With the talismanic visage of Phil Lynott and Stiff Little Fingers among the rockers emblazoned in striking photographs on the walls of sticky floor indie rock venue upstairs at the Bar With No Name on Belfast’s Dublin Road the action on Tuesdays is instead a jazz vibe.
With a distinctly CTI-label 1970s direction on this occasion Rick Swann, at the heart of the new younger end of the jazz scene in the city, here on flugel and making ample use of a Boss ME80 guitar pedal with wah, octave shift, and Freeze among its effects, crouching down to check the range of treatments at his disposal the outcome may not always have been subtle but it worked the Belfast-based Coleraine player finding plenty of room to elaborate on bass licks and the patterns developed from drums.
Digging into more of a Freddie Hubbard-like space as the set wore on with him were Ballyclare drummer Matt Brown, and on electric bass, the latter in a Danny Bowens-Winter in America-type rhythm space, another Danny, Danny Boyle; with Matt Evans on Nord keyboards becoming increasingly Bob James-like as the night progressed but the band never went smooth. Saxman Lawrence Weir joined interestingly among the guests stepping up to jam, meshing well with Swann on a moody emotional version of ‘How Long Has This Been Going On.’ The highlight of the slice of the action Marlbank caught was the combo’s version of Pee Wee Ellis’ ‘The Chicken.’
At the Bar With no Name: Rick Swann, top left, Matt Evans, Matt Brown, and partially obscured Danny Boyle at the jam. More on the Belfast scene here. The jam session poster, above