Hops and heads

I caught David Rodriguez and his trio playing at the Belgian Beer tavern in Kingston. It’s a pleasant, relaxed venue on a Sunday afternoon. Windy outside; nice food and boutique beers inside. The drinkers and eaters were mostly oblivious to the music, as is common enough in bars, but the music itself is competent and well worth a listen. David was saying he tries to achieve this – interesting music for listeners, but not obtrusive if you’re just there for a chat. It’s a sensible way to get work. David (guitar) was playing this week with Hannah James (bass) and Sam Young (drums). They played gently on standards and latins. Nice, interactive playing. David leads on heads and solos. He’s got a lovely woody tone. I guess heavy strings, given how hard some bends seemed. Hannah played several satisfying solos which were craftily formed and true to the idiom. Sam took several solo passages, mostly swapping with David’s solos on eights or similar. I didn’t have the camera on me so no pics.