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CHRIS COULL QUINTET - Just One Of Those Things

Beeboss Records 

Chris Coull - trumpet; Sara Oschlag - vocals; Mark Edwards - piano; Dan Sheppard - bass; Darren Beckett - drums

Trumpeter and bandleader Chris Coull has an impressive global reach, having relocated from his native North-West to Qatar in the United Arab Emirates as director of Doha Jazz and a regular at the Doha Lincoln Centre. Now he’s based on the South Coast at the centre of Brighton’s burgeoning jazz scene, and has taken time off from his busy schedule as promoter and multiple project leader to join forces with Danish vocalist Sara Oschlag and an all-star cast of UK players and spend a day in the studio delivering this set that moves from swing to bop wth equal poise and conviction. The scene is set by their swaggering re-working of the old chestnut ‘Angel Eyes’ - there’s a Count Basie vibe to the vocalese head arrangement and a ‘Sweets’ Edison flavour to Coull’s blues-drenched solo that stays the right side of corny. While he can deliver a swing-era solo with total conviction, Coull is clearly a Clifford man at heart, and his bebop chops get full rein on a straight-ahead rendition of ‘Daahoud’ and his own ‘One More In’ contrafact. Oschlag is the perfect partner, capable of stretching out the syllables to gain maximum funk from ‘Angel Eyes’ but pulling back for some cooly modernist hipsterdom on ‘I Mean You’ and a dry-eyed, unsentimental but utterly convincing ‘I Fall In Love Too Easily”. The title track, with an intricate original arrangement by Coull, shows the depth of her musicality. Piano star Mark Edwards delivers some superbly creative solos and sensitive comping, and Sheppard and Beckett never put a foot wrong. Chris Coull's beautifully full-toned bebop trumpet and Sara Oschlag's immaculate vocal stylings are a perfect match on this very hip selection of modern jazz repertoire which the superb band deliver with poise, elegance and a deep commitment to swing.

Reviewed by Eddie Myer

Launch gig details:
Sunday 5th June @ Wagner Hall, Brighton Fringe / Doors 6.30pm - Music from 7.30pm
Tickets at https://www.brightonfringe.org/ Or https://www.wegottickets.com/event/537089
More info at https://chriscoull.co.uk/brighton-fringe-2022/
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