Jim Snidero Quartet
(Zig Zag Club, Friedenau, Berlin. 17 April 2024. Review by Sebastian Scotney)

What a great little club: fabulous sound and a wonderfully attentive listening audience. Zig Zag is in Friedenau, a residential area about 5km south-west of Berlin’s other top club, the A-Trane which is just by the Ku-Damm and much more central. Zigzag opened in early 2015, managed to stay afloat through the pandemic and does a brilliant job.

Founder Dmitris Christides, Sudan-born into a Greek family, was once upon a time in London as a student on the Popular Music course at London College of Music. He still plays the drums professionally, and his club has the reputation of really taking good care of musicians. London’s loss has definitely been Berlin’s gain.

Music starts at 9pm, and there is a staggered booking time in operation, a clever way to avoid a stampede. The music charge is only payable in cash on the door, but the food and drink inside can be paid for in cards. And drinks are served with a genuinely friendly smile, something quite rare in these parts…

One curious constraint: not a single note of music is allowed to be played after 11pm… suburban neighbours, noise complaints, all the usual stuff…but all it means is that if there are going to be grand peregrinations in solos, they won’t be in the last number.

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The programming is strong. Dave Holland had been in on Monday, and this gig was the first appearance as leader in Berlin for more than two decades by alto saxophonist Jim Snidero.

His new album is “For All We Know” is of standards, in a pianoless trio with Peter Washington and Joe Farnsworth, and Morgan Enos recently interviewed him about it for us (LINK ) In it he says “ I’m naturally an optimist, and I feel that in my music.” The positivity of his playing came across throughout the two sets, as did the long-ago shadow of his mentor Phil Woods.

The pianist last night, and the only non-American on the stage, was one-time adoptive Londoner now back in Bari, Bruno Montrone. His questing, fascinating solo on Snidero’s tune “Infinity” suddenly injected a real touch of magic. Monterone builds and grows solos, he has a freedom to roam and to plan escape after escape which reminded me of John Taylor at his best. There is apparently a new album, his debut in his own name, just out, with Giulio Scianatico on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. There are some reviews of it out, but they look distinctly like 0% listening and 100% AI.

Bassist Doug Weiss gave a masterclass in how to be melodically clear and straightforward in a bass solo, and drummer Chris Smith did everything he talked about in this little promotional video for the school where he teaches in Austria.

Jazz clubs like these need all the help they can get. They are the ideal surroundings to hear fine musicians finding each other out on the stand, and playing some great jazz.

LINK: Zig Zag website