Swagman at Raumati Social Club

Brent McFarlane (drums/perc) Joe Callwood (guitars/congas) Gabe Davidson (alto & bari sax/vibes/perc) form the trio Swagman. For sometime now they have been playing on the last Friday of the month at Raumati Social Club. After missing out last month due to clashing schedules, I finally got along last week. It made a nice change to hear two sets of original music without a piece of sheet music in site. I hadn’t heard Gabe play in many years, so it was great to hear him and have a catch up after the gig - it had been way too long. Joe might not be quite as visible as some guitarists on the NZ jazz scene but he's right up there nonetheless. I need to seek out more from him (add it to the list!). It was an enjoyable gig of groove heavy, textural music in the jazz/world music sphere, played to a packed house. Maybe it's not the best space for listening, as it gets pretty chatty and loud, but that didn't detract from me having a good night. I'm looking forward to catching them again soon.