“Some of the best musicians alive!” exclaimed pianist Sam Crowe referring to the musicians in his quintet having just performed at London’s Spice of Life. The Sam Crowe Group last night (Thursday 16 Sept) featured Ivo Neame on sax standing in for Adam Waldmann, vibes player Jim Hart in for guitarist Will Davies, Dave Smith on drums and Jasper Høiby on bass.

Ivo’s wallet and phone rested on a low stool in front of him and his sax case just behind him on the floor; this image seemed to reflect the relaxed agility that occupied not just Ivo but all of the musicians, despite the rustling of scores between pieces and the brief discussions about how they were going to perform them.

Injecting the audience with original material from his latest album Synaesthesia released in May this year, Sam Crowe and his feisty Loop Collective-based group produced a real busy music full of flamboyant but meditative grooves that at times gave way to real successful climaxes embracing the audience.

Performing ‘The Global Brain’ from the album set free Høiby and Smith to pump away and gush out thrilling rhythmic eruptions, stabilising themselves as the meaty core of the band. Neame’s gentle full sound on soprano and alto saxophones throughout the evening seemed mellower than Adam Waldmann’s on the album while Hart on vibes seemed to generate an overall brighter timbre to the ensemble in comparison to the album’s sound.

It’s quite likely the fact that the ensemble mostly wore blue was probably by pure coincidence. They simply looked comfortable rather than smart and it’s this comfortable notion that can describe these musicians. They appeared very comfortable with the audience, with each other and most importantly they were comfortably prepared to constantly take spontaneous musical risks to fuel this captivating music.

– Charlotte Keeffe