazz event last year with Liane Carroll. They locked together into a very tight groove. Tristan laying down the foundations, Andre glueing the changes together with a very tasteful choice of notes and Luke bubbling away on top, providing the heads, funky rhythm guitar and some very percussive soloing. The band focused on getting stuck right into the guts of the rhythm. Of the material I recognised, there was one (possibly two) Ernest Ranglin tune, a Charlie Hunter tune and their take on Nardis. The fact that there were so many musicians in the audience, shows that the band is already highly respected by their peers locally. They deserve to be playing a lot more gigs.

The week before that (3rd Feb) I was amongst the well-heeled residents of Rottingdean for a Rottingdean Jazz Club gig with guest Julian Nicholas. The monthly gig is run by singer Imogen Ryall and pianist Rod Hart in a room above The Plough Inn. It's a fairly polite affair but some great playing from the whole band. Dave Trigwell played beautifully - his approach is almost balletic as it's graceful and refined - and Nigel Thomas played some very melodic bass solos. It was the first time I had heard Rod Hart and I enjoyed his playing a lot  - reminding me at times of the West Coast bebop classicists like Hampton Hawes and the young Andre Previn. Imogen has the ability to make the words of a song matter, particularly on Kenny Wheeler's Everybody's Song But My Own. Julian Nicholas played tastefully throughout, although at times it felt as though he could have pushed it a bit further and broken through the atmosphere of polite dining. Imogen and Rod have done a great job of selling out the venue and it's worth checking out what else is coming up soon on their website: http://rottingdeanjazzclub.blogspot.com/

Ken Peplowski, The Caxton Arms, 7th October

Last night's gig with US reeds player Ken Peplowski was "a swingin' affair", as Frank would say. Joined by top local players Steve Thompson (bass), Piers Clark (guitar) and Mark Edwards (piano) in an all-acoustic setting, Ken wowed the packed basement of the The Caxton Arms with a stream of swing classics. On his clarinet, the style was very much Benny Goodman. Beautifully executed heads and solos on tunes such as Moonglow, Avalon and Charlie Christian's A Smooth One. His tenor playing is very smooth and melodic, like Lester Young. I particularly liked his rendition of Ike Quebec's Jim Dawgs (based on I Got Rhythm changes) and Body and Soul.

Of the other musicians, Mark Edwards showed what a versatile player he is. Although I have heard him playing hard bop, modern jazz and gospel, he was equally at home playing in the pre-bop style of the Thirties and Forties. As an inventive soloist, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Ken throughout. Steve Thompson's bass was brushing the ceiling but this did not effect his bass playing in any way. He swung hard and played some lovely solos. Piers Clark has honed a rhythm guitar style that makes him sound as though he has been catapulted forward from the Thirties in a time machine. He played impeccable four to the bar throughout and, with no drummer, added a nice brushes and hi-hat feel to the sound. Ken was careful to give Piers a few solo choruses here and there and he filled them with some nice chord melodies.

It was great hearing a completely acoustic band. The ears get used to it in no time at all and the sound was rich, full and subtle. Ken sounded most beautiful on his solo version of Duke Ellington's Single Petal of a Rose.

Ken demonstrated a ready wit and shared plenty of banter and anecdotes with the audience. This crowd-pleasing style of swing is clearly his core repertoire, though there's an interesting profile here saying that he is equally at home playing Ornette Coleman and The Beatles.

The evening was a successful start to a season of jazz events with name musicians and a local rhythm section, the next being trumpeter Enrico Tomasso on October 21. The venue is called Smalls, like the Greenwich Village jazz club, but some thought needs to go into making sure it can fit the eighty odd audience comfortably. Standing through two sets can be tiring and getting to the bar was challenging!