Tim Richards Trio 4/3/2011

I like to see Tim play when he is in the Midlands. I am not normally seen at Jazz gigs but Tim plays at the bluesy end of Jazz and there is also an element of boogie-woogie in there and I have enjoyed his gigs over the years. This was one of my favourite gigs of his and that was due both to the band and also the material. The band was a tight trio and I was amazed to find the drummer was a stand-in for their normal drummer who was off at Van Morrison's request. The bassist (Dominic Howles)had a great understanding with Tim's forceful keyboards and was an excellent musician in his own right. The new stuff from the album 'Shapeshifting'seemed to move at pace and with intent and I felt there was more than a hint of boogie-woogie at times. But there was also some great melodies in there both standards and Tim's own stuff. There were also some tracks from 'Twelve by Three' and all in all it was an excellent musical evening. More and more I care about the venue, the sound and the occasion (actually I have always cared deeply about sound quality) and this was a nice evening.