Following their recent Mercury nomination, Dinosaur have
been named the “outsiders” to win this year’s prize. However, they were the
firm favourites for their packed out crowd in the Salon Perdu at the Saturday
afternoon of Manchester Jazz Festival. With an infectious energy that gelled
the whole group together as one, they were a collection of soloists that had no
egos, and therefore perfect unity as a whole.
This was a set of intelligent fun; although BBC New
Generation artist and leader Laura Jurd
did not speak to the adoring crowd often, that which was said was informative,
succinct, and did not slow the flow of the set. Their subtle folk influences
emerged early in the hour, in their second track, which showed they can
navigated compound time signatures effortlessly, with nailed down grooves from Corrie Dick on drums.
There was mastery of both instrument and rhythm from every
member, but Elliot Galvin and Laura Jurd took that mastery one step
further with their use of electronics. A Cory Henry for the youth, Galvin
showed both musicality and ingenuity in his solos, taking microtonal
voice-leading to the max. His melodic relationship with Jurd made for inspired
improvisation and left the audience hanging off every beat and in fact, the
name of their debut album, “together as one” describes this group perfectly. Conor Chaplin on bass together with Corrie Dick on drums were the ultimate
pairing; never adrift and always graceful.
Dinosaur takes the aesthetic of Snarky Puppy and furthers it,
avoiding the clichés of harmonic satisfaction in recognisable chord sequences
and delaying the rich, full sounds they are so very capable of for so long that
when they arrive, they are nothing short of glorious. The only unfulfilled wish
is that we don’t stay in this fat, glossy sound world for longer, but perhaps
the tantalisingly short foray into harmonic satisfaction is what makes it so
special?
This is a group with a limitless future, and their new abum
next year will be hotly anticipated. The most wonderful thing about watching
them perform live is the sense of humour they bring to the stage. This set was
scheduled to finish at 4 o’clock, and they brought the house down with applause
at 4 on the dot, showing off a clock to the audience to prove it! A fabulously
slick set with more heart and passion than could ever be expected, and a damn
good performance too.