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London Jazz Festival 2023
WILL STONE and ROGER McKENZIE pick their best of the fest
GENIUS AND LEGEND: Tyshawn Sorey and Ron Carter [michael hoefner/CC; Laura Manchinu/CC]

Tyshawn Sorey Trio, 
Kings Place, London
 
★★★★

ACCLAIMED jazz drummer and polymath Tyshawn Sorey, a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship award-winner, has found a winning team in double-bassist Matt Brewer and pianist Aaron Diehl, who have produced two stunning albums of left field reworkings of covers and standards - Mesmerism and this year’s Continuing - which they perform a selection of extended and vibrant freestyling versions from. 

Hooking us in with Autumn Leaves and its lush piano melodies, the trio at once captivate with their deft skill. Both Diehl and Brewer play remarkable solos that seem to stretch the very limits of their instruments, and there are moments when Tyshawn’s drumming almost sounds like a techno beat.

The slow swinging groove of Reconstruction Blues, a standout on Continuing, heralds a more downtempo mid-section of their set, which gradually picks up in pace to an emphatic conclusion topped by encore In What Direction Are You Headed?

Ron Carter
Cadogan Hall 

★★★★★

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