MARKING Waterford's debut as yet another compact venue for the apparently ever expanding Heineken Weekender, the amount of people attending the headlining gig by the numerically forgetful James Taylor Quartet (a sextet, actually) may not have had the organisers and, sponsors rubbing their collective hands in glee but that didn't prevent the few hundred present from enjoying themselves to the full.
Taylor himself has roots in rock and psychedelic mode, via his early 1980s band, The Prisoners, but his music reflects only a hint of those two leanings. He came to the forefront of the Acid Jazz movement in London towards the end of the 1980s, his mood indigo moments on his beloved Hammond organ paving the way for a moderately successful career. While the Acid Jazz - phase has given way for a somewhat more dynamic jazz/mod/dance interface, it seems to this critic that there is little difference between what Taylor is doing today and what his obvious mentors, Booker T & The MGs, were doing a few decades ago. It's just slightly faster and louder: There is also a strong sense of improvisation within the music, which in these pluralist times appeals to more than your average groove fan, even if it fails the most important rule of dance music keep it simple.
Separately, the tracks are cohesive, semi structured instrumentals, each showcasing the respective, considerable talents of the musicians. Taken as a whole, however, the tunes (which included the band's debut single, Blow Up, and covers of Green Onions and the theme from Starsky & Hutch) blended seamlessly and blandly, one into the ether. Quite dull, really.
