James Taylor Quartet - Bumpin' on Frith Street

Limited vinyl LP pressing including digital download. During the Spring of 2015 The James Taylor Quartet played a sold out six show run at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. Every night’s performance was recorded, the standout set being the late show on Friday 25th March. By this time any initial ‘red light fever’ had long dissipated and the musicians were fully settled in, performing at their best and concentrating on capturing the special relationship between the band and the Ronnie Scott’s audience. The desire to return to a stripped-down approach means the band pare everything down to the essence. There were no horns or percussion, just James Taylor on Hammond C3, guitarist Mark Cox, bassist Andrew McKinney and drummer Pat Illingworth, a line-up now solid for over three years. There was no set list – the band don’t use them – they just watch the audience, see how the music connects and take it from there. The songs that made the final cut are four James Taylor originals and four from the source – Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Joe Sample and Gene Ammons. Bumpin’ On Frith Street is a tip of the hat to Soho, the home of Ronnie Scott’s and ground zero of UK Jazz music. If you can’t get to Soho this record may just be the closest thing to being there.