Five Corners Quintet Live!
Band On The Wall
Wednesday October 14th
Another Jazz adventure begins on a school night, my how the world has changed. No rain, coupled with decent temperatures, we were travelling in this surreal October English landscape toward jazz central the “all new” Band On The Wall Manchester.
This time it was to witness “live” five guys who have been at the forefront of the rise of the modern jazz movement in
In the 50’s and 60’s such luminaries as Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Horace Silver, Stanley Turrentine, Duke Pearson, Kenny Dorham and Jimmy Smith add in a Latin/Swing tinge and Five Corners produce something modern for the future from the past. Nicola Conte emphasises their Jazz Dance floor credentials in his mixes. They must have hit on a winning formula from their inception in 2003 as they have already sold in excess of 50,000 records before this current
Hailing from Helsinki the Five Corners Quintet encapsulate all aspects of modern dance floor jazz bringing an energy and vibrancy that takes the listener on a fantastic ride as they hark back to the golden era of modern jazz but represent it in a new and exciting fashion. This is also taken into account as they present themselves in immaculate 60’s suited and booted style on their arrival on stage.
First the players Timo Lassy Tenor Saxaphone, Jukka Eskola Trumpet & Flugelhorn, Mikael Jakobsson Piano, Antti Lotjonen Double Bass and Teppo Makynen drums/bandleader.
Following the opening number Teppo the drummer stood to welcome us all in a wonderfully reluctant English tone delivered by a true Finn. His humour and humble approach won the enthusiastic crowd over and I think we knew we were in good hands with these guys. As it would prove Timo Lassy and Jukka Eskola led the centre stage attack Timo on tenor sax and Jukka fluctuating between trumpet and Flugelhorn with Mikael on Piano to the left and Bass player Antti at the rear, but the engine room and driving force bringing excitement, energy and no little talent was the dynamo on drums Teppo his smile, exuberance and drive kept this quintet rolling and on fire!
It was a show of two halves with a short interval for breath; unlike a lot of modern football this show had two quality halves. The first half the guys covered a lot of the first album Chasin' The Jazz Gone By (a very appropriate and respectful title). This included” live” renditions that included Three Corners, Unsquare Bossa, Lighthouse, Trading Eights and Straight Up.
The second half once again the very likeable Teppo Makynen explained in his own inimitable style of broken Finnglish that we were in for “more music” J
This time most of the set was drawn mainly from their current “Hot Corners” album including the swinging Hot Rod, Skinny Dipping, the atmospheric Midnight In Trieste, and the vibrant Shake It.
The final number allowed all five members to shine individually and following a rousing audience response and much stamping of feet Teppo and his men returned triumphantly for a single encore !
All in all a most enjoyable live set, we were entertained by a very talented set of jazz musicians who proved that you don’t have to compromise to all the latest studio gadgetry available today to drive forward the modern jazz dance movement. All soloists were given chance to shine but inevitably Timo, Jukka were outstanding and the star of the show Teppo on his “
If you have never heard their music or seen them live then I would urge you to give them a try, Five Corner Quintet from
I would highly recommend their two albums to date “Chasing Jazz Gone By” and “Hot Corner”.
Also seek out Timo Lassy “The Soul and Jazz Of Timo Lassy” which takes you on a ride through boogaloo, soul,latin,spiritual to the rousing dance floor winner “African Rumble” and Jukka Eskola’s first self titled album containing the thunderous 1974 written incidentally by Teppo “Teddy Rok” Makynen who really is the hardest working drummer in showbiz as well as producing this album and his Quintet album Hub Up which pays much respect to Freddie Hubbard but in particular a killer version of Gibraltar.
The plaudits on this night must also go to The Band On The Wall now proving once again what a great new venue this is foe
And of course a big shout for the man behind this drive to bring us these quality acts as well as provide some top jazzy grooves on the night is MC Mike Chadwick!!
The new in house sound system/ mixing desk once again proving its value in live and dj’ing capacities.
What was also nice to see in Manchester were the north west and beyond soul/jazz heads from the scene out in force enjoying this experience and even Manchester’s very own Mr Scruff offering his support!
What followed in the The Picture House Bar meet and greet area was just that! A chance to talk to the band members. Mike whisked away Teppo for a radio interview but I got chance to speak with Timo and Jukka who were very nice guys indeed and certainly appreciated the support given all over the world, in fact they mentioned they had had some communcation with one of my old dj pals Paul Murphy who now resides in Budapest. So I would say watch out in the Future Five Corners will keep this Modern Jazz Dance vibe rolling!
Ps. Don’t ignore Timo’s latest 7” release “The More I Look at You” co written and performed with Josie James it’s a killer and remember Josie James is “live” at The Band On The Wall Thursday 5th November 7:30. Followed by Azymuth on the following Tuesday 10th November 7:30.
Don’t Sleep!
See You There!
Colin Curtis 2009
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