Ronnie Cuber

Good-time music, for the most part, is by definition simple. But in talented hands it can be one of the most enjoyable experiences that, in the words of the late, great Miles Davis, you can have with your clothes on. And Saturday night's concert, in which Ronnie Cuber led his quartet through some savoury, head-bobbing, finger-snapping jazz, was just that.

Not that it was all that simple. The quartet - Cuber (baritone), Tommy Halferty (guitar), Justin Carroll (organ), Conor Guilfoyle (drums) - worked up a terrific groove on several blues, but even there Cuber had some stimulating choices. Coltrane's Cousin Mary, for example, is a blues, but like much of what he wrote, it's one with changes unusual enough to push players out of the comfort zone. And Cuber cannily interspersed the programme with standards and originals; some, like Body And Soul and Caravan, had their own share of harmonic obstacle courses for the unwary.

But this quartet, playing with evident enjoyment, demolished them with ease. Cuber is a world-class player, with a big, beautiful tone, spot-on intonation, great ability to manipulate sound, and a marvellous sense of logic (and sly humour) in his solos. He also has an innate grasp of group dynamics, directing the organic development of each performance firmly but unobtrusively.

In a mix of the considered and the visceral, Halferty, Carroll and Guilfoyle, clearly stimulated by the leader, responded well. The opening Undecided set the tone; a no-holds-barred baritone solo threw down the gauntlet, rapidly and effectively picked up and sustained by the others. If, overall, some of the slower pieces performed during the evening had less impact than the more up-tempo, extrovert performances, this was nevertheless a concert full of good, down-home playing graced with skill and imagination.