John Lake Band

The Verdict, Brighton

Saturday 26th March

    Pianist John Lake released his debut album Up On The Downs in 2013 and played some of the pieces from that album, but this night was very much about the new material from his new album Wave of Translation.

    Beginning with the upbeat Zero Sum Game, Alex Bondonno showed off his power and fluency on tenor saxophone.

    One of John Lake’s strengths is his ability to play contemplatively and my favourite tracks from Up on the Downs, such as Selangor Fireflies were notably absent from a set that was mostly funky and upbeat, highlighting the vocal talent of Jackie Sampson on new tunes such as Make Up Your Mind and That’s Alright By Me.

    The highlights of the evening included the prog-rock inspired Prelude and Interlude in Eminor (dedicated to the late Keith Emerson) and Lake’s jazzy trio interpretation of Isaac Albéniz’s Asturias.

Charlie Anderson

The John Lake Band will be performing at The Unitarian Church, Brighton on Friday 29th July at 12:30pm with Alex Bondonno and Jackie Sampson.