The Remi Harris Project @ Hare and Hounds, 19th February 2015
Never having heard of Gypsy Jazz as a genre before, I wasn’t sure what to expect upon arrival at The Hare and Hounds, on a Thursday night, to see The Remi Harris Project.
Such was my ignorance that I was genuinely surprised when I walked into the room, just as the Project started playing, to find everyone seated and quiet. Dim red lights lit the stage and the walls. On the tables candles flickered in orange glass orbs, their smell and smoke adding to the atmosphere, which, when stimulated by the music emanating from the stage, transported you mentally to a 1930’s French tavern, an effect only ruined by the dull reflections bouncing around the room from a large glitter ball.
The Remi Harris Project are a three piece; two guitars and a big double bass. The guitarists sat, Harris on the right, from the audience’s point of view, whilst the bassist stood tall, between them and slightly behind.
All three were exceptional musicians. Near flawless. Harris, was though, the star of the show, playing with the speed of Van Halen and the tenderness of Clapton. His fingers flew around the fret board, and it wasn’t just the quickness and cleanliness of his playing that was impressive, the expressiveness he managed to give to every single note was astounding.
The Gypsy Jazz they played was completely instrumental and would work brilliantly as a film score or part of any soundtrack. Had he been there, Tarantino would have been rubbing his hands together with glee. My wife, who I’d brought with me on a belated Valentines, is fairly knowledgeable about jazz and after half a song leaned over and whispered “he’s very Django Reinhardt”. This meant little to me, but she was right, with Harris soon commenting on his debt to Reinhardt’s influence.
Harris also soon described, much to my delight, as I was struggling internally to put into words, the distinct sound of the guitars they were using. He explained that the guitars were created in the 1930’s for the purpose of being loud in jazz bands, as such they differ greatly on the inside from normal acoustics, and their design generates a lot of attack and immediacy to the notes, whilst longer strings and tension give a lot of crack to the sound. The trade off, he told us, is a lack of sustain which is why, he thinks, gypsy jazz is played so up-tempo.
The trio played through a number of gypsy jazz songs, my favourite of which being their interpretation of Bossa a Dorado, by Dorado Schmidt. Starting off a little like the James Bond theme before progressing into a speedy gypsy jam, which, despite having bluesy undertones, had a cheery feel to it and featured some of Harris’s quickest fingering of the evening. This number even managing to draw a ‘woo’ from the politely restrained crowd, which, so far, had only offered gentle applause and murmurs of appreciation.
Harris then explained, as he put away his acoustic, that he hadn’t got into gypsy jazz until around seven years ago, before which he’d mainly played Blues guitar, having grown up listening to Jimmy Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. He said he always finds himself drawn back to playing the blues as he loves the sustain that is possible on an electric guitar.
Performing Fleetwood Mac’s, Need Your Love So Bad, the Project effortlessly switched genre and we were now at a top class Blues gig. Played so tenderly and beautifully, the lyrics weren’t missed at all, the meaning of the song expressed perfectly through the guitar work. Sustain used to full effect. Where the Gypsy Jazz sound was sonically rough, ready and low-fi, this was the opposite, Harris genuinely making his guitar appear to weep. It was great to see the band able to play the two styles to perfection.
After a ten to fifteen minute interval, Harris came back out to play a couple of virtuoso pieces on his own, including a rendition of Joe Pass’s version of Have You Met Miss Jones. Pass, he explained, pioneered a style of solo jazz guitar where the player performs the bass, lead and rhythm all at once. Harris telling the room how difficult the technique is and how he’s just started to try to learn. The bassist (Mike Green) and guitarist (AC Wood), at this point stood at the back next to me, having a pint, were probably hoping he doesn’t master it too soon or they’ll be out of a job.
With the rest of the trio back on stage the Project reverted to campsite style gypsy jazz, playing Pennies From Heaven, improvising, riffing off each other, falling out of time ever so slightly at one point, before slipping back into time with a look and smile at one another. Harris and Wood taking turns to play lead and rhythm before doing a bit of guitar call and response, with Green interjecting bass notes and sequences whenever he felt them necessary; superb stuff.
By the end of the night a couple of old timers were dancing about at the back of the room, particularly enjoying the trios arrangement of the Beatles, Places I Remember, far too loudly for the liking of the rest of the seated audience
In summary I’d thoroughly recommend the Remi Harris Project to anyone who likes to watch musicians at the top of their game. Anyone who enjoys jazz, blues, acoustic guitars, low fi or gypsy, would love this. Harris is an exceptional guitarist, probably the best I’ve ever seen, and Wood and Green – both given ample air time and solo slots – complete a brilliant threesome.
Review: Alex Dean