Having stumbled upon their great album " Held On The Tips of Fingers" by accident I was a little disappointed by their live performance at Cardiff University a few years ago. However any opportunity to see Sebastian Rochford live should not be wasted and so we were in the front row of the Jazz arena to witness our second sighting of this great drummer this week-end.
Any fears that our ears would be deafened by our proximity to the four musicians were quickly dispelled when the sound system proved capable of perfectly balancing clarity with volume.
Normally at concerts it is the familiar pieces that have the most impact but today was a rare exception. Although I love the tracks from their Mercury nominated CD I was particularly impressed by their newer songs. Driven by the rhythmic of Mr Rochford's idiosyncratic style
but never dominating with the two saxophonists, Mark Lockheart and Shabake Hutchings
and double-bassist Tom Herbert allowed to show their individual talents, the group were completed by the virtuosity of Leafcutter John.
Showing exceptional electric guitar skills he coupled this technical wizadry of extracting extra-ordinary noises from a lap-tap, not to mention his mastery of that much overlooked instrument, the balloon. On paper this shouldn't work yet somhow all the elements produced a sound unique at this present time.
The other advantage of sitting so close to the front was watching their eye contact, essential in true jazz groups. Although sitting behind the two saxophonists it was great to see how they all inter-reacted intuitively.
Obviously the Cheltenham Jazz festival can be hard work as the man to our right somehow managed to fall asleep and missed a great night. Can't wait to rush out and buy " Jeepers".
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