Before fortunately catching the Laura Jurd Quartet at their Firth Court gig, I had been to a few jazz gigs before and even played flute in a jazz band once, so I had a subconscious expectation of what was to come – but honestly, this was truly a surprise. The moment they took the stage, the atmosphere shifted subtly, and everyone poised for the magic to come.
They played within an unusual intersection between jazz, folk and progressive rock. The opening rhythmic density and tonal grit would sooner be expected from a modern fusion group than a traditional jazz quartet. At the same time, the phrasing carried unmistakable lilt, often heard in Irish folk ensembles, especially in the way the melodies curved and hovered around modal patterns. Yet despite these influences pulling in different directions, the core identity remained unequivocally jazz.
Early in the set, one piece closed with a bass solo that went on for a while, wandering into these strange, echoing melodies. It felt like entering a gloomy cave in heavy rain somewhere in the Peaks.
The music kept sliding between folk and jazz textures, especially the trumpet and accordion, the band playing with such synchronized precision it felt like they were sharing a brain. As a flute player, I sat there trying to figure out how the trumpet player handled that much breath work without immediately lying down on the nearest flat surface – I would have fainted.
The harmonic choices, the improvisational dialogue and the way the group shaped dynamics all firmly rooted the sound, even when the band drifted toward more experimental folk territory. Upcoming university submissions and constant monologue of questionable decisions forgotten, the music put my mind temporarily on mute.
The pieces from their new album Rites and Revelations flowed together with an almost suspicious smoothness. Several transitions were so seamless that the audience, including me, did not realise the next piece had started until we were already deep into it.
Firth Court played its part too, with the room warm and engaged and the audience mostly an older crowd, it was bliss. The acoustics lifted everything with clarity, as if the building was designed specifically to flatter brass instruments. Every detail of the trumpet came through cleanly, I imagine Chet Baker would have approved.
One of the final pieces, ‘You Again’, shifted suddenly into something close to cinematic drama. It felt like the opening scene of a seafaring adventure was about to begin, brilliantly Pirates of Caribbean-esque.
Walking away from the evening, a quote from jazz Blockbuster La La Land whizzed around my head. This performance proved Ryan Goslings stellar point without needing a speech. The Laura Jurd Quartet delivered more than a jazz concert, they gave everyone in that room a rare hour where thinking was optional and simply sitting back and listening, was enough.
“[Jazz] It’s conflict and it’s compromise, and it’s just…it’s new every time. It’s brand new every night. It’s very, very exciting!”.
La La Land (2016)
Features image via Sheffield Performance Venues
