The James Taylor Quartet – Wedgewood Rooms, 2023
As the Wedgewood Rooms celebrated the 25th Anniversary of club night Hipshaker, tonight’s hosts welcomed acid jazz legends the James Taylor Quartet.
This wasn’t to be a sit-down gig in a dimly lit underground club like old school jazz nights, but one that instead came with more of a funky side. As such, if Saturday nights were made for dancing, then the Wedge was certainly the place to be.
Once the band took to the stage, James Taylor himself was always going to be the main man, albeit meant as no offence to such a tight band. After all, Taylor sure knows how to work his organ. If anything, it was a shame you couldn’t see what he was doing behind the keys… but as long as you could feel it, that didn’t really matter.
Whether that meant the band playing tunes you could move to or the occasional sing-along. Although there weren’t ever really lyrics as such, just a bit of call and response to help set the mood.
The real highlights however came in the likes of “Blow Up” (from the album Mission Impossible) along with a cover of “Green Onions” (made famous by Booker T. & the M.G.s).
As for when the James Taylor Quartet had finished their set, the Wedgewood Rooms returned to Hipshaker of old. Just these days most of the audience left the DJs spinning their records, opting to call it night as a few remaining stragglers styled it out on the dancefloor.
