The Graham Young Trio is Graham Young's current gigging unit. This line up grew out of the Urban Jazz Guerrillas last incarnation and formed around the nucleus of Graham Young and Martin Davies. This close musical partnership was joined Kenny Higgins. The trio originally started to rehearse on the premise that they would be joined at some point by a keyboard player. Unfortunately keyboard players of the required standard and stylistic openness are few and far between and no such individual was forthcoming. Thus the Graham Young Trio was born of necessicity rather than by design. Deciding to embrace the flexibility and the compositional opportunities afforded by the trio format Graham has been composing new material. Previously Graham composed primarily at the keyboard (usually the Fender Rhodes) and this had shaped the sound of the UJG. Exploring the possibilities afforded by his Carvin 7 strings' and Kenny's unique approach to the 6 string bass and bass Synth has started to yield results. Thus the trio has an unusually full sound and a very wide tonally palette. Full use of the available dynamic extremes is also a prime concern to the band from whisper quiet to a full on roar. For the time being the set is divided 50/50 between standards and original material although over time this will change in favour of the newer tunes. Those standards still present include Hendrix, Hancock, Shorter and Pee Wee Ellis amongst others and give an indication of the stylistic range involved. The band have even been known to burst into Planet X territory on occasion. Significant portions of the UJG songbook still remain in the set such as "Peg, Pog, Pig", "Monkey Boy Boogie" and "At Which point she said....". It has also been an opportunity to rework some of these to incorporate some of the advanced rhythmic concepts of Virgil Donati and others. The newer compositions are verging towards what might be considered "third stream" and utilize Graham's training in classical composition. Wherever the trio decides to go they will not be constrained by the expectations of others.
The Players
Kenny Higgins: 6 String Bass - Roland Bass Synth
Those familiar with the Leeds live music scene will no doubt have seen Kenny in action at some point or other. Kenny holds down the groove for a seemingly vast array of bands and artists. Within the context of the trio Kenny gets to develop his unique style which sees him exploiting the 6 strings extended range to simultaneously hold down the bass groove and play rhythm guitar like chordal parts. His use of the Roland synth pickup also expands the range of the trio. Apart from his numerous live credits Kenny has also played on numerous albums and sessions including most recently Corrine Bailey-Rae's debut album. The variety of Kenny's experience is a great asset to the Trio.
Here are just some of Kenny's credits.
“CLCM Jazz choir”, “Andy Hamilton” (Jazz saxophonist), “CLCM African music showcase” (with Seikou Susso, Seikou Keita and Ade Sosse), “The Allah Lika Afro-Mandingo band” (featuring Seikou Susso on Coraa), “Lamin and Tamala” (African salsa with Lamin Jassey), “Lamin and African Roots” (Roots Reggae), “Hassan Erraji & Arabesque” (Moroccan Folk Music), “Pan Jumby” (Calypso-Jazz band with Dudley Nesbitt on steel pan), “The Rommi Smith Band” (spoken word to music; BBC Music live and Commonwealth Games poet in residence), “James O’Hara’s Detonators, “Omar Puente”, “The Bluebirds”, “Organic groove foundation” (soul band featuring Jon McCallum on vocals), “Fake Jamaicans” (Ska-Jazz), “Fozz” (folk-jazz), “Chunky butt Funky” (funk, soul & blues syndicate), “Bugalu Foundation” (Latin-groove), “Atribo” & “Braziloca”, “Bourbon E Tequlia” (Salsa / Latin-Jazz ensemble featuring Enrico Marchesi on trumpet), Alma Latina (Salsa / Latin Jazz led by David Munoz) “Knucklehead” (the music of Grover Washington Jr. – Featuring Jason Rae on Saxophone), “Point Black” (Smooth Jazz), “Blackout” (Modern R&B), Alegria (Latin-Jazz), “Brothers on the slide, Today's Mathematics (Nu Jazz / Broken beat / Electronica), Homecut Directive (Live Hip Hop), Corinne Bailey-Rae (Studio sessions – currently on CD).
Martin Davies: Drums
One of the regions most notable drummers Martin style is distinguished by his great time feel, accuracy and power combined with a musical sensitivity formed by years of varied musical experiences. Equally well versed in jazz and rock styles Martin is the perfect foil for Graham Young's explosive guitar style. Having studied with both Virgil Donati and Thomas Lang, Martin is at the forefront of the recent developments in the drum world and is one of the few drummers in the area to have incorporated their advanced rhythmic concepts. This includes highly developed use of double kick drums with a high degree of independence. Martin divides his time between private teaching, gigs, sessions and long periods spent in a darkened room with a metronome.
Martin has toured and recorded worldwide for various artists, bands and companies including EMI Heavenly, Universal, Decca, various Fame Academy artists, Glen Diani (One Minute Silence) Snake Davis, Neil Brocklebank, Helen Watson, Rick Guard, Stevie Williams, Omar Puente, Rod Mason, Jon Ellis and nearly every other jazz artist of note in the area.