Kate Williams Quartet with Gareth Lockrane

The Verdict, Brighton

Friday 27th June, 2014

    Having seen virtuoso flautist Gareth Lockrane performing at The Verdict with the excellent Preston/Glasgow/Lowe in October last year, his return was long overdue.

    In the first set the quartet performed Voyage, a composition by pianist Kenny Barron, which suited the beautiful mellow sound of Gareth Lockrane’s array of flutes (that included bass flute, alto flute and piccolo).

    Their tribute to the late Horace Silver, Peace, was both haunting and mesmerising.

    For the second set we were treated to more of Kate's original compositions, including the piece Atlas & Vulcana (Vulcana was a 20th century strongwoman whose real name was Kate Williams) and the memorable Duped.

    It’s always a pleasure to see British musicians touring and performing their own original compositions and developing their own individual sound, and their own individual voice. Kate Williams is certainly developing both and deserves every opportunity to showcase her varied compositions.

    This was one of the final gigs in a nationwide tour supported by the Jazz Services National Touring Scheme which recently had its Arts Council funding withdrawn. 

You can see Gareth Lockrane’s Quartet at Jazz Hastings on Tuesday 11th November.

Charlie Anderson