Jazz gigs come in two shapes and sizes. There are the evenings of rampant virtuosity, attended by connoisseurs and musos. And there are the funky barn-stormers where musical substance plays second fiddle to the power of the groove. It is therefore refreshing to encounter a band such as the Bryan Corbett quartet, a young Birmingham outfit which combines genuine intricacy with danceable rhythms's and a sassy, streetwise swagger.
Their trumpet-toting leader takes his stylistic cues from Freddie Hubbard, using a gleaming tone as the launch pad for a punchy exploration of the blues. The band stick mostly to oldies by such composers as Stanley Turrentine and Victor Young, yet they bring enough freshness to the material to suggest that they are simply making them up on the spot.
Turrentine's tune Sugar is driven hard by Ben Markland's whip-crack walking bass, while Levi Frenchs piano playing is sharply contoured and rich in harmonic detail. In fact, as the evening progresses it is French's solos which frequently raise the roof. On a sweet sounding funk number by Corbett, he carves up the keyboard with gleeful abandon, reacting to drummer Neil Bullock's riot of Latin flavored rhythms with a display of Ruben Gonzales-style riffing.
But it is Corbett himself who frequently dominates the spotlight, letting loose great echo-drenched clarion calls which recall Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis. With this level of instrumental skill it is a shame he doesn't devote more time to playing his own very promising material. Still, he and his band certainly deserve praise for making the seated jazz-buffs in the audience salivate while simultaneously getting the bar staff dancing. That's a site you don't see enough of at jazz gigs nowadays.

4/5 James Griffiths