Performance Notes | When the well-known American fingerstyle guitarist Duck Baker moved to London in 2005, Steve Beresford put him touch with two younger players who turned out to be ideal trio-mates, Alex Ward and Joe Williamson.
The trio performs a few standards and more than few of the compositions of Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols, but the main focus of the repertoire is Baker's original writing. The style is certainly modern, even edgy, but the music is also accessible to general audiences, owing both to the the strong melodies and a tendency not to indulge in lengthy solos.
The trio's debut recording, The Waltz Lesson, was released in May, 2009 and received glowing reviews in Jazz Times, All About Jazz NY, AAJ - Italy and elsewhere. In addition to club appearances in England, Italy and Sweden, the group has performed at numerous festivals in the UK and Italy, most notably the prestigious Venice Jazz Festival and Le Weekend at Stirling, Scotland. Their second CD, Keep The Faith, is due for release in October, 2011. |