Concert Review
Nucleus
Cargo, London, 31 August 2005
On one of the hottest nights of the year in more senses than one, Nucleus took to the stage at Cargo, in London's most central sector of hip Hackney, located in an enclave not much more than a 20 minute walk from The Barbican Centre, where in February so many other British jazz legends had played to massive audiences at the Jazz Britannia weekend. They hadn't played a gig together for two years, the last being the swan song of the late, great, Neil Ardley at the Southbank. However, this was a sadder occasion, for Ian Carr was unable to play with the band and in his stead ex-Loose Tubes horn man Chris Batchelor had been recruited. Ian Carr had been in hospital two months ago for a double hernia operation, so it was understandable that he couldn't play. He did however introduce the band and then sat on the side of the stage, often nodding approvingly in time with the music, looking, resplendent in his trusty brown tweed jacket, for all the world like some proudly beneficent music professor, which indeed he has been to so many.
With little ado, the band kicked off at just after 10pm with 'Lady Bountiful' before moving on to a great, powerful version of 'Roots'. Then the band, which consisted of an amalgamation of the last two line ups of Nucleus (Mark Wood on guitar, Nic France on drums, Geoff Castle on keyboards and Phil Todd on saxes and flute) moved on to a selection of numbers from that early 1980s period. This began with 'Things Past' a slower tempo tune with solos by Castle, Wood and Batchelor. Ian Carr then introduced the next piece, 'Something for Mr Jelly Lord' which he said he wrote in 7/4 time, 'because he never did anything like that'. A moody version of 'Out of the Long Dark' followed this, and in turn this was succeeded by two more pieces from the 1980s recordings, 'Easy Does it Now' with a remarkable five minute fretless bass guitar solo by Rob Statham - and the sprightly closing number 'Dawn Choruses' introduced again by Ian Carr and which featured a truly coruscating, elemental, almost transcendental guitar solo by Mark Wood. An inevitable encore was demanded, and this took the form of the last section of 'Lady Bountiful' from the album 'Out of the Long Dark'. The applause was suitably uproarious, despite having stood for nearly two hours in sweltering heat, and just when the musicians thought it would be safe to pack up it was decided that one final encore could be managed and this was the elegantly graceful 'Summer Rain' from Carr's album 'Belladonna'.
Carr's band on this occasion comprised some of his longest serving colleagues including the great Geoff Castle who has been with Carr longest more than 30 years but special mention must be made of Chris Batchelor who did a first class job as nevertheless fitted into the group excellently, his soloing on occasion being nothing short of stunning. However, all the compositions in the set were written by Ian Carr and despite him not playing, the loyal and talented band and the cerebral yet rhythmically groove-based music proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Carr was the true progenitor of jazz rock in the United Kingdom, if not the World. He has no peers, but many, many fans.
Roger Farbey