EFG London Jazz Festival : The Cookers, Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square, London (GB) - Nov 12, 2023

A band of senior American musicians most of whom have been around since at least the 1970s, all quite well known. They are: Eddie Henderson trumpet, David Weiss trumpet, Billy Harper tenor sax, Donald Harrison alto sax, George Cables piano, Cecil McBee double bass, Billy Hart drums. Postbop I guess you’d call the style, not exactly swinging as I understand the term, rather deliberate, even ponderous. Having said that, they are remarkable players and all but one of the numbers were penned by band members, Harper notably. Henderson was the standout player I think but the others ran him close. The drumming was inventive but too dominant (especially the cymbals) and the final item, a drums showpiece, amazing as it was, just was totally superfluous notwithstanding the unfortunately typical hysterical response from some of the audience. Despite this and the very poor mixing, it has to be five stars – so good to see this level of competence and professionalism. And their age-range is 59 to 88! Reviewed by Jon Turney 20 November 2023 at londonjazznews.com.