Emily Francis Trio
Thursday 19th September – The Marr’s Bar, Worcester
I’d been looking forward to last Thursday for some time, having seen the Emily Francis Trio first in Rosson-Wye last year and again in Stratford upon Avon earlier this year. There was a good turnout at the Marr’s Bar, including a good proportion of people much younger than might be expected at a ‘prog-jazz’ gig on an early Autumn Thursday night.
Ten years, two albums and an EP released earlier this year have seen this band develop and while many of their performances are at jazz clubs and festivals, their music comfortably straddles jazz fusion and prog rock, appealing to a broader audience of open-minded music lovers.
Their opening tune “After The Rain“, from their latest EP “Atomic” has something of a cinematic feel to it, reminiscent of some of the music on Jan Hammer’s “Escape from Television” album (which, coincidentally includes a piece called “Before the Storm”). The playful “Hops ‘n’ Scotch” was next, from their 2014 debut album “The Absent” (re-released last year as a tenth anniversary special edition clear vinyl LP). Trevor Boxall laid down the bass groove with Emily’s staccato Nord electric piano sound combined with more 80s-vibe synth sounds from the Prophet 6 and Jamie Murray‘s sticks dancing mostly on the snare rim before the piece developed with a great solo from Emily.
“Don’t Forget to Feed The Orchid“, also from the “Atomic” EP, had a distinct Genesis prog-rock feel to it and featured a delightful bass solo from Trevor with excellent use of harmonics, followed by an incredibly energetic two-minute outburst by Jamie on the drums! “The Kite and The Crow“, from their second album “Luma“, opened with a 6/4 meter before dropping down to a 4/4 section driving another great melodic bass solo from Trevor followed by another outing on the tubs from Jamie. The first set closed out with “Broken Kingdom Part 2” from the “Luma” album, introduced with a beautiful piano solo from Emily.
The second set opened with the glorious jazz-funky tune from “The Absent” entitled “Trunk” (derived from “TRevor’s fUNK”), followed by the groovy “Escape from the Echo Chamber“. One of my favourites, “Lydian Child” was up next, which segued into a sci-fi soundscape introduction to “2 Bed Flat On Mars“. The set closed out with “Le Tambour, 2:00AM“, inspired by the streets of Paris in the early hours that progressed into something of a frenzy with Emily and Jamie going at it full pelt while Trevor remained calmly locked in to his solid groove.
As the audience enthusiastically showed their appreciation for what had been a fantastic performance from start to finish, the band responded with what Emily introduced as ‘a bit of fun we happen to do at the end of our shows now’, in the form of “Shaky Jake” from their 2016 Live EP “Newtown” – a brilliant groovy piece featuring a Rhodes electric piano section followed by a most excellent funky synth jam with the band.
Local journalist and Music Spoken Here regular Ian Mann said of the evening “This was one of the most enjoyable events that I have attended at Music Spoken Here at the Marr’s Bar, with the band and the audience establishing an excellent rapport”
Another Music Spoken Here regular summed it up with “I’ve no idea what genre of music I heard, I just know it’s exactly what I need in my life!”
If you’d like to check this incredible band out, the Emily Francis Trio are playing at The Crypt in London on 4th October, The Music Room in Liverpool on 17th October and The Dorothy Pax, Sheffield on 18th October.
Music Spoken Here has been presenting exceptional, original improvised music of this standard from around the UK for over two years, with events every other Thursday at The Marr’s Bar in Worcester. If you haven’t been down to any of their events yet, you really should give it a go. You won’t be disappointed, and you may just find exactly what you need in your life!
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