SLAMDA287 Esmond Selwyn, John-Paul Gard Hammond & Robin Jones – The Middle Half

Guitarist Esmond Selwyn leads this trio recording, with organist John-Paul Gard and drummer Robin Jones, performing a mixture of standards and classic jazz compositions by John Coltrane, Clifford Brown, Georgie Fame, Charlie Parker and others.

Selwyn’s association with drummer, Robin Jones dates back as far as 1960! This was a time when Esmond’s father, Frank would take his 12 year old son to take part in the impromptu jam sessions held most nights at the Mandrake Club in Meard Street off Wardour Street in London’s West-End. Robin was in the house band led by the legendary and outrageous humorist, pianist Joe Burns with Percy Borthwicke on bass.

As they progressed through many and various bands together over the years the catch phrases were always “adventure”, spontaneity and plain “going for it”. Even at stressful events such as radio broadcasts and recording sessions! This has very much remained the philosophy, even more so since being joined more recently by great jazz organist, John-Paul Gard from the West Country. Esmond always wanted his recordings to have the immediacy and excitement of the gig – he hopes to have achieved this with ‘The Middle Half’.

Esmond Selwyn: guitar
John-Paul Gard: Hammond organ
Robin Jones: drums

“Ringing with the sound of a bygone age steeped as this album is in the swing-into-bop mainstream jazz of the 1950s and 60s, Welsh guitarist Esmond Selwyn, little known in metropolitan jazz circles and no worse for that, is completely at ease with his instrument, while John-Paul Gard accompanies him on Hammond dutifully but no less astutely. Don’t expect any great groundbreaking iconoclastic intensions here but that’s not the point at all. Selwyn has his own way about him and while no spring chicken has cleverly managed to locate himself on the right side of retro both in his buccaneering style, particularly in the later loosely swinging tracks, and in the artfully yellowed look of the artwork.” – Stephen Graham, Jazzwise

“The Middle Half is a fine guitar/organ/drums album with eight great standards. His playing on this was like listening to one of the great guitarists of the fifties, bebop lines, good arrangements and a great tone from his ES 175 with a Charlie Christian pickup. His sound preserves a fine jazz guitar tradition not often heard these days. I cannot list enough superlatives about Esmond.” – Ian Macgregor, The Jazz Guitar Society of Western Australia

Recorded at Ferndale Studio, Buckley, North Wales in November 2009
Recorded and mastered by Marc Joy

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