Quentin Collins

JAZZ

Trumpeter Quentin Collins is an emerging name on the London jazz scene, and this debut album suggests that the buzz around his work is well justified. His bright, cutting tone is in a recognisable line of descent from the likes of Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan, and his phrasing adds a contemporary edge to the post-bop idioms of his compositions. He includes four originals here (with a nod to Coltrane on ‘Mr Q.C.’), although his slightly eerie adaptation of Faure’s ‘Pavane’ is also more Collins than the Classical original.

Alto saxophonist Tony Kofi joins the quartet on the two jazz covers, Monk’s ‘Four In One’ and Coltrane’s ‘26-2’. Jim Hart’s fleet, rippling vibraphone lines are a very effective complement to Collins’ trumpet work, and the rhythm department is manned by the current bass and drum team in Tommy Smith’s quartet, American bassist Michael Janisch and our own Alyn Cosker. Worth checking out.