REVIEW:

Toni Kofi

The first time Tony Kofi played at the Spin he was supporting guest vocalist Juliet Kelly and though Kelly gave us a stunning performance many in the audience left wondering about the alto saxophonist standing at the edge of the stage who had played some spine tingling solos. Since then Kofi has unsurprisingly moved well into the spotlight of British jazz winning a bunch of awards for his album All I Know. Nevertheless it is never easy for even such a well-established musician to play with a house band he does not know. Kofi solved this by taking absolute control of the evening, bending the band to work with him rather than allowing the reverse. This was undoubtedly made easier by Spin guitarist Pete Oxley being joined by the exceptional bassist Yaron Stavi and Russ Morgan on drums, both players of great awareness.

Despite having a tone on alto that sometimes has a roughness reminiscent of Sonny Rollins, Toni Kofi plays with immense emotional intensity and a quite remarkable ability to communicate the narrative of each separate melody. This means that, rather than launching into solos that lay out a bunch of tricks for the audience to admire, he works with the colours and feelings of each melody to create solos that tell us something new and keep our attention by never falling back on personal clichés. Every solo from the waltz bebop Bluesette through to the old ballad A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square was a new journey with new views and unexpected twists. Technically Kofi can push the alto well beyond its normal limits using slides, growls and harmonics to further increase the range and drama of his playing. Alongside this Kofi can also swing without making over-predictable use of the beat so that, like Ornette Colman and Sonny Rollins, he often gives his phrasing an angular off beat feel without losing an absolute sense of the rhythm. All this places Kofi among the great mainstream players in the country who gives great pleasure while also so evidently enjoying the music himself.

© Paul Medley