Jim Hart - Power Shower
Thursday, September 20, 2012
One of London’s busiest and most respected musicians, vibraphonist and drummer Jim Hart is playing an increasingly central role on several cutting edge jazz projects, but it’s his own recently formed Cloudmakers Trio that’s set to really put him on the map as a bandleader.
Selwyn Harris explains how the ever-modest Hart is now at the forefront of a new golden era for vibes.
As far as British jazz musicians are concerned, Jim Hart is about as modest as they come. But he can allow himself a self-congratulatory pat on the back for being awarded a nomination in the vibraphone category (also being the only UK entry) for this year’s prestigious Downbeat Readers Poll. “It definitely feels like some really good recognition on an international level to be in that company,” he says, just a few days following the announcement, as we settle down to a coffee and breakfast in a café near his home in Muswell Hill. With a list that reads like a who’s who of living jazz vibraphonists, the poll is a tribute to the impressive achievements of the 34-year old multi-instrumental high- flyer who only started specialising in jazz on the instrument in his early twenties (not forgetting that he’s also a first-rate drummer).
As well as having a lively invention and fluidity about his playing, Hart’s open-mindedness means he ends up tackling a more diverse spectrum of jazz than many of his peers. The settings he likes to work in range from the more quaintly mainstream forms of swing all the way through to contemporary avant jazz.
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