It’s a Poncha February
Oh, one very much to look forward to is Poncha from Nick ”Nice Work!” Costley-White.
It took about a nano second to decide this after taking a quick listen to the upcoming album earlier.
Part of the now dispersed Louche bar Greek Street scene led by the Hank Mobley-loving Alec Harper, a spot we kept returning to when about in Soho on several occasions, Costley-White has a new album called Poncha out in early-2025.
Elegant enunciation
A very well spoken player, whose speaking voice is a little like Andrew Hunter Murray (of the Page 94 podcast and now incipient Naked Week renown), Costley-White emerged from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011 to begin gigging around the London scene and paying his dues in front of the imbibing public at small venues where he has successfully built his name as a classy interpreter of 1950s and 1960s jazz styles.
We saw him first at a Jazz Nursery gig down by the river at a very unheated perishingly cold theatre venue one wintry night and also in addition to Soho at venues like the Oxford in Kentish Town. We’d compare the guitarist to Nigel Price a bit stylistically although he’s not as much of a Wes head, whereas Epsom’s finest jazz thoroughbred Price is a Derby winner where there’s a will there’s a Wes is reliably concerned.
Detour Ahead
The guitarist’s debut was Detour Ahead in 2018. Conor Chaplin – known recently for his work with Norwegian sax star Marius Neset – and on the upcoming album – was a player on that collection of tunes from 6 years back, which was led off by the Herb Ellis standard ‘Detour Ahead’ very subtly rendered in such a hush laden way by N. C-W.
Nice Work! followed last year, an album we much preferred. Another bass monster Empirical’s Tom Farmer was with N C-W on that occasion.
The upcoming album features seven Costley-White originals touching on melodies from Brazil and Cuba.
Ripples and tipples
Poncha in the title, something of a linguistic false friend, isn’t a fisticuffs reference at all. So while certainly such a heavyweight of a guitarist knows his Queensbury Rules where his instrument is concerned and is a ringmaster of note where soloing pertains, the reference is an inspirational Portuguese beverage – apparently. The drink hails from Madeira and is made with aguardente de cana, honey, sugar and either orange juice or lemon juice.
Wiggy sounds different
Julian ”Wiggy” Siegel – one of the UK’s finest tenorists – he hails from Nottingham – sounds very different in this context.
His own records tend to be more ferociously hard bop or jazz rock-inclined.
Steered by the ever reliable Chaplin – last heard by us in Chelsea when he was backing singer Tessa Souter alongside Billy Drummond – and by drummer James Maddren who is known primarily for his work with Kit Downes, the issuing label of Poncha is Martin Hummel’s prolific Ubuntu outfit. Look for it at the end of February.
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