The Azhaar Saffar Quartet - Wednesday 4 April

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What can I say - my job just gets better! The latest pleasure was being present at the BMJ concert on Wednesday evening for the Azhaar Saffar Quartet.

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Azhaar started her set with the beautiful original song August, a track from her highly acclaimed album Out There. Immediately apparent is Azhaar's infectious charm: she connected with the audience from the opening note. Her original material is very strong with her vocals complementing well-written lyrics. Azhaar’s Welsh connections were in evidence with another original tune Cariad, this time showing her immense talent as a jazz violinist.

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Joe Cavanagh on keyboards played with great power and made full use of an array of keyboard sounds, in particular delighting us with some lovely Hammond organ. His solo work was thoughtful and received warm applause from a very attentive audience.

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Thad Kelly on Double Bass provided a solid platform for the band and when soloing displayed great maturity. I’ve heard that Scott Hammond is seeking a Welsh Passport - he seems to be at the club for nearly every gig, and with such skills he is very much in demand. He’s a workhorse of a player, but tonight we were treated to a rare drum solo, and were not disappointed. His light rhythmic touch and melodic style were rewarded with enthusiastic applause.

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All round a great evening, and I was very pleased to meet Azhaar and purchase a signed copy (the last one in fact) of her album.

© Peter Scaddan 2007