Reviews
Consummate class from top quartet
- 2007-07-21
Gosh, these guys do it so well. Like the All Blacks, the Nairobi Trio appropriately
Gosh, these guys do it so well. Like the All Blacks, the Nairobi Trio appropriately attired in black, took a little while to build a high octane performance groove, but once they started cooking, there was no holding them back. The previous evening, the Nairobis had apparently startled Wellington's Old St Pauls in concert with Hot Club Sandwich, so perhaps understandably, Saturday night at the Globe saw a quieter than usual start. The four-man Trio now in their 18th year, are the jazz equivalent of a chamber music group. Consummate musicians and performers, they read each other instinctively, interspersing elongated and improvised arrangements of standards like Mac the Knife, with their own evocative originals. These are complex, satisfying, multi-layered and textured melodies the band have single-handedly elevated to the status of New Zealand swing and folk jazz classics - genres it is probably responsible for inventing. As usual Richard Adams and his creamy electric violin led from the front, showing wonderful dexterity whether he was playing sublimely haunting solos, plucking the strings, pirouetting through the auditorium, or working the wa-wa pedal. His synchronisation with Andrew Dixon, whose soprano sax in particular was superb, and not bad on the flute either, demonstrates one of those great onstage musical partnerships - with the upright bass of Peter Koopman and guitar of John Quigley always in resonant support. Recorded for a future live album, the concert may not have explored any new ground - it was simply pleasure enough to hear them 'play it again, Sam'. Richard Mays
Nairobi Trio: Absolutely
New Zealand Herald - 2002-06-20
Variously a swinging and supple set, this was recorded live at jazz festivals in
Variously a swinging and supple set, this was recorded live at jazz festivals in Norway last year. It features as centrepieces the romantic seven-minute original Portugal, in which the music dissolves down to Peter Koopman's bass before Richard Adam's violin emerges to parry with Andrew Dixon's weaving sax, and a treatment of Charlie Chaplin's ballad Smile. Longtime followers will have other versions of some of these tracks but there's also Dixon's new, lightly funky Blue Mamba delivered over a bed of effects and wah-wah from guitarist John Quigley. And the Quigley/Adams discreetly Celtic composition Firth of Forth is always worth re-hearing. Graham Reid
Nairobi Trio: Live at the McDonald Winery
New Zealand Herald - 1998-02-01
The key word here is 'live' because that's how this four-piece 'trio' (occasionally
The key word here is 'live' because that's how this four-piece 'trio' (occasionally expanding to a quartet) is best appreciated. Here the keening melodic violin of Richard Adams, the mesmerisingly inventive guitar of Nigel Gavin and the secure rhythm section of guitarist John Quigley and bassist Peter Koopman spiral through material which owes less and less to the Django/Grappelli sound they established their reputation with. Gavin's three originals are among the standouts, the collection shifts from avant-guitar and skittering fiddle to straight-ahead swing and, as always, the vocals are an acquired taste. Still, the live energy carries all before it and the release of this couldn't be more timely (they make a rare appearance on Sunday at Iguacu, Parnell). ****
Nairobi Trio: Shelf Life
The Strip - 1996-12-01
Nairobi Trio are an unsung success story of New Zealand music, having garnered fans
Nairobi Trio are an unsung success story of New Zealand music, having garnered fans and acclaim from around the world. Their sound is an eclectic mix of acoustic styles. Double bass, fiddle and twin guitars blend and battle to create the Trio's own brand of very accessible jazz. Shelf Life is their third album, and their first of completely original music which shows off their passion and flair. Eight of the 11 tracks are completely acoustic, but all manage to convey a certain New Zealand quality, vis a vis the evocative Bluff Wisdom, with its opening violin seagull cries and bass foghorn effects. Evocative is a fair description of the Trio's music. Punters who recently saw the band described being carried away to exotic locales by a performance as faultless as you'd expect from such experienced talents. If it's quirky, mellow jazz you're after, then Shelf Life is worth a look. Ken Lewis
Nairobi Trio: Through the Clouds
NZ Musician - 1993-06-01
This is a good album; a very good album. Any number of its 13 tracks should easily
This is a good album; a very good album. Any number of its 13 tracks should easily find airplay on MOR or jazz-oriented radio, particularly as the Nairobi Trio (all four of them...) are so well known and popular. Although playing in the piano-less/drummer-less style and tradition (though guitarist John Quigley turns in some nice brushwork on two tracks) that began with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's celebrated Hot Club Quintet, the Nairobis are kicked into modernity by the more intense playing of violinist Richard Adams and Guitarist Nigel Gavin, strongly supported by Quigley and bassist Peter Koopman. Also by some astute choices of material (Tom Ludvigson's Do Your Own, Nigel Gavin's Sacred Hill, Miles' Nardis). As a result, although their sound is still satisfyingly 'Lounge Lizard' when required, it's a lot less louche than Django and Stephane can now sound to contemporary ears. Stand out tracks, for me, are the opener Lady be Good, the aforementioned Do Your Own (boldly programmed second up), Nuages, Limehouse Blues (always a favourite), the beautiful Cahn/Van Heusen ballad All My Tomorrows (an inspired choice) and the perennial Caravan (not an easy tune to refresh, but the group have done so here). There are plenty to choose from, including a few jaunty and insouciant vocals too. And this group doesn't need a drummer. Wish they did. Bruce Morley