Potter/Holland/Harland’s Crosscurrents Trio and Enji form a compelling Barbican double bill

Having played together in a couple of different combos as well as this one since the mid-Nineties, it’s no surprise that Dave Holland and Chris Potter are so comfortable in each other’s company. And when Indian percussionist Zakir Hussain had to withdraw from this tour due to illness, it was equally unsurprising that they asked Eric Harland to replace him: about 15 years ago Holland, Potter and Harland, together with Jason Moran, toured as the Overtone Quartet.

Full disclosure: one’s heart did not immediately leap at the prospect of a piano-less band. As the harmony must be inferred, it always makes the listening experience harder work. But how wrong can you be? Admittedly it wasn’t until the third tune (‘Okinawa’), when Potter switched from tenor to soprano and the mood relaxed, that the mists cleared. In particular Harland’s supple contributions revealed why he is in such demand as a drummer - even more so with his delicate second-line intro to ‘Rampart Street Assembly’, in which Potter’s melodies soared while Harland’s rhythmic style became increasingly insistent, ultimately resembling an express train. And all the while Holland exploited the tension this created by the simple expedient of laying out, so that when he did finally enter the fray, it felt triumphant. As did the gig as a whole, meriting a standing ovation and encore.

The evening opened with a half-hour slot from Enji (a.k.a. Erkhembayar Enkhjargal to her Mongolian compatriots). Performing with a double bassist and guitarist, she demonstrated what a very fine singer and songwriter she is, most of her material in the vein of European folk-jazz, apart from one unaccompanied tune, in which she let rip with some loud, passionate blasts. Otherwise you wouldn’t have recognised the music’s origin as central Asian: no throat singing, no microtonal excursions or exotic scales, just finely-wrought compositions, delivered with panache.