Kenny Werner & Martin Speake Quartet, London Jazz Festival, Wigmore Hall, 23 November 2008

We have been enthusiasts of Jazz at the Wigmore Hall ever since we saw the Tord Gustavsen Trio at “The Wig” as part of the London Jazz Festival a few years earlier.

This Kenny Warner and Martin Speake concert was very good, although (to our taste) not quite as suited to the Wigmore Hall as the smaller, tighter sound of ensembles such as Tord Gustvsen’s.

But what do we know?

In this excellent review from Jazzwise Magazine – click here – Martin Speake himself says:

‘Even the handclaps sound good in this room’

It does thrill us to witness, so often, performers clearly in awe of the venue and so delighted to be able to play there. It makes us realise how lucky we are to live so close to the place, to be friends of it and to attend so regularly. As I write this note (10 April 2017) I am looking forward to a visit to the Wig this very evening…but for early music, not jazz this time.

Returning to the Kenny Warner and Martin Speake – we actually got the latter in the first half and the former in the second half.

We enjoyed both – I got more out of the Kenny Warner which had a Dixieland sound to it which pleases me more than it pleases Janie.

Still, a lovely way to spend a Sunday evening, especially when you have booked the day off work Monday.