In 1999 trumpeter Damon Brown and pianist Jonathan Gee found themselves in Eilat at the Red Sea Jazz Festival. Things went well and they decided to stay behind for a while and play with local musicians. Three years later, the resulting Anglo-Israeli quartet has made several tours together and recorded an album Good Cop Bad Cop (33 Records). Their performance at the Spin last Thursday had people still beaming with pleasure as they left.

What I shall remember is the extraordinary bass playing of Yorai Oron. Forget the conventional stuff about laying down a solid foundation for the rest of the band. And forget the kind of solo where the bassist is allowed two or three choruses, and everybody applauds more from relief than enjoyment when it’s over. No, Yorai Oron’s blistering technique and musical sophistication promoted the bass into the front line of this quartet, and his solos were the highlights of the evening.

But (at the risk of sounding like a football manager at a press conference) it’s unfair to single out individuals when the strength of this band was its collective performance. Jonathan Gee, like a good midfielder (whoops another football analogy) plays with his head up, looking for interaction with the rest of the band. Yorai Oron responded with sustained imagination, and drummer Yaaki Levi, apart from one awesome solo, put all of his massive technique at the service of the ensemble. Damon Brown on trumpet has a lot going for him – technique, taste, a good clear tone, and a solid background in jazz history. But on the night he was the only member of the quartet who didn’t communicate something personal: there were Miles Davis moments, Clifford Brown moments, but not really any Damon Brown moments. Curiously, he plays with more freedom on the CD.

Roger van Schaick