Dave Brubeck once shared a bill with the original Jazz Couriers. "They sound more like an American band than we do," he told the Melody Maker. The Couriers were the cream of a 1950s British modern jazz scene that was mostly in thrall to superior Americans. The band fronted a then 30-year-old Ronnie Scott and a 22-year-old Tubby Hayes, the only UK saxophonists with reputations in the wider world.
The late Scott's former drummer Martin Drew and saxophonist and arranger Mornington Lockett are touring with a Couriers tribute, and they catch the breathless dynamism that still roars off that group's old records very well. Lockett, with his high-domed forehead and aquiline features, and his robust, rather schoolboyish fellow saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock even bear a passing resemblance to the departed co-leaders. Steve Melling on piano and Andy Cleyndert on bass anchor the harmony and cruise on the swells of Drew's propulsive percussion.
The late Tubby Hayes was a phenomenal technician who was rarely happy playing at less than supersonic speed, and he imparted the same full-on intensity to some excellent arrangements, now triumphantly transcribed by Lockett from the original discs. Despite the barrage of demisemiquavers, the contrasts between Lockett and Hitchcock, the eager impulsiveness of the pieces, and the relaxed precision of the rhythm section emit a good deal of magnetism; and they capture much of the swagger of the young, brash virtuosi who first stoked it up.
Like Hayes, Hitchcock can play so fast the phrases become a blur, and Lockett imparted a little more contrast and narrative to solos. What Is This Thing Called Love? deftly balanced bop and a dancing swing; A Foggy Day had a vivacious unison theme phrased like a bop improvisation; and Hayes's arrangement of Cheek to Cheek invited the saxes to echo each other in the theme before skimming through so fast that dancing cheek to cheek at such velocity would tax even circus acrobats. A lively, fascinating reminder of a big step in British jazz's slow march toward respect.
At the Pizza Express Jazz Club, London, tonight (020-7439 8722), then tours.
