The Arun Ghosh Quartet hit the high gears in Hull

The Hull Jazz Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary, so this one-off gig marked the beginning of their celebrations. The Arun Ghosh Quartet are on the road to coincide with the release of Seclused In Light, which is titled using a self-created word-amalgamation. Clarinettist Ghosh was thinking of ‘secluded’ and ‘recluse’, during the virus season, when the album’s contents were composed. He already has close ties to the Hull Jazz Festival, commissioned to write new work in 2019. The ex-warehouse venue, called simply Social, is relatively new, born in 2020, and located on Humber Street’s burgeoning and bustling scene. The Hull festival folks are now booking occasional gigs at Social, including Nubiyan Twist and Emma-Jean Thackray.

Ghosh was born in Calcutta, lived in Manchester for many years, and lately resides in London. The night before, Ghosh appeared as part of the Jazzwise 25th anniversary season at Ronnie Scott’s, but this Hull gig involved the regular quartet line-up that’s currently touring the UK, with Jamil Sheriff (piano), Gavin Barras (bass) and Dave Walsh (drums). Right from the outset, Ghosh exudes a remarkably positive energy, visibly ecstatic to be back onstage once again. They open with ‘Hope Springs’, its bouncing drive soon leading to a stirring clarinet solo, with Walsh adding a New Orleans skip to his beat. Ghosh is an outgoing communicator, introducing each number with humour and insight. ‘Sister Green’ emanates an aura of ancient pagan country life, with Barras adopting a springy sintir tone while soloing, straight out of traditional Moroccan gnaoua music.

These numbers actually sound superior when played live, making the album versions seem somewhat restrained. With Ghosh leading a committed, urgent set of interpretations, this quartet is already flexing its abstract energies after playing a few gigs. The compositions are stripped to a basic essence, focused and direct. When ‘Hanji!’ involves the regular prompting of the substantial audience into shouting out its title, the result sounds natural and unforced, a genuinely fun-some and spontaneous exultation. The full Ghosh intensity arrives when the crowd response lifts him to the highest heights for his climactic solo. The time is now right for the slow meditation of ‘Surrender To The Sea’. To conclude, Ghosh plays ‘Punjabi Girl’, which is indeed heavily infused with an Indo-jazz style, but also, strangely, has a hint of South African strutting. Delivering two sets, this was Social becoming a jazz club, with seats and tables arrayed, with a more intimate, concentrating vibration than usual. Hopefully the Hull jazzfest team will continue with this clearly successful booking strategy.

The Arun Ghosh Quartet will soon play Derby Museum (April 9), Birmingham Symphony Hall (23), Glasgow’s Glad Café (29) and The Globe in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (30)...