Enthralled is the only way to describe the audience who listened to the Fergus McCreadie Trio at the Howard Assembly Room. Whilst jazz audiences are usually attentive, this went beyond the norm, with the applause after the first composition, entitled Wayfarer, continuing as long as that usually experienced at the end of a set. Fergus McCreadie on piano, David Bowden on double bass and Stephen Henderson on drums, played in a way that had the audience hanging on every distinct note.
McCreadie has always been known for his incorporation of Scottish folk music into jazz. He started the evening by telling the audience about recording their latest album, The Sheiling, released in October. The album was composed and recorded while the trio stayed in a cottage on North Uist in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. He talked about the inspiration of the remote location, surrounded by sea and mountains.
Wayfinder, the first track on the album, pulses with Scottish themes, from the beginning drone, reminiscent of bagpipes, to snatches of melodies from traditional Scottish music. It was clear that their Hebridean experimentation had blended McCreadie’s love of folk, jazz and Scottish landscape even more firmly than in earlier compositions.
There is often a moment of tension when McCreadie starts or finishes one of his compositions, as though the audience and musicians are holding their breadth, waiting for that first or final note. The second set started with the percussion leading, but the tension was maintained. These are musicians who seem to work using telepathy, not counting in or checking set lists. The length of the played composition is usually much longer than the tracks on their LPs, but you would be hard-pressed to identify where the improvisation is taking place. They claim to take to the stage with no pre-determined set list, often seamlessly stringing compositions together.
The three musicians have been playing together since their days at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. McCreadie won Scottish Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year in 2018, the year he graduated. In 2022, he received the Scottish Album of the Year Award, making him the first jazz artist ever to be awarded the prize. He has twice been nominated for a Mercury Prize. His playing is technically accomplished and emotive, appealing to mind and heart.
At the start of the evening, McCreadie spent time telling us about the compositions, most from the new album but a few earlier. All of them related to his love of nature and Scotland. When not touring or composing, you will find him out bagging a Munro, the Scottish term for climbing a peak of over 3,000 feet. During the second set, there was much less talking. Completely immersed, McCreadie didn’t talk to us about his music; he just let us enjoy it.
