THE 2025 Lichfield Jazz and Blues Festival kicked off with a musically inventive evening of original music by the Bryan Corbett Instrumental Groove Unit.
With leader Bryn Corbett on trumpet and flugelhorn, drummer Luke Harris, keyboard player Paul Deats and Wayne Matthews on bass, they played two sets of long form composition that blended hip hop grooves, deep keyboard foundations, dextrous bass runs and sturdy drumming.
Although the concert only consisted of about eight pieces, with many of them being exploration in groove and timbre as well as musicianship, this was music that rewarded deep listening.
The members of the group have played with a number of musical luminaries, ranging from the Brand New Heavies to Tony Christie, Ben E King, Wretch 32 and Tricky.
The resul was music that explored the here and now as much as it did the jazz tradition, although that was also present in the Miles Davis-like skirmishes on trumpet and some of the more sympathetic playing, particularly during the striking ballad Pretty Little Buttons.
The ruminative Rubicon and Double Speak were both fine explorations of musical form with the Fender Rhodes keyboard of Paul Deats being put through its paces throughout both numbers.
The hip hop groove of the encore piece showed that although the sounds could be described as jazz, it also had foundations in other forms of expression – as all music should.